Competition Shortlist
Top row (left to right): AAU Anastas, heneghan peng architects, Níall McLaughlin Architects, Studio Anne Holtrop.
Bottom row (left to right): Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIO, Toshiko Mori Architect, Trahan Architects
The shortlist for the Museum of Jesus’ Baptism at Bethany, Jordan – International Design Competition includes the following celebrated and emerging international firms (by team lead and in alphabetical order):
- AAU Anastas (Palestine / France / Jordan)
- heneghan peng architects (Ireland)
- Níall McLaughlin Architects (United Kingdom)
- Studio Anne Holtrop (Bahrain / Netherlands)
- Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIO (Mexico)
- Toshiko Mori Architect (United States)
- Trahan Architects (United States)
About the Shortlisted Teams
(by team lead and in alphabetical order):
AAU Anastas (Palestine / France / Jordan)
with a wider team that includes: Landscape Design – Florent Clier; Exhibition Design – dUCKS; Engineering – Webb Yates; and Lighting Consultant – Studio Gelatic.
Elias and Yousef Anastas are partners at AAU Anastas and co-founders of Local Industries, Radio AlHara, and Wonder Cabinet. Their work – at the intersection of architecture, design, and cultural production – is rooted in the idea of global provincialism: a dialogue between hyper-specific contexts and broader networks of knowledge, craftsmanship, and solidarity.
Through AAU Anastas, they explore the potential of architecture when grounded in material intelligence, ranging from object design to territorial projects. They have a particular interest in stone construction, seeking to renew its use to imagine low-carbon structures, more resilient cities, and more responsible quarrying practices.
With Local Industries, they collaborate with artisans to bridge traditional craftsmanship with contemporary production, affirming the importance of craft in today’s design landscape.
In 2020, they co-founded Radio AlHara, an online radio station that goes beyond simple sound broadcasting to create unexpected networks of solidarity – blending resistance, sharing, and experimentation.
More recently, they launched Wonder Cabinet, a space dedicated to cultural production in Bethlehem. Conceived as a place for encounters and exchange, it brings together artists, designers, and artisans in collaborations that blend technique and creativity.
At every scale, their work aims to weave connections between the local and the global, transforming the specificities of a place into a collective strength.
heneghan peng architects (Ireland)
with a wider team that includes: Landscape Design – Agence Ter; Exhibition Design – Cookies; Engineering – Arup; and Lighting Consultant – Kardorff.
heneghan peng architects is a design partnership practicing architecture, landscape and urban design. The practice was founded by Shih-Fu Peng and Róisín Heneghan in New York (1999) and, after a significant competition win in Ireland, relocated to Dublin (2001). In 2011, the firm opened a Berlin Studio.
With a background in competition design, the practice has evolved to apply the same forensic thought to the craft of buildings. The firm often produces cultural buildings of national importance on historic sites. Major completed and ongoing projects include; the Palestinian Museum in Bir Zeit, Palestine; the Grand Egyptian Museum beside the Great Pyramid of Giza and the UNESCO world heritage site of “Memphis and its Necropolis – the Pyramid Fields from Giza to Dahshur”; Storm King Art Center In New York and the Giant’s Causeway Visitors’ Centre on the Causeway Coast World Heritage Site in Northern Ireland. Current projects include the Neue Orte, Alter Turm Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche Berlin.
Their work takes a multi-disciplinary approach to design. The firm have and continue to collaborate with designers and engineers on a range of projects which include urban masterplans, bridges, landscapes, buildings and exhibitions.
Níall McLaughlin Architects (United Kingdom)
with a wider team that includes: Landscape Design – Kim Wilkie; Exhibition Design – Nissen Richards Studio; Engineering – Arup; and Lighting Consultant – Studio ZNA.
Níall McLaughlin Architects has gained a reputation for thoughtful, innovative and well-crafted architecture. The practice has delivered projects across a broad range of scales and typologies. They work regularly with cultural and educational institutions. Projects for faith-based communities have been an important strand of the practice’s work, from a small Carmelite monastery in London, to an inner-city Catholic parish church, a theological college chapel and an Ismaili burial ground. The firm has a growing portfolio of museum projects including two museums that present themes of Christian faith.
Níall McLaughlin Architects are experts at creating new buildings in historically, culturally and environmentally sensitive sites. By inventively interpreting the past, their buildings embody both continuity and innovation. For the firm, architecture is understood as a range of activities which are all necessary to each other – designing buildings, connecting research and practice, embracing natural materials and environments, collaborating with creatives, craftsmen and clients.
Níall has an Honorary MBE for Services to Architecture, and the practice has been awarded numerous international accolades, being shortlisted for the RIBA Stirling Prize three times before winning the significant award in 2022 for the Magdalene College Library.
Studio Anne Holtrop (Bahrain / Netherlands)
with a wider team that includes: Landscape Design – Atelier Miething; Exhibition Design – Imagination; Engineering – Atkins Realis; and Lighting Consultant – Rogier van der Heide.
Founded in 2009 in Amsterdam, Studio Anne Holtrop established a second and primary studio in Muharraq, Bahrain, in 2014. The studio specializes in designing public and cultural buildings, luxury retail and hospitality projects, and conducting material research and innovation.
