Markus Miessen (*1978) is an architect, spatial consultant and writer migrating between Berlin, London, and the Middle East. In 2002, he set up Studio Miessen, a collaborative agency for spatial practice and cultural analysis, and in 2007 was founding partner of the Berlin-based architectural practice nOffice (www.nOffice.eu). The practice is currently working on a series of international projects, amongst others a library and cultural centre, which will house the private of the Swiss curator Hans Ulrich Obrist, as well as a mediateque in North-East Brazil.
Miessen studied architecture and urbanism at the Glasgow School of Art (BArch), graduated from the Architectural Association in London with Honours (AADiplHons) and received a Master in Research degree from the London Consortium (MRes).
As a writer, Miessen contributes, edits and advises globally, and has contributed articles in journals, magazines and edited books, from academic to scientific to popular culture. He is most recently writing his first single-authored book. In various collaborations, Miessen has published books such as When Economies Become Form (Berlage Institute, 2009), Institution Building – Artists, Curators, Architects and the Struggle for Space (Sternberg, 2009), East Coast Europe (Sternberg, 2008), The Violence of Participation (Sternberg, 2007), With/Without –Spatial Products, Practices and Politics in the Middle East (Bidoun, 2007), Did Someone Say Participate? An Atlas of Spatial Practice (MIT Press, 2006) and Spaces of Uncertainty (Müller+Busmann, 2002). In 2008, the British newspaper The Independent listed his book Did Someone Say Participate as one of the ten best architecture books of all time.
Since 2008, Miessen is an active member on several expert boards including at SKOR (Amsterdam), Aedes (Berlin), the think tanks W.I.R.E. (Zurich) and SciFi (LA), the editorial boards of Volume (Amsterdam) and Bidoun (New York) and, as editor, supports Build (Wuppertal) as well as Archive (Berlin/Turin).
As a consultant, he has worked with the Slovenian Consulate (NYC) during Slovenia’s presidency of the EU council, strategically advised the European Kunsthalle (Cologne) and SKOR (Amsterdam), devised a long-term project for the Serpentine Gallery (London), researched and proposed for General Public Agency (London), and wrote policy papers for the think tank for everyday democracy Demos (London).
His work has been exhibited widely, including at the Lyon, Venice, Performa (NY) and Shenzhen Biennials, and has received numerous awards and prizes including from the Flemisch Government (Brussels), Stimuleringsfonds voor Architectuur (Amsterdam), Kulturstiftung des Bundes (Berlin), the Henry Saxon Snell Prize, and was nominated for the RIBA Silver Medal.
Miessen has taught, lectured, curated and organised conferences in many institutions worldwide, and – from 2004-2008 – was a Unit Master at the Architectural Association. In 2008, he initiated and now directs the Winter School Middle East (Dubai, Kuwait, Tehran).
Most recently, Miessen works as a Harvard fellow on a research project in Iran/Iraq, teaches as Visiting Professor at the Berlage Institute (Rotterdam) and writes about Cross-Bench Praxis as a PhD candidate at the Centre for Research Architecture (Goldsmiths, London).