Claus Peder Pedersen
MSO Professor of Research through Design
Aarhus School of Architecture
Head of PhD School, AARHUS
Claus Peder Pedersen is an architect and professor whose research is grounded in design methodologies and Research through Design as critical tools for advancing architectural knowledge. His work explores how architecture operates across scales—from material assemblies to urban infrastructures—through an investigation of media, representation, and form. He is particularly interested in how design processes and the use of representational tools (both analog and digital) shape spatial thinking, inform aesthetic and experiential outcomes, and contribute to interdisciplinary research contexts.
He is currently Professor MSO in Research by Design and Head of the PhD School at the Aarhus School of Architecture. In these roles, he cultivates environments that support practice-based and design-led inquiry, often with a focus on the experiential dimensions of infrastructure and urban systems. His research emphasizes the generative role of representation—not only as a communicative tool but as a site of architectural thinking—while also examining how design can critically engage with systems that typically prioritize efficiency over human experience.
His academic contributions include participation in key European networks such as Advancing Supervision for Artistic Research Doctorates and CA2RE+, which explore new models of doctoral education in architecture and design. He is a member of the EAAE Research Academy and the ELIA Working Group for Artistic Research, and formerly served on the executive board of the Marie Curie ITN ADAPT-r project on practice-led research training. He also co-initiated the Digital Crafting research network, which examined digital fabrication and design as part of architecture’s evolving material culture.
Pedersen brings to his academic work a robust foundation in professional architectural practice and urban planning. He was one of the founding partners of the architecture and planning office TRANSFORM, with which he received several awards in architectural competitions and contributed to a wide range of published and exhibited projects. He has also been a partner in the cross-disciplinary practice Blankspace, which spans architecture, anthropology, and visual arts. Through this professional experience, he has developed strong expertise in landscape urbanism and infrastructural planning, engaging with theories of urban transformation, ecology, and large-scale design strategy.
