Introducing the Holcim Foundation Fellowship Cohort for Europe in Brussels

Our cohort of Fellows will work with Arno Brandlhuber, Olaf Grawert and Josiane Schmidt at ETH Zurich to engage with key stakeholders and decision-makers in the building industry to design compelling arguments and incentives that promote revitalization, reuse, renovation and transformation within the sector.

Fellows will visit case study projects in Brussels, meet practicing professionals, take part in presentations and learn about the innovative work of our partner firms – &Bogdan, 51n4e, noAarchitecten, DEMOCO Group and Whitewood – along with insights and contributions from AgwA and Schmidt Hammer & Lassen (SHL) The Fellows will lead open dialogues that surface ideas and challenges, creating opportunities to advocate collectively for the revitalization, renovation, and transformation of both the existing building stock and the broader industry.

Janina Bregen holds a bachelor degree in European Civil Engineering management and is currently finishing her Masters degree in timber construction. She holds international experience through academic exchanges and hands-on projects across Europe, Australia and South Africa. Her work focuses on socially just, circular building solutions, involving community-driven initiatives. Her master thesis developed a reusable ClayTwistBlock for peri-urban underprivileged communities on the African continent. With a passion for innovation and equity in the built environment, she bridges research and real-world impact. | Instagram | LinkedIn

Ela Grasseli is a master’s student at the Faculty of Architecture, University of Ljubljana. During her studies, she developed a strong interest in architectural theory as well as practice. This led to her hands-on approach through building dry stone walls, constructing a school in South Africa, and creating steel slag geopolymer bricks. Another formative experience was her Erasmus year in Rome, where she discovered more of a sociological and anthropological view of architecture as an act of human appropriation of space throughout centuries.

Jasmine Kakkar is an architect and MBA in Building Sustainability from TU Berlin, with expertise in ESG strategy, energy efficiency, and adaptive reuse. She has developed renovation tools, sustainability KPIs, and CSRD-aligned reporting frameworks through projects with BASF and EUREF AG. Her experience spans construction management in India to sustainable real estate strategy in Europe. Jasmine combines systems thinking, design insight, and data-driven approaches to help transition existing buildings toward carbon neutrality. | Instagram | LinkedIn

Connaught Lee works as a policy analyst at the OECD, advising governments on decarbonising buildings. With professional experience in graphic design, public art, and city diplomacy, he crafts compelling narratives that advance sustainable urban development with analytical rigour and a creative flair. He holds a master's in urban governance from Sciences Po. He speaks Cantonese, English, Mandarin Chinese, French and Dutch. | Instagram | LinkedIn

Jacob Meyers works at the intersection of architectural reuse, research, and advocacy. He is an executive committee member of modernist conservation non-profit Docomomo Singapore, and has worked for Studio Lapis, Singapore’s only architectural conservation and research consultancy, where he focused on 20th-century heritage buildings. Having previously studied at The Bartlett in London, Jacob is currently a master student at TU Delft, where he is exploring the reuse of 1960s public housing stock in Singapore. | Instagram | LinkedIn

Marcos Navarrete is an architect and researcher based in Barcelona, trained in regenerative design and artificial intelligence. After experience in large-scale practice, he now conducts AI research at IAAC, exploring how data-driven approaches can embrace the complexity of urban ecological and material systems. With academic experience at UPM, UPC, and SNU, he co-curated the 44th edition of EASA and has worked on two major architecture exhibitions at Barcelona’s Design Museum. He sees technological innovation and cultural practice as tools for advocating systemic change across the built environment. | Instagram | LinkedIn

Min Park is an Urban Designer and Researcher who recently completed a Master of City Planning at University College London. With a background in architecture from Seoul, her work bridges strategic planning, spatial design, and policy research. She has contributed to major UK and international master plans at Buro Happold and authored greenbelt policy recommendations for global city leaders with the C40 Cities, combining analytical rigour with a deep commitment to resilient, people-centred urban futures. | Instagram | LinkedIn

Josef Ponce is a Filipino architect with diverse experience in hospitality, residential, and institutional projects across Singapore and regional Asia. He is currently pursuing a Master’s in Sustainability in the Built Environment. An advocate for circular construction, he is collaborating with TECNALIA on his thesis, developing data-driven tools to assess the reuse potential of existing buildings. He strives to bridge research and practice through policy integration and envisions greater citizen involvement through participatory design. | Instagram | LinkedIn

Andrea Raos is a young architect from Croatia with international experience focused on adaptive reuse and sustainable design. Working across cultures has broadened her perspective and deepened her commitment to creating environmentally conscious architecture. She strives to understand diverse approaches to design, allowing her to learn from different contexts and contribute meaningfully to each. Her goal is to shape thoughtful, nature-friendly spaces that reflect both cultural sensitivity and sustainable innovation. | Instagram | LinkedIn

Nica Rawhani-Sabet is a British-Iranian MArch graduate and Environmental Engineer whose interdisciplinary practice bridges architecture, engineering, and the arts. Her work explores landscape as a living archive, uncovering complex narratives that connect environmental conservation, cultural memory, and indigenous knowledge. Through design, she seeks to create regenerative spaces that honor both ecological systems and human experiences. | Instagram | LinkedIn

Laurits Honoré Rønne lives in Copenhagen and works with art, architecture, and more recently curation. He graduated in 2024 from the Royal Danish Academy with an MA in Political Architecture: Critical Sustainability. Laurits is currently developing his own practice while taking part in two collectives - one curating video for public space, the other doing garden designs for businesses, industrial areas and institutions. | Instagram | LinkedIn

Laura Suvieri is an engineer passionate about exploring creative strategies for transforming the built environment toward sustainable futures. She is a PhD student at the University of Catania focusing on adaptive reuse, digital representation and urban surveying. She collaborates with the University of Perugia on municipal initiatives aimed at the ecological transition of existing buildings. In 2023-2024, she was a visiting researcher at Graz University of Technology, contributing to the Counterintuitive Building Types project. | Instagram | LinkedIn

Dilara Uçar is a master’s student in Urban Design in Berlin, with a background in City and Regional Planning and Architecture from Istanbul. Her interests focus on urban soils, landscape remediation, and regenerative building materials. She works at the intersection of architecture, design, and research, engaging with various scales to contribute to the transformation of the built environment. | Instagram | LinkedIn

Veronika Wenkeová holds a Bachelor’s in Architecture from Czech Technical University in Prague and is completing her Master’s in Civil Engineering at Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon. Her dissertation – partly developed during an Erasmus+ stay in Norway – focuses on sustainable building solutions across diverse climates. She believes that with dedication, anyone can help shape a better world. Combining architectural insight with engineering knowledge, she is passionate about contributing to a more sustainable built environment. | Instagram | LinkedIn

Britt Willems is a product design engineer with a masters degree in sustainable innovation, and is driven to rethink how we design, produce, consume and live. She wants to challenge business-as-usual and create products and systems that respect people and the planet. She believes real change happens when we work with the context, not against it. By working hands-on, listening deeply, and collaborating extensively, we can create solutions that are both bold and in the centre of what really matters. | Instagram | LinkedIn