Nader Vossoughian is an architectural historian, theorist, and curator whose work focuses on the relationships among architecture, information, and urban landscapes. A former Fulbright Scholar, he studied philosophy, cultural studies, and German literature at Berkeley, Swarthmore, Albert-Ludwigs-Universitat (Freiburg), and Humboldt University (Berlin) before receiving a master's degree in German studies, and both a master's and a doctorate in architecture from Columbia University. His articles have appeared in numerous scholarly and popular journals, including the Journal of Architecture, Design Issues, Hunch, Volume, and Grey Room. He has also curated exhibitions at Stroom den Haag, the MAK Center for Art and Architecture in Los Angeles, and the Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna. He is the recipient of grants and awards from the Graham Foundation, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the Jan van Eyck Academie in Maastricht, and the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal. His first book, Otto Neurath: The Language of the Global Polis, was published in 2008 by the Netherlands Architectural Institute (NAi) and is now available in paperback edition. His current book-length project concentrates on Ernst Neufert and his role in architectural standards of 20th-century Europe.
Recent Projects and Research
- Standardization in 20th-Century Architecture
- Monographic Studies of Otto Neurath, Ernst Neufert
- Temporary Cities
Publications
- "From A4 Paper to the Octameric Brick: Ernst Neufert and the Geopolitics of Standardisation in Nazi Germany." Journal of Architecture 20:4 (August 2015): 675-698.
- "Gemeinwirtschaft und Siedlungsbewegung." Sachbild und Gesellschaftstechnik Ed., Frank Hartmann, Vol. 3 of Forschung Visuelle Kultur (Berlin: Avinus, 2015).
- "Standardization Reconsidered: Normierung in and after Ernst Neufert's Bauentwurfslehre." Grey Room 53 54 (Winter 2014): 34-55.
- "On the Organization of "geistige Arbeit": Historical Reflections on Die Brucke. Library Trends. Essays in Honor of W. Boyd Rayward: Part 1 62:2 (fall 2013): 478-488.
- Otto Neurath: The Language of the Global Polis. Rotterdam: Netherlands Architectural Institute, 2008/2011. Reviewed by Urban Studies (October 2013); The New York Times Book Review (October 21, 2011); Design Issues (Winter 2011); MODERNISM/modernity (2010); Journal of Architectural Education (September 2010); Art in America (June/July 2009); Information Design Journal (2009); Centropa: A Journal of Central European Architecture and Related Arts (May 2009); New Statesman (November 3, 2008); Arquitectura Viva (2008); I.D. (November/December 2008); Dwell (July/August 2008); Metropolis (June 2008); Derive (2008); Bauwelt (2008).
Honors and Awards
- Alexander von Humboldt Fellow, University of Kassel, 2016
- Alexander von Humboldt Fellow, Bauhaus University, 2014-2015
- Graham Foundation Grant, 2013
- Canadian Centre for Architecture Research Fellow, 2012
- Institutional Support for Research and Creativity at New York Tech, 2008, 2009, 2011
Courses Taught at New York Tech
- Critical Thinking in Architecture
- History of City Planning and Urban Design: Antiquity to the Present
- History of Modern Architecture
- History of Architecture: Prehistory to the Renaissance
- History/Theory Seminar