Jury Alumni

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  Charlie Gepp

  Founder, INTENTIONALLY BLANK

  2018 Built Environment Jury Member

  Charlie Gepp is a patron and avid collector of Art and Design, mainly modern and contemporary. He is co-founder of Melissa Shoes USA, the leading global manufacturer of jelly shoes and a pioneer in forging design collaborations with Architects, Artists and Designers such as Zaha Hadid, Mariko Mori, Sebastian Errazuriz and Muti Randolph. Charlie Gepp is also founder of INTENTIONALLY BLANK, which acts as agent and provides coaching and strategic advice to a stable of artists and designers. He is also actively involved with Creative Time, Mariko Mori’s FAOU Foundation and the Storefront for Art and Architecture.

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  Marc Thorpe

  Founder, Marc Thorpe Design

  2018 Built Environment Jury Member

  MARC THORPE DESIGN WAS FOUNDED IN 2010 BY ARCHITECT AND INDUSTRIAL DESIGNER MARC THORPE. THORPE IS KNOWN INTERNATIONALLY FOR HIS INNOVATIVE AND DYNAMIC WORK, TAKING A RIGOROUS APPROACH TO THE INTEGRATION OF ARCHITECTURE, DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY. THORPE AND HIS TEAM COLLABORATE WITH CLIENTS TO DEVELOP AND EXECUTE BRAND GROWTH STRATEGIES. THE STUDIO CONCEPTUALIZES DESIGN WHILE BUILDING BRANDS, AND HAS THE RESOURCES TO PRODUCE CONSISTENT COMMUNICATION PLATFORMS, INCLUDE ARCHITECTURE, INTERIOR DESIGN, DIGITAL MEDIA, GRAPHIC DESIGN, FURNITURE DESIGN, PRODUCT DESIGN, RETAIL AND EXHIBIT DESIGN.
  
  THE STUDIO DESIGNS RELATIONSHIPS. THE FOCUS OF MARC THORPE DESIGN IS IN THE SYSTEMIC INTERSECTIONS A PROJECT PRESENTS. IN ORDER TO DISCOVER A PROJECT’S POTENTIAL, THE STUDIO WORKS CLOSELY WITH CLIENTS AND COLLABORATORS TO FOSTER NEW IDEAS, ESTABLISH COMMON VISION AND INNOVATIVE STRATEGIES OF APPROACH TO NURTURE THE DESIGN PROCESS. THE RESULTS ARE DESIGN SOLUTIONS WITH THE HIGHEST DEGREE OF PRECISION, QUALITY AND CHARACTER.
  
  THE STUDIO OFFERS ITSELF AS AN OPEN SYSTEM OF EXCHANGE. THORPE HAS DEDICATED THE STUDIO TO THE RESEARCH, PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE AND EDUCATION OF SYSTEMS THINKING THROUGH THE DISCIPLINE OF ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN. THORPE STATES, “WE BELIEVE IN A HOLISTIC DESIGN APPROACH, WHICH ENGAGES THE SOCIAL COMPONENTS OF SPACE AND FORM.” COLLABORATIONS WITH DIGITAL ARTISTS, INTERACTIVE DESIGNERS, NEW MEDIA DESIGNERS, SOUND AND LIGHTING ENGINEERS AND SOCIAL MEDIA EXPERTS HAVE ADVANCED THE PRACTICE’S DIVERSITY AND KNOWLEDGE.
  

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  Dror Benshetrit

  Principal, Studio Dror

  2018 Built Environment Jury Captain

  Dror Benshetrit is a designer, thinker, dreamer and futurist. He began his career as an artist and has since amassed an award-winning portfolio of product design, interiors, architecture, master planning and city planning—all before the age of 40. Together with his team of designers, artists, architects, researchers and communicators, he tackles ambitious pursuits to foster authentic connections and improve people’s well-being.
  
  His holistic practice—named one of the most innovative companies in design by Fast Company—intentionally works across all scales, blurring boundaries with each project.
  
  Studio Dror is one of the only practices to bridge Architecture, Design, and Art, and the results are always avant-garde: current endeavors include an innovation lab for the future of nature and humanity, large site-specific installations, a book entitled ‘Dror Dreams’, and The Lookback, an immersive entertainment venture replicating an astronaut’s experience standing on the Moon looking back at Earth.
  
  Collaboration is the cornerstone of his approach: he partners with best-in-class specialists and brands and organizations that share the same spirit of innovation to test the limits of convention and bring profound ideas to life. As a result, Dror’s connections and network includes highly influential people in the worlds of Art, Real Estate Development, Fashion, Design, Academia and Politics.