Jury & Selection Committee

Eugen Vaida is an architect at Asociatia Monumentum, which has been a member organisation of Europa Nostra since 2019. He is a graduate of the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Architecture and Urban Planning „Ion Mincu”, in Bucharest. Among his many projects, Eugen coordinated the Daia Heritage Valorization Plan, developed by the Global Heritage Fund in 2017-2018, and is currently coordinating The Ambulance for Monuments project, which won an Award and the Public Choice Award at the European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards 2020. He had a defining role in the development of the summer school movement in Romania which has its key mission in educating young architects and students. He is a Member of the Advisory Group for the European Commission on heritage policies, the Founding member and president of The Federation for Transylvanian Heritage and advisor for the Romanian Ministry for Culture and National Identity. Eugen Vaida published numerous literary works on cultural heritage, including “Saving the culture of the other” (Alţîna, 2021) and “The Architectural Guidebook For Contextual Planning in the Saxon Area” of the Order of Romanian Architects (RURAL Working Group). Eugen Vaida became an Ashoka Fellow in November 2021, benefitting from a lifetime bursary to continue his work in the field of heritage from the world’s leading social entrepreneurship organisation. For its dedicated efforts in the education of the public of all generation, Asociatia Monumentum, lead by Eugen Vaida, was knighted by The Romanian Presidency in 2021.

Dr. Pavlos Chatzigrigoriou is a Civil Engineer with a MSc in Architecture (Conservation and Restoration) and a second MSc in Environmental City Planning. In 2012, Pavlos obtained his PhD from the School of Architecture of National Technical University of Athens. His thesis concerned the digital documentation of the Historic Buildings of Hermoupolis. The project, “HERmoupolis Management e-System ” was subsequently upgraded to “HERMES”: an open source platform for heritage and historic buildings. In 2015, “HERMES” was awarded the EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Award in Category Research and Digitisation. Pavlos is currently a post-doctoral researcher in the Interaction Systems Design Lab (University of Aegean) and teaches “Digital Heritage” at the Polytechnic School of the University. His current research efforts focus on digital tools for education on cultural heritage and the possibilities of digitally linking architecture with intangible cultural heritage. He is the chair of the non-profit NGO “HERMeS”, where he works on digital documentation of cultural heritage using various applications (mobile apps, museum installations etc). He is also a project officer at the EU Management Organisation Unit for digital heritage projects in the Region of South Aegean, Greece.

Sara Crofts trained as an architect at Edinburgh College of Art where she specialised in historic building conservation. She then worked for a number of architectural practices dealing with the repair and conservation of historic buildings in both Edinburgh and Cumbria.

Having undertaken the Lethaby Scholarship awarded by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings in 2003, Sara Crofts worked as the SPAB’s Churches Caseworker for a spell before being appointed as the Project Director of the SPAB Faith in Maintenance project in 2006. The Faith in Maintenance training project ran for five years during which time she delivered 150 courses for Anglican, Methodist, United Reformed Church, Roman Catholic and Jewish groups and trained more than 5,000 volunteers throughout England and Wales.

Sara Crofts’ next role was Deputy Director of the SPAB and then, in 2015, she joined the Heritage Lottery Fund as Head of Historic Environment where her role focussed on policy and strategy development including training and skills.

She returned to the voluntary sector to take up the role of Chief Executive at Icon in January 2019. Her role includes oversight of Icon’s training and professional development activities as well as their accreditation framework.

Over the course of her professional career, Sabine Nemec-Piguet has participated in several studies on the improvement and assessment of historical urban quarters in, for example, Yverdon and Geneva. She graduated with a Master’s degree in Architecture from l’Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne – EPFL in 1978, with a thesis on the revitalisation of an industrial quarter in the city of Geneva. In 1981, Sabine Nemec-Piguet became an architect-city planner in the Regional Service for Monuments and Historical Sites, in the Department of Public Works. From 2002-2008, she was the Director of the Regional Service for Monuments and Historical Sites in the state of Geneva. This was followed by the position of Director of the General Office for Heritage and Historical Sites for the state of Geneva from 2008-2019. This agency comprises three services: the service for archaeology, the service for monuments and sites, and the service for the inventory of monuments. As such, the General Office employed 40 staff members under her leadership.
Sabine Nemec-Piguet is member of the Federal Commission for Historic Monuments Preservation (Switzerland). She has published numerous works, most notably on the urban and architectural development of Geneva, the legal framework of urban development, and Geneva’s heritage.

Antonio Lamas is Professor Emeritus (retired) of Structural Engineering and Built Heritage at the Instituto Superior Técnico – University of Lisbon, having held that position since 1985. He is Vice-president of the General Assembly (GA) of the Portuguese Academy of Engineering and a Member of the Ordem dos Engenheiros (Institute of Engineers). Antonio Lamas is President of the Jury of the annual Gulbenkian Heritage Prize – Tereza e Vasco Vilalva and a Member of the Advisory Council of “Festival Terras Sem Sombra”. He is also President of the GA of the Cultural Association “Estudos Gerals do Alvito” (Alentejo) and Chairman of the GA of the Portuguese Association for Steel and Composite Construction (CMM).

Some notable previous positions that Antonio Lamas has held are President of the Portuguese Institute for Cultural Heritage (IPPC) of the Ministry of Culture (1987-1990); CEO of “Parques de Sintra – Monte da Lua SA” (2006-2014); Member of the Architectural and Archaeological Section of the National Council for Culture (2012-2016) and; CEO of the Cultural Centre of the Belém Foundation (November 2104 – March 2016).

Antonio Lamas was an external member of the General Council (governing body) of the University of Évora (2017-2021) and was also President of the Portuguese Road Authority (Junta Autónoma de Estradas) – Ministry of Public Works (1998-2000); and non-executive member of the Board of Brisa, SA (2004-2009).
Some of the most notable decorations and awards received by Antonio Lamas over the course of his career were the Order of Infante Dom Henrique – Grand Officer (2014); Silver Medal of Tourist Merit (2009); Gold Medal of the Municipality of Sintra (2012); Honorary Member of the Portuguese Association of Historical Gardens (2018) and; Special Mention of the Jury of the European Heritage Awards / Europa Nostra Awards, 2021: Dedicated Service to Heritage.

Since July 2010, he is President of the Fondation des Bernardins.
He is also President of the Palladio Foundation, Vice-President of the Fondation du Patrimoine, Vice-President of the Vieilles Maisons Françaises and Vice-President of Europa Nostra.

After a legal education, Sciences Po and the Ecole du Louvre, Bertrand de Feydeau began his career in real estate (Union Internationale Immobilière Group) and participated, as Financial Director, in its development throughout the world between 1972 and 1982.

In 1982, he joined Claude Bébéar’s team as Director of real estate activities, a regional insurance group which, in a few years, under the name AXA, would become one of the world’s leading financial groups.

In 2000, at the request of Bishop Lustiger, he joined the Diocese of Paris as Director General of Economic Affairs and assumed responsibility for the restoration of the Collège des Bernardins, inaugurated in September 2008.