The Decision Makers

Born in Sweden, Helena Glantz received a postgraduate degree from the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm in 1998. She spent 13 years working for various architectural firms in Sweden before co-founding the Urban Design agency in 2001. Her work focuses on design in relation to urbanity and encompasses offices, living spaces, brand identity and technical systems. Helena Glantz and her team won the Brick Award 2018, in the category ‘Building outside the box’, for the Värten biomass-fired power plant, and have won and been nominated for several other awards.
 
Architectural office: Urban Design
 
‘It is exciting to see how differently various cultures express their understanding of architecture and how the same material is used differently in different climates’. 

Jonathan Sergison was born in Great Britain and graduated from the Architectural Association School of Architecture in 1989. In 1996, together with Stephen Bates, he founded the architectural practice Sergison Bates in London, which specialises in urban planning, public buildings and residential buildings. 
The practice has gained international recognition by winning various awards, including the Heinrich Tessenow Gold Medal and the Erich Schelling Medal for Architecture 2006. It was also included on the Domus magazine list of the ‘100+ Best Architecture firms 2019’. 
 
Architectural office: Sergison Bates
 
‘The Award provides an excellent overview of the culture of brick architecture around the world, and significantly contributes to supporting it’.

Tina Gregorič studied at the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Ljubljana and at the Architectural Association in London. In 2003, together with Aljoša Dekleva, she founded Dekleva Gregorič Architects, which takes a ‘research by design’ and ‘design by research’ approach to its work. The team undertakes projects on various scales, and with different purposes, in a range of locations and climate zones. Its most well-known projects include the University Campus Livade 1.0 (Izola), the XXS House (Ljubljana) and the Clifftop House (Maui). They share their knowledge of building theory with students at the Technical University of Vienna.
 
Architectural office: Dekleva Gregorič Architects
 
‘It is time that brick – as an ecological building material – be put centre stage and recognised as a reusable, sustainable material’.

Born in Barcelona, Toni Gironès Saderra studied at the Vallès School of Architecture and at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. His work focuses on the everyday life of people and how they identify with their environment, in order to find the best possible solution for any space. Since 1993, his professional work has gained recognition through awards, publications and exhibitions. His most famous works include the Climate Museum (Lleida), 80 social housing apartments (Salou) and 35 houses and the spaces linking them to the city (Badalona).
 
Architectural office: Estudi d'arquitectura toni gironès saderra
 
‘Architecture is the intermediary between people and the places where they live. The versatility of bricks make them the perfect material to create this link’.

Mette Kynne Frandsen completed her degree at the School of Architecture of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in 1987. Since 1993, she has been working at Henning Larsen Architects, and was promoted to CEO in 2003. This international architectural firm, with almost 350 employees, focuses on creating dynamic and sustainable architecture. Frandsen has been named one of the top 100 female executives in Denmark and one of the 30 ‘must-know’ female architects of 2017. Her best-known work includes The Wave in Denmark and the Eystur Town Hall in Iceland.
 
Architectural office: Henning Larsen Architects
 
‘The number of high-quality and inspiring submissions shows just how important the Brick Award is for the industry’.