With the start of the upcoming academic year, anthropologist and research professor Morten Nielsen will take up the position of visiting professor at the Aarhus School of Architecture. The appointment is part of the school’s ambition to strengthen interdisciplinary research collaboration and bring together diverse disciplines in the development of future cities and landscapes. Over the next three years, he will contribute to research, teaching, and method development – including in the research project Utopia Thy.

“We are strengthening the interdisciplinary research collaboration, which we believe is crucial for addressing the complex challenges our time presents. At the same time, the appointment reinforces the strong research efforts in Thy, which have been developed over more than a decade in close partnerships with local communities and municipalities,” says Kristine Leth Juul, rector of the Aarhus School of Architecture.

Morten Nielsen is a research professor at the National Museum of Denmark, holds a PhD in anthropology, and leads the Center for Social Urban Models (SUMO), which works on sustainable urban development from a cultural-historical perspective. For many years, he has collaborated with researchers from the Aarhus School of Architecture, including in the research project Flexible Communities, and looks forward to now having an even closer affiliation with the school.

“For the past 20 years, my work has focused on the relationship between everyday life and architecture. I have worked closely with architects for many years, and I am therefore excited to further strengthen this collaboration. Together, we can explore how we can make existing cities function better as more people share them,” says Morten Nielsen.

A significant part of Morten Nielsen’s work over the coming years will be tied to the research project Utopia Thy, which he co-leads with associate professor Mo Michelsen Stochholm Krag.

“When working with regenerative rural development, it’s a two-legged approach. One leg is the material – architecture, landscape, and physical frameworks. The other is social communities and the way people live together. Mo and I each represent one leg. Over the coming years, we will develop the joint method so that the two perspectives become inseparable,” says Morten Nielsen.

Cementing 15 years of work in Thy

At the Aarhus School of Architecture, the appointment of Morten Nielsen is welcomed, and it is funded by external research grants.

Kristine Leth Juul highlights Morten Nielsen’s experience with action research as a particular strength for the school.

“Morten Nielsen has strong competencies in action research and many years of experience in understanding the interplay between people and their surroundings. This not only strengthens Utopia Thy but also contributes to the school’s ambition of developing knowledge in close collaboration with the people, places, and local communities that the research concerns,” says Kristine Leth Juul.

The appointment is part of a larger research initiative centered around Utopia Thy. During the three-year project period, a postdoc and two PhD students will also be affiliated with the research environment.