Conference Speaker Bios

Torbjørn Anderssen represents one half of the design duo Anderssen & Voll, founded in 2009. He lives and works in Oslo. In 2000 he co-founded the well-known studio Norway Says. In 2002 he received a Master’s degree from the National College of Art and Design in Bergen, Norway. He was chosen for the Wallpaper Design Award in 2004 and 2008, and the Designprisen in 2010. He writes a monthly column for the magazine D2 and teaches at the National College of Art and Design in Bergen. (Anderssen &Voll’s conference appearance is sponsored by Norsk Form—Foundation for Design and Architecture in Norway, and the Royal Norwegian Consulate General in New York.)

Tim Duggan helped develop the Sustainable Landscapes program for the Make it Right Foundation, based in New Orleans. He has been developing design and implementation strategies for affordable, residential, LEED-Platinum landscapes and has worked with local community organizations and individuals on a wide variety of projects, from regenerative residential garden designs to citywide infrastructure initiatives that showcase sustainable recovery and development.

Francisco José Comes Fambuena is managing director of the Valencia-based contemporary lighting company Fambuena. He studied industrial design at the Peris Torres Academy, where in 1986, before graduating, he designed his first lamp collection for his family’s firm, Lámparas Comes. In 1995 he started a new company, Maniluz, now under the watch of his two younger brothers. In 2005 he met Vicente Garcia Jiménez and invited him to visit his factory. Together they formed Fambuena, where Garcia Jiménez is now artistic director. A dozen designers currently work for Fambuena, producing 26 collections and an architectural line for customers in 70 countries.

Vicente Garcia Jimenéz received an engineering technology degree in industrial design. He worked on lighting and furniture products for Santa & Cole in Barcelona before opening a studio in Udine, Italy in 2005. His projects include product design, exhibition design, and brand art installations. He collaborates with such companies as Cesar Cucine, Emmebi, Fambuena, Foscarini, Mido, Pallucco Italia o Tacchini.

As a young man, Geoffrey Harcourt won a scholarship to travel the United States visiting manufacturers and design offices, during which time he met luminaries Charles and Ray Eames, George Nelson, and others. He worked for a time at the Chicago office of Latham, Tyler and Jensen. Upon his return to Europe, he worked with Jacob Jensen in Copenhagen. In 1961 he started his own design practice in London. He has designed a substantial number of products for such notable clients as the Dutch furniture manufacturer Artifort. His furniture designs are manufactured under license in Japan and Italy. Today he spends much of his creative time painting in both watercolor and oils.

Ayush Kasliwal, a furniture design graduate from the National Institute of Design in Ahmadabad, India, founded AKDPL in Jaipur to take advantage of the large variety of crafts practiced in that city. With his architect wife, Geetanjali, he launched their flagship store, Anantaya, in Jaipur, selling a collection of carefully curated traditional and contemporary design objects. His products can also be found at stores such as Crate & Barrel, Anthropolgie, Gumps, Terran, and the Conran Shop.

Fatimata Ly graduated from Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design in London. She lives in Dakar, Senegal where eleven years ago she opened a gallery that promotes crafts and contemporary art from West Africa. As a designer, she recently took part in the Dakar’s Black World Arts Festival. She’s interested in using design as a problem-solving tool and is collaborating with Bibi Seck to find innovative ideas in Dakar’s urban areas.

Nani Marquina studied industrial design at the Escuela Massana. She launched her highly successful textile business Nanimarquina in 1987. The brand is dedicated to the design, creation, and distribution of rugs and textile products for the home, and is based on the values of observation, innovation, and enthusiasm, and the belief that craft traditions can be made contemporary.

Patrizia Moroso is the art director of Moroso, her family’s furniture manufacturing company. She joined the management team in the mid-1980s and built the firm into a leading international design brand. Her interest in all forms of art has led to collaborations with such figures as Ron Arad (1988), Patricia Urquiola (1999), Tord Boontje (2004), and TokujinYoshioka (2007). Patrizia is known for her feminine approach to tactile elements, encouraging designers to work on the skin of objects and employ techniques such as weaving, plaiting, and embroidery in a fusion of technology and craft. Her collections are reflections of different geographies and cultures.

