Professor Christoph Lindner

An interdisciplinary scholar of cities and visual culture, he has over 20 years of experience at public research universities in the United States, Europe, and the UK. His leadership work has focused on advancing educational access and equity, intercultural understanding, and environmental sustainability.

Professor Lindner joined the RCA in 2024 from his role as Dean of the Bartlett Faculty of the Built Environment at University College London. While at The Bartlett, which achieved the number 1 global ranking in Architecture & Built Environment under his leadership, he advanced two transformative priorities: increasing access and inclusion across the global built environment field and taking action on the climate crisis by developing new research and degree programmes in sustainability. Before joining UCL, he served as Dean of the College of Design at the University of Oregon and, prior to that, Professor of Media and Culture at the University of Amsterdam. During his time at Amsterdam, he created and led the Netherlands Institute for Cultural Analysis, co-founded the Amsterdam Centre for Globalization Studies, and directed the Amsterdam School for Cultural Analysis.

He has been a visiting professor at New York University, The New School, University of California-Berkeley, University of Edinburgh, University of Freiburg, Queen Mary University of London, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, and the University of London Institute in Paris.

He is a trustee of the Victoria and Albert Museum, general editor of the Cities and Cultures book series at Amsterdam University Press, editorial board member of Places Journal, and co-director of the Helix Centre for Design and Health at Imperial College London.

Professor Lindner grew up in France and Switzerland and completed his PhD at the University of Edinburgh. He is the author or editor of 15 books in the fields of art, architecture, media and cultural studies, and urban geography.