The Ice Box Challenge 2025 in Sweden celebrates women leading the way in sustainable innovation.
Our jury features 10 exceptional women from 6 different countries, each bringing their own diverse expertise in architecture, energy, design, and communications. By spotlighting their leadership, we strive to inspire greater gender equity in an industry traditionally dominated by men. Together, this jury exemplifies the strength of inclusion and collaboration, demonstrating that a sustainable future thrives on diverse perspectives.
Märta Stenevi, was Minister of Housing in the Swedish Government during 2021, and currently Member of Parliament. Before that she was Deputy Mayor of Malmö, and responsible for urban planning climate adjustment. As spokesperson for the Swedish Green Party, climate justice and a transition based on global equality were core issues in her work. With a background in procurement she will be very interested in the students’ solutions, and the cost efficiency of their projects, and the applicability to a global market.
Emma Hult, is a former Member of the Swedish Parliament and Chair of the Civil Affairs Committee. Today she works at IQ Samhällsbyggnad and leads the innovation programme ShiftSweden. Emma is passionate about ensuring that we leave behind a well-functioning planet for future generations. Emma wanted to be on the jury for The Ice Box Challenge because she thinks it is interesting and important to draw attention to how we can reduce the climate impact of the built environment.
Verena Michalek, is the CEO of a local energy agency in Lower Saxony, Germany and an active member of the Green Party. Through her architecture studies, many further training courses such as Passive House planner and over 15 years of professional experience, she has in-depth expertise to evaluate the technical components of the Ice-Box-project. In addition, communication and knowledge transfer to both politics and the public is important to her. With her training as a coach and her current MBA degree in leadership, she is looking forward to communicating the results of the project and using the learnings in her daily commitment to climate protection and a sustainable future.
In Cho, an influential voice in sustainable architecture and education, founded the student-led design-build Pratt Ice Box Challenge—the first of its kind in the U.S. and internationally—sparking global participation from New Delhi to Sweden and inspiring architecture students to explore Passive House building practices in impactful ways. As co-founder of ChoShields Studio and the nonprofit Passive House for Everyone (PHFE), and a teaching faculty member at Pratt Institute and Columbia University, Cho empowers the next generation to advance sustainability in the built environment. She is honored to serve as a juror for Sweden’s collegiate Ice Box Challenge, and excited to support students embracing sustainable design for climate action.
Linnea Kreutzer, is studying Energy, Environment, and Management at Linköping University and is passionate about sustainability and energy-efficient building solutions. She has completed a Passive House Expert course and previously worked as an intern at the Passive House Institute/International Passive House Association, where she promoted the Passive House standard through social media. Beyond her studies, Linnea is active in student engagement, organizing the Mechanical Engineering Section’s career fair at Linköping University. As the student representative on the Ice Box Challenge jury, Linnea is proud to contribute her perspective on sustainable building. She looks forward to being inspired by the participants’ innovative solutions and is especially honored to join a jury of strong and experienced women committed to environmental and sustainability issues.
Johanna Åfreds, is a journalist at the Swedish newspaper Byggindustrin, which focuses on all sorts of issues related to the construction industry. She prefers to write about sustainability and how the built environment can become more resource efficient, environmentally friendly and climate smart. Meeting all the people working within this field and to write about them gives her a lot energy and inspiration. Likewise, she’s excited to follow the students’ involvement in the Ice Box Challenge and to get to see what kind of solutions they are going to achieve!
Francesca Rover, works at the International Passive House Association, focusing on communication and social media. She is passionate about promoting the Passive House standard as a key solution to climate change. Francesca is excited to be part of the jury for The Ice Box Challenge, as it offers a valuable opportunity to highlight the importance of sustainable building practices and raise awareness about the role of energy-efficient design in addressing global environmental challenges.
Chayley Collis is Policy & Press Associate at the UK Passivhaus Trust. A passionate advocate of the Passive House standard and methodology, Chayley has been helping to communicate the Passive House message in the UK since 2010.
Ilektra Mancini is an Architect and Certified Passive House Designer at Hellenic Passive House Institute in Greece. She is passionate about environmental and social issues, believing in the urgency of changing our way of building and living, focusing on the importance of energy efficient buildings and tackling energy poverty to make our built environment more liveable and inclusive. She also investigates and supports alternative housing models, believing in the right to housing and its need to be affordable and accesible.