Anna Weichsel is a licensed architect, engineer, and scholar. She is an Assistant Professor of Practice in the School of Architecture. She teaches architecture history, urban theory, design research, and design studios within PSU’s undergraduate and graduate architecture programs, focusing on the intersection of urban theory with architectural practice. Prior to moving to the USA in 2012, Anna was the principal of the Berlin-based architecture studio Weichsel Sollich Architekten. In her practical and scholarly work, she investigates how architecture can assist in urban lifestyle changes and inform epistemic practices within urban environments. Anna’s research explores the intersection of architecture and psychology, particularly 20th-century architectural experimentation within urban environments, engaging theories of activity and experimental aesthetics. Her work includes topics such as early 20th-century Russian architecture strategies grounded in aesthetic theories receptive to conceptions of creativity as a transformative resource for urban renewal.
Her architecture projects and writings have been published in magazines, journals, and books on contemporary architecture. Anna’s work has also been exhibited at architecture and art venues, including suitcasearchitecture – gallery for livable design, Sprengel Museum Hannover, art fair abc, and Vitra Design Museum. Anna is the recipient of several awards, including seven awards for excellent architecture in Germany, First Prize for Young Architects in Germany, Akademie c/o First Prize for Theoretical Writing on Architecture, First Prize for the German Embassy Sculpture and Public Space Design in Washington, D.C. (in collaboration with Suse Weber). Her work has been funded by multiple grants, including a Fellowship for Interdisciplinary Innovations from the University of Pennsylvania and a Getty Research Library Grant.