German-born and Australian-based architect, curator and critic Dr. Claudia Perren has been chosen as the new director and chief executive officer of the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation. Perren has been lecturing at the University of Sydney and the University of Technology in Sydney for the past eight years.

Her research mainly revolves around the junction between art, design and architecture and the results of her research, teaching and practice have been published and exhibited in Australia, Germany, The Netherlands, Poland, The Czech Republic, Singapore, Spain, Finland, Estonia and Switzerland.

According to a statement issued by Stephan Dorgerloh, President of the board of the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation, ‘The board of the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation has agreed on the appointment of a new director and CEO. This summer, Dr. Claudia Perren will succeed Prof. Philipp Oswalt in the position. The architect and curator is currently lecturing Design, Curatorial Practice, History and Theory of Architecture at the Faculty of Architecture, Design and Planning of the University of Sydney.

After studying Architecture at the Kunsthochschule Berlin Weissensee and Cooper Union New York, she completed post-graduate studies at the ETH in Zurich and obtained a doctorate in Architectural Theory from the University of Kassel in 2005.

Her PhD in the area of concept art and architecture, further research and lecturing experience at four universities as well as curatorial work, have made her well-versed on both current and historical positions in art, design and architecture, as well as their extent and transformation over time in the areas of conception, design, production and interpretation.

Perren says, “I fundamentally agree with the concept that the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation should be a place of research, teaching and experimental design; an archive of Modernism and at the same time a laboratory of the future. I would like to tie into this and to develop new approaches to education and design through international collaborations thus attracting high-level, aspiring researchers and designers for residencies.”

The board of the foundation, consisting of federal and regional representatives as well as some from the city of Dessau, selected the curator and architect from a national and international field of applicants. The foundation also engaged two external experts, namely Prof. Matthias Noell of Burg Giebichenstein in Halle and Dr. Volker Rodekamp, president of the German Museums Association and director of the Stadtgeschichtliches Museum in Leipzig.

“Her broad-ranging international experience and creative approach convinced the board that she should lead the foundation towards its Jubilee year in 2019″, Dorgerloh added.

The Bauhaus is a noted school specialising in architecture, art, design, urban planning and the social and cultural sciences. It is located in Dessau, Germany.