2024 Judging Panel

Manuel Rabaté

Born in March 1976, Manuel Rabaté is a graduate of the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po, 1998), and of HEC Business School (2001). He began his career as a Deputy Director at the auditorium of the Musée du Louvre from 2002 until 2005. He participated among other things in the creation of new programmes on Islamic Arts in the context of the first performance contract concluded between the French government and the museum for its modernisation. He joined the Musée du quai Branly as a Deputy Director of Cultural Development a year before its opening in 2006, and structured the administrative and financial management of many key issues for the opening. After the opening, he led the launching of the first exhibitions abroad including "Masques - Beauté des Esprits" exhibition at the Bahrain National Museum, 2008. Manuel Rabaté joined Agence France-Muséums in 2008, a year after the signing of the intergovernmental agreement between France and the United Arab Emirates marking the birth of the Louvre Abu Dhabi project. Subsequently, he has followed the project from its conceptual phase until its operational implementation as a Secretary General and the acting CEO since 2010. He was appointed CEO of Agence France-Museums in 2013 under the proposal of the Board of Directors and its Chairman, Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière, to set up in Abu Dhabi a multidisciplinary team of museum professionals and follow through the phases of the project realization in collaboration with the major French museums and their UAE partners.

In September 2016, Manuel Rabaté was appointed Director of Louvre Abu Dhabi by Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi). Aside from his duties in the service of museums, Manuel Rabaté has also chaired the reflection group-Culture & Management, in which he had created the museum department. He has also taught Arts and Cultural Management at various universities in France and Abu Dhabi (Paris-Dauphine University, Paris-Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi since the establishment of the Master in "History of Art and Museum.

Prof. Thomas Daniell

Thomas Daniell is Professor of Architectural Theory and Criticism at Kyoto University, Japan, and was previously head of the Department of Architecture at the University of Saint Joseph, Macau. He has also taught at Kyoto Seika University, University of Hong Kong, University of Tokyo, Chandigarh University, COMSATS University Islamabad, ENSA-Marseille, SCI-Arc, TU Munich, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and Victoria University of Wellington. He holds a B.B.Sc and a B.Arch with honors from Victoria University of Wellington, an M.Eng from Kyoto University, and a Ph.D from RMIT University. His doctoral dissertation received the Vice Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Thesis in a Higher Degree by Research.

As a practicing architect, he has worked in the offices of Shin Takamatsu, OMA, and FOBA, prior to establishing his own office in 2005. In 2014, he was awarded second place in the Geert Bekaert Prize for Architectural Criticism and received a commendation in the CICA (International Committee of Architectural Critics) Pierre Vago Award. In 2016 he was the recipient of an Academic Fellowship at the Chiba Institute of Technology, Tokyo. In 2017 he was the recipient of the M+/Design Trust Fellowship, Hong Kong. In 2019 he was a Research Fellow at the Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montreal. A two-time recipient of publication grants from the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, he is author of FOBA: Buildings (Princeton Architectural Press, 2005), After the Crash: Architecture in Post-Bubble Japan (Princeton Architectural Press, 2008), Houses and Gardens of Kyoto (Tuttle, 2010, second edition 2018), Kiyoshi Sey Takeyama + Amorphe (Equal Books, 2011), Kansai 6 (Equal Books, 2011), and An Anatomy of Influence (AA Publications, 2018).

Kieran Long

Kieran Long is relocating from Stockholm, where he served as director at ArkDes, the Swedish Centre for Architecture and Design. Long graduated from Cardiff University in 1998 with a degree in English literature.

Long has undertaken a number of journalism roles, including deputy editor of Icon magazine 2003–2006 and editor in chief of the Architects' Journal and the Architectural Review 2007–2009. Long was also the architecture critic for the London Evening Standard newspaper 2010–2014. His television work includes presenting 'Restoration Home' and 'The House That £100k Built' for the BBC.

Long was assistant director to David Chipperfield at the 2012 Venice Biennale of Architecture. He was senior curator at the department of design, architecture and digital at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) 2013–2014 and was the keeper of the department from 2014 to April 2017.

