Lecturers on IUD Program Panel

The panel consists of Urban Design graduates, assistant professors and visiting lecturers from the top Urban Design graduate programs in the world including Columbia University GSAPP, New York City; Harvard University Graduate School of Design, Cambridge; School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi; Bartlett Development Planning Unit, UC, London and more working in internationally renowned Urban Design offices across the world, from North and South America, Europe and Asia

RTF-IUD-Debayan-Chatterjee-1

Debayan Chatterjee

MSc Urban Development Planning | Bartlett Development Planning Unit, UCL London
Master of Urban Design | School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi
B. Arch | Jadavpur University, Kolkata

Debayan Chatterjee is a Commonwealth Scholar from India, studying M.Sc Urban Development Planning at Bartlett Development Planning Unit, UCL London. He also earned a Master of Urban Design degree from School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi and a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Jadavpur University, Kolkata.

His contribution to various public and private sector projects across six different countries (i.e. India, China, Myanmar, Dubai, Netherlands, and the UK) always focused on designing meaningful enjoyable public spaces for people.

He also taught urban design at the Jamia Millia Islamia University and SPA-Delhi. His current research explores the effect of ‘Time-Space planning’ on Indian cities and argues that urban practitioners should start acknowledging temporality as their new reality.

RTF-IUD-Sudeshna-Sen

Sudeshna Sen

Master of Architecture in Urban Design (distinction) | Harvard University Graduate School of Design, Cambridge
Bachelors degree in Architecture | Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago

Sudeshna Sen is an architect, urban designer and researcher from Kolkata, India. She completed her Masters of Architecture in Urban Design from the Harvard Graduate School of Design (GSD) with distinction and her B.Arch from Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in Chicago.

Sudeshna currently lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts and works at Sasaki as an urban designer. She has previously worked as an architect in several firms in New York – Weiss/Manfredi, Kohn Peterson Fox (KPF), and Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU). She has previously taught in the Design Discovery Program at the GSD as an Urban Planning and Design Instructor and assisted mapping and representational workshops as well. She has served as a research assistant for Prof. Sai Balakrishnan and at the Office for Urbanization at the GSD studying agro-urban formations in India and China respectively. Her master’s thesis, advised by Rahul Mehrotra, was analytical and ethnographic research of the 100 Smart Cities Mission in India.

RTF-IUD-Sreyash-Dasgupta-1

Sreyash Dasgupta

MS.Architecture & Urban Design | Columbia University GSAPP, New York
B.Arch | Jadavpur University, Kolkata

Sreyash Dasgupta is an architect and urban designer. He holds a Master of Science in Architecture and Urban Design degree from the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Columbia University, New York, and a B.Arch degree (honors) from Jadavpur University, India . He is presently an associate architect at Sukanya & Associates, a multidisciplinary design firm in Kolkata, India, working on multi-scalar projects across India and Bangladesh.

Sreyash taught the Urban Studies Studio at Columbia, in New York City, with Professor Michelle Young. His projects, both academic and professional, have been exhibited and presented in New York City, Poughkeepsie (USA), Amman (Jordan), Tolbuhinsky (Russia), Dhaka (Bangladesh), New Delhi and in Kolkata (India).

In 2018, he won the World Architecture Community (WAC) Award in UK for the project Breukelen Pod Hotel which identifies modular construction technique as an integrated urban construction tool, reflecting the future of building technology. Further, his professional projects have been nominated and awarded the Indian Institute of Architects (IIA) Award for Excellence in Architecture 2016, National Architecture and Interior Design Excellence Award 2020. Sreyash has worked professionally under Ar. Soumitro Ghosh (MGApl, Bangalore) , Ar. B.V. Doshi, Ar. Sonke Hoof (Vastu Shilpa Consultants, Ahmedabad) and Ar. Donald E. Henry (Urbahn Architects, New York City). He is registered with the Council of Architecture, India.

RTF-IUD-Ananta-Ganjoo

Ananta Ganjoo

Urban Designer | National Institute of Urban Affairs, New Delhi
Master of Urban Design | School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi
B.Arch | School of Planning & Architecture, New Delhi

Ananta Ganjoo has a background in Architecture and Urban Design with about seven years of comprehensive professional experience throughout India. She has been involved in the design of various large scale and multi-layered urban design projects, which include Smart Cities Mission, master planning for new cities, and multiple renewal & regeneration proposals in tier I and II cities.

