Thorsten Scheer

Thorsten Scheer is a Professor of Art History, Construction History, and Architectural Theory at the Peter Behrens School of Arts, Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences, where he has taught since 2003. He is affiliated with the Department of Architecture & Design and contributes to the scientific and cultural foundations of art and design education.

His research focuses on modern and contemporary architecture, particularly the Neue Bauen movement in the Rhineland, critical reconstruction, and the works of influential architects such as Peter Behrens, Josef Paul Kleihues, and Fritz Schupp. He explores themes including monumentality, industrial architecture, urban planning, postmodernism, and the interplay between tradition and modernity.

His recent publications reflect a strong engagement with 20th-century German architectural history, regional building culture in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the curation of major architectural exhibitions. He has authored and edited numerous books and contributed to scholarly journals and exhibition catalogs, demonstrating a sustained intellectual contribution to architectural historiography.

Selected awards and advisory roles:

• Scientific Director of major exhibitions including 'Stadt der Architektur' (Berlin, 2000) and 'Symmetrie und Symbol' (Zeche Zollverein, 2002)
• Curator of the NRW contribution to the Bauhaus centenary: 'Neues Bauen im Westen' (2019)
• Member of the Scientific Advisory Board for 'Städtebauliche Denkmalpflege' (TU Dortmund/RWTH Aachen, since 2021)
• Advisor to museums and exhibition centers; former expert reviewer for DFG and Austrian Science Fund

Prof. Scheer has supervised academic projects, including a student-curated exhibition on Peter Behrens at NRW-Forum Düsseldorf (2015), and currently moderates the BDA-Architekturtalk 'Stadtgespräche' at Stadtmuseum Düsseldorf. He was involved in the REGIONALE 2004 as curator for architecture and urban planning and contributed to the conceptual development of 'Baukunst NRW', an online architectural guide for North Rhine-Westphalia.