Eleni Reed joined the U.S. General Services Administration in 2010, and serves as the Chief Greening Officer at GSA’s Public Buildings Service (PBS). In this role she works to implement sustainability practices that will enhance the environmental performance of GSA’s real estate portfolio, in support of the agency’s sustainability plan. She leads the agency’s Green Proving Ground Program, an initiative designed to investigate the viability of innovative green building technologies and practices. Prior to coming to GSA, Reed was Director of Sustainability Strategies with Cushman and Wakefield’s Client Solutions Group. Her prior public service includes working with the City of New York’s Mayor’s Office of Operations, where she led the implementation of the city’s Green Building Standards Law.

Jeff Reuschel joined Haworth in 1981 as an associate project engineer. He now serves as the Holland, Michigan furniture giant’s Global Design Director. He is responsible for researching individual and group performance in work settings; transforming the research into real products; and identifying new, complimentary markets around the world. He serves on the board of trustees at the Grand Rapid Art Museum and as a regional advisor for Design West Michigan.

Bibi Seck was born in Paris and grew up in London, Paris, and Dakar. He earned an MA in Industrial Design from Paris’s Ecole Superieure des Arts Appliques in 1990, then worked as a designer for Renault for twelve years. In 2002, he co-founded the product design firm Birsel + Seck (B+S) with his wife and partner, designer Ayse Birsel. The company works with industry leaders such as Herman Miller and Target to bring innovation to market, translating product concepts into well-designed, high-quality, mass-manufactured products. Seck is an advocate for sustainable design. Recently he and Birsel designed the M’Afrique furniture collection for Moroso, working closely with local craftspeople in Dakar. In 2010 he joined the board of the Dakar Biennale. He has taught at Strate Collège Designers, in Paris; the Université de Technologie de Compiègne; and most recently, Pratt Institute, in Brooklyn, NY.

Ane Lillian Tveit, an occupational therapist, is the founder and CEO of the Norwegian firm so-ro, Inc. She studied wood and metal work in Sagavoll Folkehøyskole, and got her OT degree in 1999 from Oslo University College. She works with children, and her inventive cradle design, the first in the so-ro series, reflects this focus. In 2010 she received the Award for Design Excellence from the Norwegian Design Council for the cradle. (Her conference appearance is sponsored by Norsk Form—Foundation for Design and Architecture in Norway, and the Royal Norwegian Consulate General in New York.)

Espen Voll represents one half of the design duo Anderssen & Voll, founded in 2009. He lives and works in Oslo, was trained as a furniture designer at Oslo’s National College of Art, and studied design at the Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam. He is a member of Norwegian Industrial Designers (MNID). Before partnering with Torbjørn Anderssen, Espen designed award-winning street furniture and was one of the founders of the renowned studio Norway Says. (Anderssen &Voll’s conference appearance is sponsored by Norsk Form—Foundation for Design and Architecture in Norway, and the Royal Norwegian Consulate General in New York.)

Russ Wheeler has been the president of Hansgrohe/AXOR USA since 2006. He oversees a diverse team of 250 employees and works closely with his colleagues at the Hansgrohe/AXOR world headquarters in Germany’s Black Forest. He’s been involved in product development, production, and worldwide distribution strategy for both the Hansgrohe and AXOR brands. Before Hansgrohe/AXOR, Wheeler held leadership positions at Home Depot, Jacuzzi Whirlpool Bath, and other brands.

Barcelona-born Cristian Zuzunaga lives and works in London. He studied type and graphic design at the London College of Communication, and earned an MA from the Royal College of Art in London, where he began exploring the use of pixels to produce unique visual landscapes. Since 2004, Zuzunaga, has approached the urban environment as a metaphor that reflects our own evolution. His work deals with gravity, abstraction, randomness, repetition, time, and space.