Bernd Kniess

Bernd Kniess is a Professor of Urban Design at HafenCity University Hamburg (HCU), appointed in 2008. He founded the university's M.Sc. program in Urban Design and spearheads interdisciplinary projects like the University of Neighborhoods (2008-2014) and Zukunftsstadt Friedrichstadt (2016-2022). His work bridges academic research with community-driven urban interventions through Living Labs.

Research interests center on deconstructing cities as 'produced assemblages,' analyzing urban evolution via diagrammatic methods, and developing relational design frameworks. Key themes include:

• Implementation of Living Labs in urban contexts
• Theoretical modeling of urban transformation processes
• Cross-cultural methodologies in spatial practice

Honors include the Graham Willis Visiting Professorship at Sheffield School of Architecture (2019-2020) and elected membership in the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences (since 2009).

Teaching encompasses conceptual, methodological, and practical dimensions of urban design, including courses on Research and Design, Diagrammatics, Intercultural Practice, and digital pedagogy via HCU's online platforms WohnWissen übersetzen and Urban Types – of Houses and People.