Notable completed projects include the Museum Fort Vechten, a UNESCO-listed heritage site in the Netherlands (Iakov Chernikhov International Prize, 2014); the National Pavilion of Bahrain for the 2015 Milan Expo (Silver Prize for best architecture Milan Expo Design, 2015); Customs House – Manama Central Post Office (Shortlisted Aga Khan Award, 2022); the Green Corner Building in Muharraq; the UNESCO-listed heritage site The Pearling Path with the Siyadi Pearl Museum (Best New Museum, Monocle Award, 2024), the Murad Boutique Hotel, and the Qaysariyah Suq; flagship stores for Maison Margiela globally; and the new Misk Art Institute in Riyadh.
Anne Holtrop graduated Cum Laude in Architecture from the Academy for Architecture in Amsterdam in 2009 and subsequently established his own architectural practice. Since 2014, his primary studio has been based in Muharraq, Bahrain, where he currently resides. Holtrop holds the position of titular professor at the Accademia di Architettura di Mendrisio in Switzerland. Previously, he served as a professor at the ETH Zurich.
Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIO (Mexico)
with a wider team that includes: Landscape Design – Bureau Bas Smets; Exhibition Design – Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIO; Engineering – Sener; and Lighting Consultant – cube.bz.
Tatiana Bilbao ESTUDIO, founded in 2004 in Mexico City, is an architecture studio committed to socially responsible design that integrates research, community-driven approaches, and sustainable construction. The studio works across diverse scales and project types, grounded in the belief that architecture is a fundamental form of care.
Emphasizing analog processes like hand drawing, collage, and physical modeling, the studio collaborates closely with communities, shaping spaces in dialogue with their users. This participatory ethos reflects a broader commitment to collective and context-sensitive design that addresses environmental, cultural, and political dimensions.
Led by Tatiana Bilbao, the studio has received widespread international recognition. In 2025, Bilbao was named an Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (HFAIA), and the studio’s Sea of Cortez Research Center was a finalist for the Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize (MCHAP). Past honors include the Tau Sigma Delta Gold Medal (2020), the Richard Neutra Award and AW Architect of the Year (2022), and the RAIC Honorary Fellowship (2021). In 2023, she received the Miller Prize and the ArpaFIL Award, followed by an honorary doctorate from the Boston Architectural College in 2024. Most recently, the studio earned an honorary mention at the 2025 Venice Biennale for the Holy See Pavilion.
Toshiko Mori Architect (United States)
with a wider team that includes: Landscape Design – West 8; Exhibition Design – Atelier Tsuyoshi Tane Architect; Engineering – Arup; and Lighting Consultant – Arup.
Founded in 1981, Toshiko Mori Architect (TMA) is recognized for nearly four decades of innovative and influential work across a diverse portfolio of award-winning projects. The firm’s intelligent approach to ecologically sensitive site planning, historical context, and material innovation reflects a seamless integration of design and technology. TMA combines a strong theoretical foundation with a practical understanding of programmatic needs – resulting in architecture that is spatially compelling and contextually responsive.
Toshiko Mori is the founder and principal of TMA, as well as the Robert P. Hubbard Professor in the Practice of Architecture at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, where she chaired the Department of Architecture. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Recent projects include the University of Kurdistan Hewlêr Campus Masterplan, Thread Cultural Center, Fass School, the Watson Institute at Brown University, and ongoing work for the Brooklyn Public Library. Mori’s honors include the Asia Society Asia Arts Game Changer Award, the Museum of the City of NY Louis Auchincloss Prize, the Isamu Noguchi Award, and the AIA/ASCA Topaz Medallion. She has been named to the AD100 Hall of Fame and was guest editor of Domus (2023).
Trahan Architects (United States)
with a wider team that includes: Landscape Design – Doxiadis+; Exhibition Design – Ralph Appelbaum Associates; Engineering – Buro Happold; and Lighting Consultant – Tillotson Design Associates.
Trahan Architects, founded in 1992 by Victor F. “Trey” Trahan III, FAIA, is a globally recognized architecture firm with offices in New Orleans and New York. Rooted in the cultural richness of New Orleans and informed by a global perspective, the firm is driven by the belief that mindful design can elevate the human experience. Trahan Architects is celebrated for its poetic and responsible approach to architecture, integrating artistic expression, technical innovation, and ecological sensitivity. Their work spans cultural, academic, and spiritual spaces, including notable projects like the Louisiana State Museum and the USA Pavilion for Expo 2025 Osaka.
The firm’s ethos emphasizes compassion, curiosity, and a deep engagement with clients and context, aiming to create spaces that foster peace, healing, and a sense of rootedness. Trahan’s designs are shaped by a commitment to ecological harmony and material integrity, resulting in over 100 prestigious awards, including the #1 U.S. Design Firm by ARCHITECT Magazine and multiple National AIA honors. Trey Trahan, a National Academician and laureate of The American Prize for Architecture, leads the firm with a vision grounded in cultural and environmental stewardship. His parallel initiative, Fondation Trahan, furthers this mission by preserving significant historical sites and artifacts.