Glenn Murcutt is returning to the 3^rd International Architecture Competition after having served on both 1^st and 2^nd competitions' juries. Located in Sydney, Murcutt was the first Australian recipient of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, awarded to him in 2002. Murcutt's work has been lauded as architecture of place with designs that respond to the surrounding landscape and climate. He uses a variety of materials in his designs and only selects them after careful consideration of the amount of energy used to produce each of the materials. Murcutt is known for his Thoreau-like simplistic approach to architecture and his commitment to the Aboriginal proverb to "touch the earth lightly" with his projects.

Kimmo Lintula hails from Finland and is the co-designer, with Hannu Tikka, of the now-famous Sibelius Hall, the striking congress and concert centre in Lahti, Finland. The Sibelius Hall, an auditorium that imitates the body of an oversized wooden instrument encased in a glass cube, was the 1^st place winning entry in an open competition to redesign the centre. The Sibelius Hall is one of many public buildings that Lintula's architecture style has touched, including the Sipoo High School and IT College, an extension to the Lahti city centre, the Helsinki city hall quarters, and the refurbishment of the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki. Lintula is a partner at K2S Architects Ltd., Helsinki, whose vision is based on what they call "The Four Roots," to describe good architecture. These include 1) quality in space, materials and structure that touches ones soul, 2) the relationship between the building and its surroundings, 3) sensitivity to material and light but with a modest approach, and 4) creating innovation. The architects combine these four roots to create a method they actively use in their work.

Mark Middleton is a Partner at Grimshaw Architects and has worked on a variety of projects during his 12 years at the practice including the education, leisure and transport sectors. He has a specific interest in steel structures, developed through his work within the transport industry, designing large span steel structures for airports and rail stations. Several of these structures have gone on to win Structural Steel Design Awards both in the United Kingdom and Australia. Among Mark's most notable projects are the redevelopment of Paddington Station in London, the new Thermae Spa in Bath, and Southern Cross Station in Melbourne, which won the RIBA Lubetkin prize in 2007. Mark has recently led the winning team in an architecture competition to redevelop Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg, Russia. His other current projects include various schemes for BAA's Heathrow Airport and railway stations for Newport and Reading in the UK. Photo source: Nick Cooney

Patricia Patkau, principal of Patkau Architects, an internationally recognized architectural design studio based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Since its founding, Patkau Architects has received numerous national and international design awards for a wide variety of building types, including ten Governor General's Medals, four Progressive Architecture Awards, thirteen Canadian Architect Awards of Excellence, and an RAIC Innovation in Architecture Award of Excellence. Over 200 books have been published on the firm's projects. Patkau's firm seeks to explore the full richness and diversity of architectural practice, understanding it as a critical cultural act that engages society's most fundamental desires and aspirations. The firm embraces a multi-faceted definition of architecture - as art, as technology, as social service, as environmental agent, as political statement - enfolding all these definitions, together, as part of a rich, complex and vital discipline.

The homes constructed from the competition's winning designs will be part of a community for use by employees of Russian steel maker, SeverStal JSC, headquartered in Cherepovets.

Sergey Skuratov, president of Sergey Skuratov Architects in Moscow, is well-known as a catalyst for change in the capital city’s architecture, so much so that he was named “Honorary Builder of Moscow City” in 1999. Skuratov is a professor for the International Academy of Architecture as well as a member of the Board of the Union of Moscow Architects. He is a three-time laureate of the “Golden Section” prize, as well as numerous Russian and international contests and festivals. Recently, Skuratov lead a workshop that produced a design for a district in Moscow that was credited with being a new variant in town-planning that was more than just a plan or a list of recommendations. Rather its detailed image of a new district demonstrated a concern with the psychological problems of the locality, working to bring a new soul into the district.

Alexei Venediktov General Director, SeverStal Steel Solutions and overseer of the Cherepovets development where the demonstration housing will be built by Severstal, will provide vital input on the community and requirements of the steel demonstration building. Venediktov carries a Masters in Business degree with Newcastle Business School, United Kingdom, and resides in Cherepovets.