As of 18 April 2017, Long is the Director of ArkDes, The (state-run) Swedish Center for Architecture and Design, in Stockholm. Long was credited with developing an ambitious exhibition programme and taking ArkDes to the Venice Biennale. Some former employees have questioned the reorganisation of ArkDes.

Long co-authored a book about the architect Sigurd Lewerentz, with the title "Sigurd Lewerentz Architect of Death and Life". The book takes its starting point from the ArkDes collection and the results of the main authors Johan Örn and Mikael Andersson's many years of research.

He is married to Swedish designer Sofia Lagerkvist.

In 2021, Long was named as a Bloomberg New Economy Catalyst

Johnny Fu

Mr. Johnny Fu is an architect who actively strives for quality in customers' experience, wellness, and sustainable design. As a Senior Manager at The Hong Kong Jockey Club, he utilizes his expertise in hospitality design to guide the development of major projects within The Club. He collaborates with various stakeholders to develop project briefs that serve as the foundation for creating sustainable and customer-centric projects.

Throughout his career, Johnny has primarily focused on hospitality design and strategic development, crafting designs that anticipate customers' needs, especially the gen-Y and gen-Z. He has successfully managed numerous master planning, architectural, and interior design hotel projects across the APEX region, including an ultra-luxury resort in Miyakojima. Johnny works closely with members of the design consultant team throughout all project phases, fostering an interdisciplinary approach to the design process.

 Johnny holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the Illinois Institute of Technology and is a licensed architect in the State of Illinois. He is currently a member of The American Institute of Architects and serves as the 2024 President of the Hong Kong Chapter.

Nobuo Iwashita

Nobuo Iwashita is the Director of Design/Architect at Kajima Development in Singapore. He has been involved in various projects across Japan, Hawaii, Singapore, Phuket, and Bali, including condominiums, office buildings, mixed-use developments, private houses, and resorts.

Borin in Tokyo Japan, he obtained Bachelor and  Master’s degree from Tokyo Institute of Technology and a Master’s from Columbia University in New York.

His career includes roles at Kajima Design /Tokyo, KPF/ New York, and Hualalai Development Company /Hawaii. Since 2010, in his current position he has spearheaded projects in Singapore, Phuket, and Bali, such as Bishopsgate Residences, Woodleigh Residences, Ther GEAR, Avadina Hills and Raffles Bali. 

Beyond his professional endeavors, he has shared his knowledge and insights as a part-time lecturer at Kyoto University of the Arts. He's also made contributions to architectural publication. He has co-authored "Tokyo/Shinohara Kazuo" and has translated works such as "Private Retreat" and "White Wall, Designer Dresses."

Koichi Tanaka

Koichi Tanaka is the founder and CEO, and Director of LIGHTLINKS, a Japanese lighting designer and consultant and has a wealth of experience in Japan, Hong Kong and Europe. He graduated from University College London with a Master’s degree in Light and Lighting, which is Europe's long standing lighting specialist graduate course. He has worked for several well-known lighting manufacturers and design firms in Japan and Europe. His professional background will make it possible in a design process to easily communicate with the project managers, architects, designers, contractors, and other consultants for any type of international projects.

LIGHTLINKS INTERNATIONAL LIMITED was founded in Hong Kong and Tokyo to provide professional lighting design and consulting services for wide range of projects. LIGHTLINKS's design philosophy is literally based on “LINKAGE”. They see LIGHT as a valuable media, which can link people with society and function as a bridge between people who have different cultures and custom and believe LIGHT is something that can link art, design and technology. Some of the major works include: in Hong Kong, “The Mills”, “Central Market”, “The Quayside”, in Macau “MGM Cotai Emerald Villas”, “Melco Studio City Phase2”, In China, “Hyatt Regency Liberation Square Chongqing”, “Shenzhen Prince Bay K11&Dpark”, “Nohga Hotel Akihabara Tokyo” in Japan, etc.