Design Director (Architecture & Sustainability)

Mike Smith

Michael Smith Masís is an architect who believes that cities are not built by concrete alone, but by the hands, hearts, and hopes of the people who live in them. From San José, Costa Rica, his journey has been guided by one question: what if design gave ownership back to those who have always been left out of it?

His practice works with low-income residents, rural and indigenous communities, and informal settlements — the true protagonists of the city. With them, he has co-created housing, public spaces, and processes shaped by replicability, functionality, and environmental care. The result? Over 35 awards (and counting), 70+ publications, 300 conferences across 25 countries, and still the same energy he had when he first picked up a drawing pencil.

Michael has been recognized internationally — from the Archiprix International in Shanghai for the world’s best graduation project, to the Harvard Loeb Fellowship in Advanced Environmental Studies, to the Civic and Educational Architectures Award in Guatemala, among many others. (Let’s just say his passport has seen more architecture stamps than most people’s luggage.)

Beyond practice, Michael has taught and lectured at places like Harvard, the AA in London, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Universidad de los Andes, Buenos Aires, Costa Rica, and more. He has also curated and juried international biennales across Latin America. In 2020, he founded Spatial Justice — a Latin-American research platform that recently earned honors at the Ibero-American Design Biennial in Madrid.

When he isn’t working on architecture that transforms communities, Michael is busy promoting timber entrepreneurship in Costa Rica, pushing sustainable construction from the ground up. Recently, Forbes named him one of 24 creative personalities in Central America — though if you ask him, he’ll tell you the true award is when a community takes ownership of a space and makes it their own.

Art Director (Art Festivals & Exhibitions)

Abram Santa Cruz

Abram Santa Cruz is an artist, designer, and storyteller who happens to work with one of the most elusive materials of all — light. As Founder and Creative Director of Liquid PXL, a Los Angeles–based art and design studio, he has spent more than a decade creating large-scale, immersive installations that transform public spaces into places of wonder, reflection, and connection. His work is part science, part play, and part invitation to experience the city in ways that feel alive.

Drawing on his background as a graphic designer, photographer, and painter, Abram fuses technology with public art in ways that often blur the line between sculpture and spectacle. His studio has produced both temporary and permanent works that have been featured in over 60 major festivals and city-sponsored events worldwide — from Jerusalem’s Light in Jerusalem Festival and Liverpool’s River of Light, to large-scale exhibitions in New York, Miami, Reno, and of course, Burning Man. Along the way, his projects have been supported by institutional arts grants, public commissions, and multiple Burning Man Honoraria, each recognition reinforcing the cultural value of his approach to light as a medium for storytelling.

Some of his notable works include Neptune’s Luminous Dance, a permanent, audio-synced light sculpture in Reno, Nevada, that animates rhythm in real time, and The Winged Turtle, a monumental steel and light installation that anchors a historic park in Miami. His projects are often designed not just as visual icons but as interactive encounters, encouraging the public to gather, play, and see their shared spaces differently.

Through Liquid PXL, Abram has built a reputation as both an innovator and a collaborator, often working with civic bodies, festivals, and local communities to craft art that speaks to its environment. Abram can be found tinkering with new ideas in the studio, testing prototypes that sometimes fail spectacularly (he insists that’s part of the magic), and chasing the next question: how can art transform a public space into a shared memory? For Abram, the answer is never finished — it only shines brighter with every project.