198th Edition – Zak World of Façades USA

198th Edition – Zak World of Façades USA, October 15, 2025, Pier Sixty at Chelsea Piers, New York

198th Edition – Zak World of Façades USA, October 15, 2025

This will be the 198th edition globally and the 7th edition in New York which will showcase sustainable innovations and challenges in the construction industry pertaining to the building envelope and will also display latest technological solutions.

Official Page

Speakers & Panelists

Michael Vitelli

Project Site Manager, Gualini

Joe Lauro

Managing Director | Principal, Gensler

Jonathan Taylor

Senior Associate, Higgins Quasebarth & Partners

Kevin WooJong Kim

Building Envelope Consultant, SOCOTEC

Diego Cuevas

VP Business Development USA, Onyx Solar

Frank Mahan

Principal, Adaptive Reuse Practice Leader, SOM

Frank Mahan, a recognized leader in adaptive reuse, believes that architects can save embodied carbon while reviving our most cherished cultural landmarks. He begins projects with deep research in order to understand a building’s history before shaping its next life—a...

Andres Roncal

Senior Computational Designer, HKS

Andres Roncal is an architect and engineer turned developer specializing in machine learning, generative AI, and computational automation in the built environment. His work focuses on integrating data-driven processes, geometric rationalization, and AI-powered simulations to improve efficiency and interoperability in...

Rok Lee

Principal – Façades, DeSimone Consulting Engineers

Rok Lee, AIA, leads DeSimone’s global façade and building envelope practice, which includes façade design, restoration and forensics. He provides invaluable insight to DeSimone’s structural engineering and forensic consulting teams across project types, employing his expertise for new façade design,...

Hagen Scutt

Senior Vice President – Design Hudson Yards, The Related Companies

Hagen Scutt is Vice President of Design & Construction – Hudson Yards at the Related Companies where he leads the design efforts of Hudson Yards and New York City projects. Mr. Scutt joined Related in 2013 and brings over 30...

Owen Coyle

President, IG Masonry Support Systems

Owen Coyle is a qualified Structural Engineer who graduated from Trinity College Dublin in 2009. Shortly after, he joined the family business, Keystone Lintels – the UK and Ireland’s largest manufacturer of steel lintels – as a Technical Engineer. His...

Jared R. Donnamiller

Senior Vice President, WSP

Roger Ferris

Founding Principal, Roger Ferris + Partners

David Kubik

Partner, BKSK Architects

David Kubik joined BKSK Architects in 2003 and was named Partner in 2018. He plays a strong role in the design of both institutional and development projects. For David, a successful building is both an expression of and an enhancement...

Todd Poisson

Partner, BKSK Architects

Todd Poisson’s work is distinguished by using contemporary design and construction technology to tell a building’s unique story, woven from clients’ goals and context. Todd’s work consistently demonstrates a deep understanding of these threads and a respect for end users’...

Oliver Link

Partner, Selldorf

Oliver Link joined Selldorf Architects in 2011 and was made Partner in 2020. He is currently Partner-in-Charge of the renovation of the Musée Yves Saint Laurent in Paris. He recently led the acclaimed expansion and enhancement of The Frick Collection,...

Alfonso Oliva

Senior Manager DevRel AECO AI, NVIDIA

Jun Schick Lee

Associate Principal - Façades & Envelopes, Hatfield Group Engineering

Jun brings comprehensive façade expertise shaped by his diverse roles as an architect, curtain wall contractor, and façade consultant. Having led façade projects from multiple industry perspectives, he offers a unique ability to integrate design intent with constructability. Jun specializes...

Maic Pannwitz

Senior Executive Vice President, sedak

Maic Pannwitz serves as Senior Executive Vice President of sedak inc., the U.S. subsidiary of the German-based glass manufacturer renowned for producing oversized and high-performance architectural glass. With a background in engineering and project management, Pannwitz has been instrumental in...

Gary Tongco

National Architectural Manager, ES Windows

With over 30 years of experience in the glass and glazing industry, Gary Tongco is a seasoned veteran who excels at driving sales growth and expanding market share. Throughout his career, Gary has built a reputation for his ability to...

Zach Craun

Associate Partner, CookFox

Zach Craun is an Associate Partner at COOKFOX Architects. His past projects include 150 Charles Street, the De La Salle Academy, 100 Vandam Street, several private residences in the Hamptons, a boutique commercial office building in the Miami Design District...

Justin D’Alessandro

National Architectural Manager, Vitro Architectural Glass

Justin D’Alessandro is a National Architectural Manager at Vitro Architectural Glass, driving façade specifications across the Mid-South region and partnering with New York City–based stakeholders for international project work. A graduate of The Catholic University of America’s School of Architecture,...

