My research concentrates on aspects of modern and contemporary German architecture and theory, informed both by academic scholarship and the experiences of recent architectural practice.

My current work focuses on themes developed in my PhD dissertation, entitled From the Bauhütte to the Bauhaus: The medieval masons’ lodge as an aesthetic and cultural paradigm from German Romanticism to Early Modernism. It identifies the motif of the Bauhütte and traces its history and meaning as a paradigm for architectural making from the late medieval period through to the Bauhaus as it is transformed from being the organisation of building praxis embedded within medieval ecclesiastical society, to a post-Enlightenment reified cultural paradigm which, as a fragment, stands for the perceived unity of medieval society as a whole. The terminus of the dissertation is early Modernism, where the notion of architecture as an isolated harbinger of cultural meaning gets its fullest manifestation. The thesis presents a number of the most significant philosophical and ethical themes surrounding the dialogue between Romanticism and the contemporary position, in a theme whose transformation illuminates the history as a whole.

In addition to my background in architectural history and theory, I have substantial experience in architectural practice, having worked as a design architect on international projects in the Berlin offices of Daniel Libeskind and Zvi Hecker. I am currently preparing an architectural monograph on Hecker’s work.

EDUCATION

Candidate for Doctor of Philosophy, Cambridge University
Master of Philosophy (History and Philosophy of Architecture), Cambridge University
Bachelor of Architecture (First Class Honours), University of Canberra
Bachelor of Design Science (Architecture), University of Canberra

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

Design Architect. Zvi Hecker Architects. Berlin, February 2004-October 2004
Architect. Magma Architecture. Berlin, September-November 2003
Architect. Architekt Daniel Libeskind. Berne, January-August 2003
Graduate Architect. Studio Daniel Libeskind. Berlin, February-December 2002
Associate Lecturer in Architecture. University of Canberra. Canberra, January-December 2001

Portfolio

REFEREED PUBLICATIONS AND CONFERENCE PAPERS

Ross Anderson, “The medieval Masons’ Lodge as Paradigm for Peter Behrens’s Dombauhütte in Munich, 1922”, The Art Bulletin Volume 90 (September 2008): 442-466

Ross Anderson, “Anything but Silent: Daniel Libeskind’s Architecture as Events of Representation”, in Stephen Loo and Katharine Bartsch (eds), Panorama to Paradise: Scopic Regimes in Architectural and Urban History and Theory: XXIVth Annual Conference of the Society of Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand, [Available CD-Rom] Adelaide: 2007

Ross Anderson, “Stones Against Forgetting: German-Jewish territories of remembrance in contemporary Berlin architecture”, in Errinerungskrisen – Memory Crises: German Studies Association of Australia Conference, Melbourne: 2007

Ross Anderson, “Fabricating the Late Gothic German Chapel: Theology, Geometry, Materials and the Practical Imagination”, in Spaces and Places: VII Annual Conference of the Centre for Medieval and Early Modern European Studies, Auckland: 2007

PUBLIC LECTURES

Reflections on the Practice of Architecture at Studio Daniel Libeskind
Royal Australian Institute of Architects, Tuesday Night Talks, Autumn Programme 2008
April 01 2008

EDITORIAL RESPONSIBILITIES

Editorial Committee: Architectural Theory Review, University of Sydney

FELLOWSHIPS, GRANTS AND AWARDS

PhD Poynton Cambridge Australia Scholarship, Cambridge Australia Trust
ORS (Overseas Research Students) Award, Universities UK
DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst), Research Grant for Doctoral Candidates and Young Academics and Scientists

TEACHING GRANTS

Ross Anderson, Architecture Studio Archive, University of Sydney Teaching Improvement and Equipment Scheme 2008

TEACHING PORTFOLIO

DESA1001 (Design Practice 1A)
DESA1002 (Design Practice 1B)
MARCH4102 (Modern Architectural Theory)
ARCH9049 (Contemporary Architectural Theories), with Dr Chris Smith
Supervision            ARCF5301(Advanced Study Report)
Supervision             Honours in the Bachelor of Design in Architecture

UNIVERSITY COMMITTEES

Learning and Teaching Committee, Faculty of Architecture Design and Planning, The University of Sydney
Zone 3 Occupational Health and Safety Committee, The University of Sydney