The Future of Cities

Maria R. Perbellini, AAIA, OAIArch.
Dean and Professor, School of Architecture and Design, New York Institute of Technology

Maria R. Perbellini, Ph.D., is the Dean of the School of Architecture and Design at the New York Institute of Technology and a tenured Professor of Architecture. Her leadership advances design innovation, intellectual diversity, emerging computational technologies, and interdisciplinary programs. She has been notably recognized, including the 2018 AIA Long Island Educator Award.

She holds a B.Arch. from the Istituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia in Italy and a M.Arch. from Pratt Institute in New York. Prior to New York Tech, Perbellini was the Associate Dean for Graduate Programs and Chair of Instruction in the College of Architecture at Texas Tech University. She also taught at the School of Architecture, University of Texas at Austin.

Perbellini is co-founder of Pongratz Perbellini Architects (PPA). Among others, PPA received the Segnalazione Premio Compasso d’Oro ADI, XXI Edition with the patented series in stoneHyperwave. Before establishing her own practice, she worked in New York City for Peter Eisenman and John Reimnitz on the design of prestigious commissioned buildings and international design competitions. With Christian Pongratz, Perbellini is the co-editor of the Monograph on Peter Eisenman for Korean Architects-KA (No.156, 08/1997), and the co-author of the books Natural Born CaaDesigners (Birkhauser, 2000), Cyberstone (Edilstampa, 2009), and Digital Media for Design (Cognella Academic Publishing, 2016).

Berit Basse
Ambassador, Consul General of Denmark in New York

Ambassador Berit Basse has enjoyed an expansive diplomatic career that has taken her around the world—from Senegal and Munich to Singapore and Uganda.

From 2012 to 2016, Ambassador Basse served as Denmark’s Ambassador to Singapore and Brunei, successfully overseeing key commercial and diplomatic relationships between Denmark and the two States. She has also served as First Secretary at the Embassy of Denmark in Uganda and Consul General of Denmark in Munich, Germany.

Meanwhile, from 1992 to 1996, the Ambassador worked on several development projects for the United Nations Development Programme in Senegal. Immediately prior to her New York posting, Ambassador Basse also led the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ department in charge of client relations and global commercial opportunities.

Ambassador Basse assumed her role at the helm of Denmark In New York on September 1, 2020.

Dongsei Kim
Assistant Professor School of Architecture and Design, New York Institute of Technology

Dongsei Kim is an architect, urbanist, and educator. His current research, focusing on architecture and urbanism’s relationship to nation-state borders across multiple scales, examines the notions of “inclusion” and “exclusion” and how “us” and ‘them’ are defined through various spatial practices. His research on the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) has been internationally recognized through multiple exhibitions and publications.

Dongsei's research on the DMZ border contributed to the Golden Lion award-winning “Crow’s Eye View: The Korean Peninsula” exhibition at the 14th International Architecture Exhibition directed by Rem Koolhaas (Venice, 2014). His work has been invited to respected international biennales and exhibitions, such as the International Architecture Exhibition at Venice (2021, 2014), Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism (Seoul, 2023, 2019, 2017); “(im)positions” at Melbourne School of Design (Melbourne, 2017); “Over the Boundary” at the State Library of Queensland (Brisbane, 2016); “REAL DMZ PROJECT” at Art Sonje Center (Seoul, 2015); “Making Border” at DNA Gallery (Berlin, 2015); and “Cold War, Hot Peace” at Slought (Philadelphia, 2015).

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Dr. Sharon Egretta Sutton
FAIA, Distinguished Visiting Professor of Architecture, New School

Dr. Sharon Egretta Sutton, FAIA is a citizen architect and scholar who promotes cultural inclusivity in her profession and in the populations it serves. Her books include When Ivory Towers Were Black: A Story about Race in Americas Cities and Universities (2017) and the forthcoming, Pedagogy of a Beloved Commons: Pursuing Democracy’s Promise through Place-Based Activism, both narrating America's continuing struggle for racial justice.

In addition to being a distinguished visiting professor of architecture at Parsons School of Design, Dr. Sutton has served on the faculties of Columbia University, Pratt Institute, the University of Cincinnati, the University of Michigan, and the University of Washington. She was the twelfth African American woman to be licensed as an architect, the first to be promoted to full professor of architecture, and the second to be elevated to fellowship in the American Institute of Architects, and the first to be a distinguished professor of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture.

Early in her career, Dr. Sutton worked as a professional musician in New York City, most notably in the Bolshoi Ballet Company orchestra and in the original cast of Man of La Mancha. Her fine art is in the Library of Congress and has been widely exhibited and collected. She holds five academic degrees—in music, architecture, philosophy, and psychology—and has studied graphic art internationally.

Dr. Sutton received the Whitney M. Young Jr. Award from the AIA, the Medal of Honor from both the New York and Seattle chapters of that organization, and the Oculus Award from the Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation. She is a distinguished professor of the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture and an inductee into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame.

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Daniel Baumann
Design Director, Partner, Henning Larsen

Daniel Baumann is a Partner and Design Director at Henning Larsen Architects, overseeing the firms projects in North America. With over a decade of experience at the company, Daniel has led several of its most ambitious and complex urban and architectural projects, guided by his philosophy that architecture should be responsive to context and users' needs, enhancing everyday experiences.

In 2018, Daniel relocated from Denmark to New York, where he has been responsible for the design of several significant projects for Henning Larsen in the US. These include the acclaimed masterplan for the 14-acre Enterprise Research Campus south of the Harvard Business School in Allston, MA, which celebrates the local context, fosters human interaction, enhances the public realm, and stimulates innovation. The 13-story Visa Global Headquarters at Mission Rock in San Francisco, CA, is focused on creating an active pedestrian realm and rethinking creative office spaces to promote collaboration and productivity. Currently in design, the 20-story Raleigh Civic Tower in North Carolina is set to create a new face of public service and a vertical campus for the city of Raleigh.

Daniel holds a Master of Architecture from the UCL Bartlett School of Architecture in London, UK, and a Bachelor of Architecture from the Royal Academy of Arts in Copenhagen, Denmark.

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Theresa Genovese
AIA, LEED AP Principal, CetraRuddy

Principal Theresa Genovese leads project teams from concept design through completion of construction. She has extensive experience in overseeing both ground-up and renovation projects for universities, public and private schools, libraries, and museums.

As a LEED Accredited Professional, she has particular expertise in infusing her projects with the highest level of sustainable design. Theresa served as Editor in Chief for Harvard Architecture Review's Civitas: What is City? and authored a Harvard University monograph on urban design in Barcelona. This background in urban design gives her heightened sensitivity to a building's larger context and allows her to simultaneously think about site, materiality, and light and to create buildings with a strong sense of place. Theresa holds a Master of Architecture and Urban Design degree from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design and a Bachelor of Architecture degree from New York Institute of Technology's School of Architecture. She has also completed graduate study with the Pratt Institute in Kyoto and Tokyo.

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