Geeta K. Mehta teaches architecture and urban design at Columbia University in New York. A resident of Japan for 23 years, she is a partner in the firm of Braden and Mehta and has designed projects in USA, Japan, India, Vietnam and Indonesia. Educated at University of Tokyo, Columbia University, and SPA in Delhi, she is the co-author of several books including Japan Style, Japan Houses, Japan Living and Japanese Gardens, all published by Tuttle Publishing. Deanna MacDonald teaches Japanese and western art and architectural history at Temple University's Tokyo campus. She received her MA from the Central European University, Prague and her Ph.D. from McGill University, Montreal and is the author of numerous publications on the art, architecture and cultural heritage. Cesar Pelli was born in Argentina where he earned his Diploma in Architecture from the University of Tucuman. After obtaining his Master Degree in the United States, he worked in the offices of Eero Saarinen. In 1977, he became Dean of the Yale University School of Architecture and founded Cesar Pelli & Associates, renamed Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects in 2005. In 1995, the AIA awarded him the Gold Medal in recognition of a lifetime of distinguished achievement in architecture. Fumihiko Maki (b. 1928) is the founder of the renowned architectural firm, Maki & Associates. Educated at the University of Tokyo and Harvard, he has taught at these and other institutes as well as lecturing internationally on architecture and urban design. Among his numerous distinctions are the Prizker Prize (1993) and the American Institute of Architects' highest honor, the AIA Gold Medal (2011).