Professorial Faculty
Technical University of Munich

Prof. Niklas Fanelsa

Professorship

Architecture and Design

School

TUM School of Engineering and Design

Contact Details

Business card at TUMonline

Academic Career and Research Areas

Prof. Fanelsa (*1985) represents the approach of an extended architectural practice based on the design of systems in the field of built environment. Architecture and design become application-oriented processes for exploring challenges of our contemporary world. Methods are living labs, 1:1 prototypes and workshops, applied in circular building systems, holistic design and collaborative project formats. He is engaged in transdisciplinary structures for the implementation of research projects and start-ups.

Niklas Fanelsa studied architecture at RWTH Aachen University and the Tokyo Institute of Technology. After his studies he worked at De Vylder Vinck Taillieu in Ghent and TBBK Architekten in Berlin. In 2016, he founded the architecture practice Atelier Fanelsa with studios in Berlin and Gerswalde. He was a teaching and research associate at RWTH Aachen University, BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg and Bauhaus University Weimar. In 2022 Niklas Fanelsa was appointed as a tenure track professor for the Professorship of Architecture and Design.

Awards

  • Research Resident der Utzon Foundation (2026)
  • Stipendium der Deutschen Akademie Rom Casa Baldi (2022)
  • Emerging Curator at the Canadian Center for Architecture in Montreal (2019-20)
  • Crossing Borders Research Scholarship of the Robert Bosch Foundation (2019)

Key Publications

Fanelsa, N., Bekemans, L., Islam, S., Waal, H. (2025): Bioregional Architecture and Design Practice. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 1554, 012162.

Abstract

Fanelsa, N. (2023): Places of Rural Practice. Dimensions – Journal of Architectural Knowledge, 3(6), 223–242.

Abstract

Fanelsa: „Vernacular Case Studies“ In: +/- 1 °C: In Search of Well-Tempered Architecture. kur: Mertelj et al. The Polish Pavilion at the 18th International Architecture Exhibition. La Biennale di Venezia 2023, Venedig, Italien.

Abstract (Exhibition)

Fanelsa: "Not mere travelers", "Patterns of Rural Commoning", "Countryside Narrative", In: What about the provinces. ed: CCA. Montréal: Canadian Center for Architecture, 2020.

Abstract

Fanelsa, Helten, Martenson, Wertgen: Architecture Reading Aid: Ahmedabad. Berlin: Ruby Press, 2015.

Abstract

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