She is currently working at the National Institute of Urban Affairs in Delhi, where she is engaged in urban policy research, spatial planning, and strategy formulation for the Master Plan of Delhi 2041. Ananta was a part of Club Young Leaders India-France 2019 and a panelist in Paris Peace Forum 2019 on the subject of Sustainable Cities. Ananta has previously also represented India in the Young Urban Designers & Architects Program 2018 exchange initiative, where she spent six months working in an architecture practice in Paris, France.

RTF-IUD-Ahmed-Jawdat

Ahmed Jawdat

MS.Architecture & Urban Design | Columbia University GSAPP, New York
B.Arch | University of Miami

Ahmed Jawdat is a Saudi Architect and Urban Designer. Ahmed completed his studies in the United States between Miami and New York City. He obtained his Bachelors of Architecture from the University of Miami in 2016, and his Masters in Architecture and Urban Design from Columbia University in New York City in 2017.

Ever since his graduation, Ahmed has worked as an intern in a design firm in New York City, then he moved back to Saudi Arabia where he joined the UN habitat to work on the future Saudi cities program. Ahmed’s work at the UN Habitat included analyzing key urban challenges that are facing major cities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and giving recommendations on how to enhance the neighborhood and citywide levels planning in developing city profiles.

Ahmed’s latest work experience involved working at the Royal commission for AlUla (RCU). The Royal Commission for AlUla was established in 2017 to protect and reinvigorate AlUla, a region of outstanding natural and cultural significance in northwest Saudi Arabia. RCU’s work reflects the ambitious commitment to cultivate tourism and leisure in Saudi Arabia, outlined in Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. Ahmed’s work in AlUla focused on the regeneration of the urban areas by defining new architectural and urban design guidelines.

RTF-IUD-Andrea-Benavides-Ward

Andrea Benavides Ward

MS.Architecture & Urban Design | Columbia University GSAPP, New York
Bachelors degree in Architecture | Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (UPC), Lima

Andrea Benavides Ward is a Peruvian Licensed Architect and Urban Designer, currently living in Lima, Perú. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture from the Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (UPC) in Lima, where she graduated with an Academic Excellence Award.

Andrea pursued a Master’s Degree in Science of Architecture and Urban Design at the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP) of Columbia University in New York, where she graduated with honors. Further to her graduation, she worked in Technical Design in Gensler, Washington DC for a year.

Currently, Andrea is working as an Urban Designer in Urbanova, a real state company that belongs to one of the biggest Private Corporations in Peru. She has also worked as a Project Coordinator in ACM, a real state company with a partnership with RAMSA, developing luxury residential buildings in Lima.

RTF-IUD-Carmelo-Ignaccolo

Carmelo Ignaccolo

Doctoral researcher in City Design and Development at MIT
Research Affiliate | Civic Data Design Lab I Columbia University GSAPP
Adj. Assistant Professor | Columbia University GSAPP
MS. Architecture and Urban Design | Columbia University GSAPP
Masters degree in Architecture-Engineering | University of Catania, Italy

Carmelo Ignaccolo is a Ph.D. Student in City Design and Development at the Department of Urban Studies and Planning (MIT). He is a Research Affiliate of the Civic Data Design Lab and an Adj. Assistant Professor at Columbia University GSAPP, where he coordinates and teaches the core GIS class for Urban Design graduate students. Carmelo is particularly interested in applying data-visualization and mapping techniques to reveal spatial narratives that can materialize invisible trends, systems, and phenomena in cities and broader territories. His academic research focuses on urban morphology and environmental psychology in historic cities, where collective identity and heritage have been constantly reshaped. He employs urban analytics and spatial statistics to investigate the complexity of our data-rich environment and to envision new design solutions at the different scales of the built environment.

Carmelo has professional experience in geospatial analysis, data visualization, and story-telling for urban design projects and city planning action plans. Prior to MIT, he worked as Urban Planner at the Urban Planning and Design Lab of the United Nations Habitat Programme in Nairobi. He was responsible for developing strategic recommendations about public transit networks, heritage preservation, and resilience for the future planning system of several cities in the Middle East (e.g. Jeddah, Makkah, Tabuk). Carmelo also worked as an Urban Designer at AECOM in the Urban Design Studio in New York City. His expertise in mapping and in multi-scalar territorial studies allowed him to be involved as a Research Assistant at the Center for Spatial Research at Columbia University and as a faculty member at the “Resilient Mozambique” GSAPP summer workshop – organized with the WWF and the Columbia Center for Resilient Cities and Landscapes.

