University
of Applied Arts Vienna: WOLF MANGELSDORF appointed as new Professor of Structural Design at the Institute of Architecture
The architect and civil engineer will take over the Structural Design Department as of 1. 10. 2021
09.07.2021
The University of Applied Arts Vienna is pleased to announce
a new appointment: Wolf Mangelsdorf will take over the Department of Structural Design at the Angewandte’s Institute of Architecture
(IoA) at the beginning of the new academic year 2021/22.
The internationally renowned structural
engineer and partner and Global Head of Design, Technology & Innovation at Buro Happold in New York (USA) clearly supports
the integration of structural design and architecture. Quality in architecture is already determined by the inventiveness
of structural engineering, but it will become even more necessary and urgent in the future. For example, he said, the selection
of building materials to be used is just one of many issues that make the transdisciplinary collaboration and cross-disciplinary
interaction of architectural design and structural design clearly visible. Trained as an architect and civil engineer, he
has worked extensively on the optimal interplay between architecture and structural design, which has a direct impact on the
built environment, for example, at Kyoto University in Japan and the University of Karlsruhe, among other institutions.
"With the challenges of climate change and rapid urbanization, architecture must seek out and find new human-centered
and sustainable forms of design. The design process must become more transdisciplinary and questions regarding materials,
structure, form and formal expression must be redefined. I see the Angewandte playing a key role in this and I am looking
forward to being a part of it in my new role," explained Wolf Mangelsdorf.
For the Structural Design department
at the Angewandte's Institute of Architecture (IoA), the call for applications explicitly sought a person with international
experience and a strong interest in the future-oriented advancement of built architecture and urban planning, based on an
awareness of the major social, political, demographic and technological challenges of urban spaces. The willingness to develop
artistic-scientific research projects – nationally as well as beyond – also played a significant role in the appointment process,
as research is already one of the focal points at the Institute of Architecture (IoA) and will continue to be pushed. "With
Wolf Mangelsdorf, our students, who strive to go beyond national and disciplinary borders, are getting a visionary and internationally
distinguished lecturer who will provide them with excellent support," Rector Gerald Bast was pleased to say. Mangelsdorf will
succeed Klaus Bollinger in this position, who led the department with great commitment and success from 1994 till now and
has retired after more than 25 years at the Angewandte.