Speakers

Please select the tabs below to learn more about our sensational Banff Session 2026 speakers.

Daniel Baumann

Henning Larsen

Daniel Baumann is a Principal and Design Director at Henning Larsen, where he co-leads the firm’s New York studio. Daniel joined Henning Larsen’s Copenhagen office during a period of rapid international growth, and has worked across Henning Larsen’s studios in Europe, the Middle East, and North America. These experiences inform his approach to architecture as a meeting point between cultures, climates, and social conditions.
 
Henning Larsen’s work builds on a legacy of working with light, context, and landscape, extending Scandinavian design traditions through an urban and environmental lens to address contemporary challenges of livability and sustainability. Across scales, the practice seeks to create architecture and urban environments where beauty emerges through performance, social value, and environmental responsibility. In his role, Daniel leads multidisciplinary teams to translate these principles into projects that shape meaningful everyday experiences.
 
Daniel’s project experience spans mixed-use districts, civic buildings, and campus developments across North America and Europe, including the Enterprise Research Campus adjacent to Harvard Business School, Raleigh City Hall, Visa Global Headquarters at Mission Rock in San Francisco, and Toronto’s Downsview Framework, covering a 520-acre development.
 
He holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and a Master of Architecture from the Bartlett School of Architecture at University College London.


Annie Bergeron

Gensler

As a Design Director and Principal in Gensler’s Toronto office, Annie has more than 30 years of experience designing for tech, media, financial services companies. In her role, she oversees the strategic planning, design, construction, and branding implementation for trusted clients such as Pinterest, IndexExchange, IBM, and SpinMaster.

A highly regarded global workplace expert, Annie works closely with the Gensler Research Institute to uncover the latest industry trends and insights, and is both an active critic and guest lecturer at local universities. While her creative drive has garnered dozens of awards, her passion for mentorship has inspired and elevated those around her.

Outside of work, you can find Annie filling up her creative cup through French literature, fiber arts, and sneakers.


Claire Weisz

WXY

Claire Weisz, FAIA, Hon. FRAIC, Hon. ASLA, is a founding partner of WXY, a New York City and Toronto-based architecture, urban design, and planning firm globally recognized for its community-centered approach. WXY acts at every scale: from the intimacy of an interior to the complexity of a city, and from the scale of a conversation to that of a generation. Their work includes memorable structures like SeaGlass at The Battery, the Arverne East Welcome Center, and the Rockaway Boardwalk, as well as precedent-setting planning and urban design projects. Weisz's belief in the importance of public space and dialogue in creating a regenerative, equitable, and inclusive world is the driving force behind everything WXY does.

Todd Saunders

Saunders Architecture

Todd Saunders is a Norway-based Canadian architect known to infuse his contemporary buildings with an artistic sensibility that is deeply in tune with the uniqueness of northern terrains. His use of natural materials and simple yet striking geometries sets him apart as one of the most celebrated architects of his generation. He is recognized for constructing buildings that acknowledge and understand vernacular histories but create something entirely new.

Born in Gander, Newfoundland, Saunders studied architecture at McGill University in Montreal before moving to Norway and establishing Saunders Architecture in Bergen in 1998. Todd lectures worldwide and was a guest lecturer at Harvard University. His work has been the subject of three books, including Todd Saunders: New Northern Houses. He has been a visiting professor at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York and at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, and continues to combine teaching with practice.

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