Carmelo received as a Fulbright Fellow a Master’s degree in Urban Design from Columbia University GSAPP, where he was awarded the GSAPP Prize for Excellence in Urban Design for the 2016/17 academic year. He completed a five-year Master’s degree program in Architecture-Engineering at the University of Catania in Italy (2015), during which he was awarded a “Beyond Frontiers” fellowship for an academic exchange at Tongji University, in Shanghai (2014).

RTF-IUD-Dissa-Pidanti-Raras

Dissa Pidanti Raras

MS.Architecture & Urban Design I Columbia University GSAPP, New York
Bachelors degree in Architecture I Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia

Dissa Pidanti Raras is a landscape and urban designer from Indonesia currently working in Ramboll Studio Dreseitl. She was trained in the Master of Science in Architecture and Urban Design program at GSAPP, Columbia University, New York, USA, and B.Eng in the Architecture program at Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia. She practiced in Singapore, New York, and Jakarta for projects focusing on landscape, planning and research. Her previous research work with Future Cities Laboratory “The Grand Projet” on megaprojects across Asia and Europe was exhibited at City Gallery of URA, Singapore, and ETH Zürich Campus in Switzerland. She is especially passionate about issues of emerging cities and urban climate resilience.

On the other spectrum, she co-founded Antologi Collaborative Space – one of the pioneering co-working space and community hub in their hometown, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Today, it is home to many startup companies and creative communities with various inclusive programs and events.

RTF-IUD-Elif-Unsal

Elif Unsal

MS.Architecture & Urban Design I Columbia University GSAPP, New York
Bachelor of Architecture, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey

Elif Unsal is an Architectural and Urban designer currently living in New York. She graduated as one of the top-ranking students from the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey, with a Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch) degree in 2014. She received her Master’s Degree in Architecture and Urban Design from the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP) of Columbia University in 2017. She worked at Arthur Ross Architecture Gallery for Columbia GSAPP Exhibitions during that period.

Prior to coming to the United States, she was already seasoned in experience as a Registered Architect in Turkey. After completing the master studies, she joined a New York-based architectural design firm as a designer and has since been working in the firm where she has amassed a strong portfolio of multi-scale developments of North America’s some of the biggest clients in New York.

Elif is interested in design, architecture and the urban environment. She is also the USA Country Editor for World Architecture Community, which provides a unique environment for architects, students and academics around the globe to meet, share and compete.

RTF-IUD-Huai-Kuan-Chung

Huai Kuan Chung

Teaching Fellow | Columbia University GSAPP
MS.Architecture & Urban Design | Columbia University GSAPP, New York
B.Arch | Tamkang University, Taiwan

Huai Kuan is an Architectural Designer at Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates in New York City. He graduated from Columbia University GSAPP Urban Design program at 2017. His work is centered around architecture and social-driven design projects at urban scale.

Having worked with some of the most innovative teams, his primary interest lies in exploring the future of architecture and urban design, as well as the designers’ roles. He developed unique skills and expertise from the professional and academic experiences combined.

He was a teaching fellow at Columbia University GSAPP Urban Design program in 2017, assisting the class Reading New York Urbanism. And he was invited as a lecturer in Amman, Jordan about his Urban Design project “Borderfield”.

His continuing professional experience includes working with Sidewalk Labs (Sidewalk Toronto), Scape Landscape Architecture Design Firm (San Francisco Rebuild by Design & Venice Biennale 2018), and is now working at KPF as an Architecture Designer on high-rise tower projects in Shenzhen and New York City.

RTF-IUD-Mario-Ulloa

Mario Ulloa

MS.Architecture & Urban Design I Columbia University GSAPP, New York
Bachelors in Architecture I Universidad del Azuay in Cuenca, Ecuador.

Mario Ulloa is an urban designer and architect, currently living in New York City. He holds a master’s degree in Architecture and Urban Design from the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP) of Columbia University in New York and a bachelor’s Degree in Architecture from the Universidad del Azuay in Cuenca, Ecuador.

While working on his bachelor’s degree, Mario worked at Surreal Arquitectura in the design of a contemporary vacation home and a large administrative campus development. In 2016, Mario moved to the US where he joined Z+W Architects, a boutique firm outside of Boston, where he gained experience working on both residential and commercial designs in the New England area. After graduating from Columbia University, he joined AECOM in 2017 where he works as an urban designer on a wide variety of public realm projects in NYC and beyond.

Mario is interested in building and planning practices for resilient cities, where collaboration with multiple disciplines, and community input becomes key factors in achieving thriving cities. He believes that designers have the capacity to create innovative responses to the ever-changing world that we live in.