Filipa Matos Wunderlich

Filipa Matos Wunderlich is an Associate Professor in Urban Design at University College London's Bartlett School of Planning, where she serves as Director of the cross-faculty MRes Interdisciplinary Urban Design (MRes IdUD) program and Urban Design Strategic Coordinator. She previously co-designed and directed the MSc Urban Design and City Planning program and has held academic positions at UCL since 2008, initially as a Research Associate before becoming a Lecturer in 2010.

Her educational background includes a PhD from University College London (2010), a Diploma of Architecture from Universidade do Porto (2000), and a Bachelor of Music from ArtEZ Institute of the Arts (2001). This interdisciplinary foundation informs her unique approach that bridges architecture, urban design, and musical performance.

Wunderlich's research centers on temporality in urban places, urban rhythms, and place-rhythmanalysis, with significant contributions to temporal urban design theory and practice. Her work explores sensory and performative urbanisms, affect in the city, and the interface between urban and musical aesthetics. She also investigates gender-neutral urban design and alternative hybrid typologies in contemporary cities, emphasizing the synergy between theoretical innovation and practical application in urban design.

Her publication record reveals a clear evolution from foundational theoretical work on urban rhythms and place-temporality toward increasingly sophisticated applications of temporal design principles. The most recent publications demonstrate a maturation of her temporal urban design framework, moving from conceptual explorations to practical implementations across diverse urban contexts, with growing emphasis on wellbeing, health, and sustainability implications.

As a respected academic, Wunderlich regularly serves as keynote speaker at international conferences, including recent invitations to Oxford University, AESOP conferences, and the Conscious Cities Festival. She is a guest editor for Planning Theory and Practice and Architecture Open-Access journals, and frequently reviews for leading urban studies publications.

In her teaching and advising roles, Wunderlich directs the MRes IdUD program and coordinates the Major Research Projects module across multiple postgraduate programs. Her grant activities include Innovate UK's Smart Walkability Platform project, UCL ChangeMakers initiatives, and the European COST Action Go2CHANGE research project on cultural heritage conservation under climate change.

Wunderlich leads several research initiatives including the Post Growth Planning Research Cluster, Temporal Urban Design Research Podcast and Journal, and Collective Zebra - an online journal focused on walking. These platforms foster interdisciplinary dialogue on temporal approaches to urban design and facilitate knowledge exchange between academic research and professional practice.