Markus Miessen (born in Bonn, 1978) is a German architect and writer.
Since 2021, Markus Miessen has been Professor of Urban Regeneration at the University of Luxembourg, where he holds the Chair of the City of Esch, associated with the MARCH programme that focusses on the socio-ecological transition, repair, the spatial politics of social inequalities, participation, and governance.[1]
In the Fall of 2024, Miessen will be Dean’s Visiting Professor at Columbia University GSAPP, New York City.
Miessen received his bachelor's degree from the Glasgow School of Art (BArch), continuing his studies at the Architectural Association in London (AADiplHons) and at the London Consortium (MRes).[2] His PhD was completed at the Centre for Research Architecture at Goldsmiths (London) in 2015 under the supervision of Eyal Weizman.[3]
From 2011 to 2016 Miessen held the position of Distinguished Professor in Practice at the University of Southern California, USC (Los Angeles).[4]
Other teaching positions include Professor at HDK-Valand, Academy of Art and Design, University of Gothenburg (Sweden 2016–2020),[5] Stiftungsprofessur for Critical Spaces Practice at the Städelschule (Frankfurt 2011–2013), guest professor at HEAD (Geneva), visiting professor at the Hochschule für Gestaltung (Karlsruhe) at the Berlage Institute (Rotterdam), and Unit Master at the Architectural Association (London 2004–2008).[6] The Winter School Middle East was initiated by Miessen in 2008.[7] He became a Harvard GSD Fellow in 2010.[8]
Since 2021, he is Professor of Urban Regeneration at the University of Luxembourg, where he holds the Chair of the City of Esch, associated with the master programme "Architecture, European Urbanisation, Globalisation'.
Studio Miessen was founded in London in 2005 and has been based in Berlin since 2008,[9] working on architectural and spatial design projects in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia.[10] [11] [12] The studio has worked with institutional clients and collaborators such as Art Basel (Switzerland), Art Sonje Center (South Korea), b-05 Art & Cultural Centre (Germany), e-flux (USA), Government of Slovenia, Haus der Kulturen der Welt (Germany), the Serpentine Gallery (UK), Witte de With (The Netherlands), Weltkulturen Museum (Germany), Institute of Modern Art (Australia), Kunstverein in Hamburg (Germany), Biennials such as the Gwangju Biennale (2011), Performa (2009, 2011, 2013), Sydney Biennial (2016), Berlin Biennale (2016), Venice Biennale (2013), Istanbul Biennale (2014) and artists such as Hito Steyerl, Dénes Farkas, Liam Gillick, Flaka Haliti (PAM Public Art Munich), Slater Bradley and Stefanos Tsivopoulos.[13] [14] Major 2020s projects have included work for Tresor, T31 (TECHNO UND DIE GROSSE FREIHEIT, 2022), MUDAM (Michel Majerus Sinnmaschine, 2023), the Documentation Centre for the History of National Socialism, Munich (2022-25), and for the Bundeskunsthalle (We Capitalists, 2020, and All in! Re-Designing Democracy, 2024).
In 2006 Miessen and Hans Ulrich Obrist founded the Brutally Early Club.,[15] [16] conducting conversational, salon-type meetings in post-public spaces at 6:30 AM in originally in London and later in Berlin, New York City and Paris.[17]
Markus Miessen has authored books such as Crossbenching (2016, Sternberg Press),[18] and The Nightmare of Participation (2010, Sternberg Press).[19]
In collaboration with Nikolaus Hirsch, Markus Miessen initiated and edits the Critical Spatial Practice book series at Sternberg Press,[20] publishing contributors including Keller Easterling, Beatriz Colomina, Chantal Mouffe, Eyal Weizman, Felicity Scott, Metahaven, Armin Linke, Trevor Paglen, Rabih Mroué and Jill Magid.[21] [22]
Miessen has worked as a consultant to the Government of Slovenia during their presidency of the EU Council, The European Kunsthalle (Cologne), the Dutch Foundation for Art and Public Domain (SKOR) (Amsterdam), the Serpentine Gallery (London), the European Commission and the Kosova National Art Gallery.[23]
In 2021, a monograph of the studio's work titled Cultures of Assembly will be published (Sternberg Press, MIT Press).[24]