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Review Team

Rafael Portillo (Architecture)
Founder Artificial Kreativity, UK.
Rafael founded Artificial Kreativity as a design-led architecture studio merging technology, art, and architecture, with the aim to advance society. With his studio, he is supporting the creative community with the Cross Pollinator Project. It aims to make architecture accessible to everyone and expose students to the profession through a multi-disciplinary approach. For over 10 years, he has reviewed portfolios for architecture candidates applying to Cornell University’s architecture school in New York. Prior to launching his studio, he worked with Zaha Hadid Architects. His career spans over 18 years of designing iconic buildings at multiple scales ranging from cultural buildings, FIFA stadiums, masterplans, commercial retail, and private residential designs. Key projects comprise Pierres Vives, Chartres Parc des Expo, Symbiotic Villa, and Diyar Town Center Masterplan. Design interests stem from music, art, landscape, fashion, creativity, and technology. He is a native of Los Angeles, received his BArch from Cornell University, MArch from the Architectural Association, and was on the board of trustees with London Play.

Marta Kowalewska (Art + textile)
Chief curator at the Central Museum of Textiles in Łódź (CMWŁ), Poland
Marta Kowalewska is an art historian and critic. She curated the 16th, 17th, and 18th International Triennial of Textiles in Łódź, as well as exhibitions including Magdalena Abakanowicz. Everything is made of fiber (2025), Wojciech Sadley. Sacrum Profanum. Contemporary Discourse (2025), Antoni Starczewski. Moulding the Ideas (2024), and Metamorphism. Magdalena Abakanowicz (2017-18). Kowalewska has published over 70 articles, essays, professional interviews, exhibition catalogues, and contributed to both Polish and international institutions in Zacheta Warsaw, TATE Modern, Muzeum Susch/Hatje Cantz, and Musée Bourdelle. She co-authored From Tapestry to Fiber Art: The Lausanne Biennials 1962-1995 (2017) and has edited several books including Textile Textures. Multithreaded narratives (2024), Antoni Starczewski. The Idea of Linear Notation (2022), Magdalena Abakanowicz. Metamorphism (2018), and Splendour of Textiles (2013). She is a board member of the European Textile Network, chairs the Supervisory Board of the Marta Magdalena Abakanowicz-Kosmowska and Jan Kosmowski Foundation, a member of AICA, co-founded Textile Culture Net project, and served on several international juries for textile art.
She is our guest speaker for Kreative Talks on Textile Arts.

Amy Peacock (Media)
Architecture Reporter at Deezen, UK
Amy Peacock is an architecture journalist at Dezeen, where she reports on the latest news in architecture, design and the built environment. Based in London, she holds an undergraduate degree in architecture from the University of Liverpool and a master’s degree from the University of Strathclyde. Drawing on her architectural training, she is driven to uncover compelling stories and emerging ideas shaping the industry.

Chris Dyson (Architecture)
Founder of Chris Dyson Architects, UK.
Chris Dyson is a London-based architect known for combining contemporary design with a deep respect for historic context and craftsmanship. As founder of Chris Dyson Architects, he has led projects ranging from cultural and civic buildings to housing, hotels and sensitive heritage restorations across the United Kingdom. His work is recognised for its human scale, material richness, and commitment to sustainability, often bringing new life to overlooked urban sites. Educated in Britain and shaped by experience at Oxford Brookes and Glasgow schools of Architecture, Dyson advocates for architecture that is socially engaged, environmentally responsible and rooted in the character and memory of place.

Janek Schaefer (Sound + Art)
Sound Artist, UK.
Sound Artist, entertainer & visiting professor, Janek Schaefer trained as an Architect at the Royal College of Art, where he developed his focus on the relationship between sound, space and place, and started his art career, by posting a sound activated tape recorder [Recorded Delivery], for the exhibition with Brian Eno and Artangel. The context of each idea is central to its development and resolution, often exploring themes of appropriation, accident, & alteration. For 35 years his installation work frequently addresses the implications of the way we are living. He has exhibited and performed in 30 countries worldwide, from The Tate Modern, via Pompidou & MIT, to The Sydney Opera House. In 2008 'Extended Play' won a Paul Hamlyn Award & the British Composer of the Year Award in Sonic Art. He has released 40+ albums, won UK 'Best Mobile DJ' in 2020, and The Bluecoat gallery has exhibited a Retrospective of his career.

Dagmar Binsted (Architecture)
Associate at Scott Brownrigg Architects, UK.
With a passion about the future of the architecture profession, Dagmar is involved with apprenticeship programs to teaching professional practice and mentoring students within Scott Brownrigg Architects, RIBA (Royal Institute of Architects), and Oxford Brookes University. This includes being part of the initial start-up of the Architecture Apprenticeship Trailblazer group, at Scott Brownrigg Architects. It emphasises in-practice experience by combining work-based learning with academic training. Professionally she has worked on international projects ranging from commercial development to student housing, and large scale refurbishments. She was the chair of SLSA (South London Society of Architects—RIBA Southwest and Southeast) and served on the Practice Committee and Education Trust Fund Committee as part of her role as a member of the RIBA council and RIBA London regional council. Raised in Transylvania (Romania) and Bavaria (Germany) she received her architecture degree, Dipl-Ing, at the Technical University of Munich and has worked in Germany, Luxembourg, and the UK. As a student her work experience included a three month internship at the Chinati Foundation in Texas (USA).

Ottilie Thornhill (Arts + Culture)
ARUP, UK
Ottilie manages global arts and culture projects at ARUP. Her work includes designing visual and performing arts projects (concert halls, pavilions, public art strategies), to the full lifecycle of a project. This involves creating concepts and meaningful visions for local communities to enhancing in-use operations for buildings. Her experience is grounded in the need to create spaces for real people to live and work. Within ARUP Thornhill has supported with a unique blend of arts operations, digital transformation projects, and international event delivery. As a digital generalist, she brings knowledge of digital twins, AV, productivity and unified communication technologies. She is the producer of the Therme Forum on Theatre and Architecture and manages Arup's contribution to the Future of Arts and Culture project. Previous roles include the Royal Ballet and Opera and the V&A. Ottilie's current projects include work in Singapore, the UAE, and Brazil

Bridget Munro (Architecture)
Associate at RSHP, UK
Bridget Munro is an architect with 18 years of experience leading complex, multi-stakeholder projects from competition stage through to delivery. Her work spans diverse building typologies and scales—from masterplans and airports to university campuses, commercial buildings, and embassies—requiring navigation of varied regulatory frameworks, client expectations, and end-user needs. At RSHP, she has played key roles in award-winning projects including a competition-winning masterplan in central Paris, a net-positive terminal at Geneva Airport, and a BREEAM Outstanding and WELL Gold certified office building in London. Beyond RSHP, she is a mother to 2 young daughters, having returned from her second maternity leave less than a year ago, an avid reader, and a passionate supporter of the performing arts.

More to come!

Guest Presentations from our Cross Pollinators

Coming Soon! (XPollinator)

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