Donald Lococo
Architect
Donald Lococo is the founding principal of Donald Lococo Architects, a Washington D.C. based firm specializing exclusively in residential and interior architecture. Earlier in life, Donald pursued a career in piano performance and uses musicality as the framework for his design process. He has gained recognition across the United States and internationally for his work; receiving over one hundred awards and an equal number of publications. Donald has a master’s in architecture from the University of Michigan and has taught as a visiting studio professor at the graduate level. He has served as a judge for national magazines, associations, and councils.
Gabriele Filippi
Architect
Gabriele Filippi is a distinguished Italian architect and project director whose work spans residential, cultural, sports, and urban design. After earning his degree in Architectural Design from Politecnico di Torino in 2001, he contributed to major sports and infrastructure projects in Turin, including the Olympic Stadium renovation for the 2006 Winter Games and the Juventus Stadium.
From 2004, he served as Project Manager with 5+1AA, guiding significant assignments like Venice’s Palazzo del Cinema, the Italian Space Agency headquarters in Rome, Marsiglia’s Velodrome Stadium, and urban interventions in France and North Africa.
Since 2017, Filippi has been Partner and Project Manager at Gianluca Peluffo & Partners, overseeing notable developments: residential communities in Egypt (Ain el Sokhna, Monte Galala, Fouka Bay), the El Alamein Battle Museum, a mosque, and the university campus at Mostkabal, Cairo.
His international accolades include prizes and mentions for ISTAT HQ, Palermo cruise terminal, Dubai Pavilion at Expo 2020, and the Human Technopole in Milan.
Alongside practice, Filippi pursues independent research in architectural history and has been managing Genoa’s Museographic Office since 2019.
In 2022–24 he received multiple design awards, underscoring his innovative approach.
Patricia Anastassiadis
Architect
Patricia Anastassiadis, architect, interior, and product designer runs her eponymous office in São Paulo, Brazil.
Throughout three decades of her career, Patricia worked on many projects worldwide, always standing out for her contemporary aesthetics combined with effortless elegance and timeless sophistication.
The constant research for showcasing the true essence of locations where her projects are developed is a mark of her work and reveals her authentic, delicate, and poetic style.
The expertise and attention to detail, which includes an interest in art, history, and anthropology, are also some of the features that make Anastassiadis’ work stand out along with her coherent design narrative that shines through the accurate design, and sense of place.
In addition, her product design portfolio stands as an extension of her philosophy of delivering the best experience on every scale.
Sang Dae Lee
Architect
This year’s American Prize for Architecture Laureate Sang Dae Lee is a South Korean–born architect, academic, and urban designer best known as the founder of UNITEDLAB Associates, a multidisciplinary studio with offices in New York City and Seoul.
After studying architecture at Kookmin University and earning a Master’s from SCI‑Arc, he gained experience at Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, Gensler, and Davis Brody Bond before establishing his own practice in 2006.
Lee’s work spans pavilions like Cloud Forests for Children’s Play in Hwaseong (2017), minimalist village-scale housing in Jeju (Hadohilljo Townhouse, 2018), and visionary urban proposals such as Salt Lake City’s Lofted Ambitions (2022).
Lee also serves as a professor at Kennesaw State University, exploring the nexus of society, environment, and built form through teaching, research, and practice.