Casey Pritchard

Sales Manager, Boston Valley Terra Cotta

Casey Pritchard is a Sales Manager at Boston Valley Terra Cotta, where she plays a key role in bringing visionary architectural designs to life through the beauty and versatility of terra cotta. With a deep understanding of facade materials and...

Eric Claeys

Founding Partner, Fassada Steel

Eric Claeys holds a degree as Civil Engineer in Construction from KU Leuven, Belgium, a degree in Industrial Engineering in Public Works from KU Leuven, Belgium, and graduated with a Master in Business Administration from the Vlerick Business School, Belgium....

Tobiasz Staszak

Area Manager North America, Reynaers Aluminium

Tobiasz Staszak is Area Manager North America at Reynaers Aluminum focused on developing a successful growing market. Having a background in the building industry for 14 years, gaining experience in technology, sales, and value proposition development. For the last 5...

Melissa Wong

Principal, Thornton Tomasetti

Melissa Wong joined the firm in 2005 and co-leads the New York Façade Practice. With a background in architecture, she leads the design and construction of façade and enclosure systems for a wide range of projects, including commercial, residential, cultural,...

Dan Reynolds

AI Leader, Walter P Moore

Dan Reynolds is the AI Leader at Walter P Moore and a structural engineer with expertise in specialty structures. After delivering numerous complex and high-profile projects, Dan now leads a pioneering team of engineers and AI developers reimagining how buildings...

Dean White

Regional Façade Sales Manager, Cosentino

Dean has a 30-year history in the building materials and construction industry ranging from quality management to senior sales management focused on the building envelope. His approach is solution based and consultative. Dean provides practical knowledge to help with design...

Andrew Black

Director of Product Development and Design, New Hudson Façades

Andrew Black is the Director of Product Development and Design for New Hudson Facades. Andrew’s 20-year career in the façade industry has covered a broad range of projects and areas of expertise. He began his career developing parametric 3D models...

Alberto Alarcon

Marketing Manager, Kuraray America

Alberto is the Global MC leader in the Advanced Interlayer Solutions Division of Kuraray; he is located in New York City and is responsible of the Global Marketing Communications and Americas Downstream Marketing . Alberto, through the Trosifol® and Sentryglas®...

Joseph Madaghiele

Associate, Thornton Tomasetti

Joseph has a background in Architecture specializing in building envelope design and consultation for both new and existing buildings. He has worked in multiple market sectors including small and large scale residential, cultural and institutional, commercial, and industrial projects. Jospeh...

Hugh Dutton

Founder & Director, Hugh Dutton Associés

Born in the UK in 1957, grew up in Jamaica, Hugh Dutton is principal of Hugh Dutton Associates (HDA), a design practice began in 1995, that combines architecture and engineering design based in Paris France, specializing in glass and lightweight...

Gordon Gill

Partner, Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture

Gordon Gill, FAIA, is one of the world’s foremost practitioners of performance-based architecture driven by his philosophy that there is a purposeful relationship between formal design and performance: Form Follows Performance. A founding partner of award-winning Adrian Smith + Gordon...

Emir Pekdemir

Associate, Atelier Ten

Emir Pekdemir is an Associate with Atelier Ten and an expert in the firm’s Environmental Design and Energy Analysis practices. Emir leverages advanced building simulation tools to solve intricate building physics challenges encountered in complex designs. As an ASHRAE certified...

Benson Gillespie

Partner, Surface Design Group

Benson has been involved with, and overseen, the design and construction of innovative enclosure systems throughout the United States and South America since the founding of the firm in 2013. His work includes both the assessment and renovation of historically...

John Ivanoff

Principal | Facades, Buro Happold

John Ivanoff joined Buro Happold’s Facades and Specialty Structures team in 2013 and has nearly 15 years of experience in the industry. John’s portfolio reflects his architectural design background and includes extensive experience working on residential and educational projects around...

Manan Raval

Partner - Façades & Envelopes, Hatfield Group Engineering

Manan Raval, PE is widely recognized as an industry expert in facade design and specialty glass systems. He has led facade engineering for complex buildings worldwide, among them high-profile arts institutions, residential developments, and mixed-use hubs. His areas of specialization...

John Cetra

Founding Principal, CetraRuddy Architecture

John Cetra co-founded CetraRuddy on the principle that architecture must engage the urban fabric while enriching the human spirit. His designs incorporate an aesthetic of dynamic geometric compositions and sensitively chosen materials to invoke the rhythms and textures of the...

Tali Mejicovsky

Associate Principal | Façade Engineering and Building Physics, Arup

Tali Mejicovsky is an Associate Principal at Arup in New York and Façade Skills Leader across four façade groups in the Americas (Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Toronto). She has more than 20 years of façade experience around...

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Conference Agenda