Curriculum vitæ, Dr. Rasmus Wærn, born 1961


Long terms



Consulting architect and independent critic at Arkitekt Rasmus Waern AB since 2021
Director of the laureated film "An Other City" (2021). Check www.enannanstad.se
Architect at Wingårdhs 2004-21. Expert in history of architecture, developer of design strategies and responsible for texts.
Teacher in history of architecture at the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, 2004-2010
Editor at the Swedish Review of Architecture 1996-2004.
Curator for the exhibition "Architektur im 20. Jahrhundert: Schweden" at Deutsches Architekturmuseum in Frankfurt am Main 1998.

Commissions of trust



Member of the jury for the Olle Engqvist medal at Stockholms byggnadsförening since 2022
Member of steering committee at the higher vocational education Järnakademien (The blacksmith academy) since 2020
"Jävla kritiker" (Damn Critic) exhibition at Galeri Rom, Oslo (2020), Färgfabriken, Stockholm, Form Design Center, Malmö (2021) and Gallery Til:Værk, Copenhagen (2023)
Expert in the evaluation committee for the education in architecture, visualisation and communication at Malmö University. (2019)
Member of advisory board for Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel 2014-
Member of jury for the international competition for elaboration planning concept of the development of the historic part of Kaliningrad city core, 2014.
Local advisor for the Pritzker Prize Jury 2013
Financial officer at the Swedish AICA (Konstkritikersamfundet) 2012-16
Counsellor and fact controller for the television program "Husdrömmar" at SVT since 2018
Expert for the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture / Mies van der Rohe Award since 2014
Moderator and producer of numerous seminars on architecture and urban planning, such as "On mosques in Scandinavia" (Värmlands museum 2014), "On research and practice" (Arkus 2011), "Tall buildings in Scandinavia" (S:t Erik 2011) and "The Situation" (Aalto Society 2009)
Member of the editorial board at the Swedish Review of Architecture since 2012
Opponent and member of examination board at Chalmers University of Technology 2010-11
Member of jury in the competitions for a new building for the European Commission for Disease Prevention and Control (2008), new use for the former Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm (2006), new Royal College of Music (2004), new auditorium at Karolinska Institutet (2001)
Evaluator for research funds and peer reviewer for scientific journals
Executive for the Nordic Architectural Magazine Project, partly funded by Formas (2004-05)
Chairman of the Swedish Alvar Aalto Society 2004-2011
Jury member, Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, 2004-
Jury member, Siena prize in landscape architecture, 2003
Jury member, Critic of the year, Swedish Association of Architects, 1998-2000
Expert on architecture and planning at the Swedish National Encyclopedia 1995-
Member of the editorial board at ArkitektTidningen, 1995
Curator for the exhibition "Bridges" at Gallery Maneten, Göteborg, 1991
Member of the board of the Swedish Museum of Architecture 1996-2001 (vice president 1999-2001)
Member of the board at the Western department of Swedish Association of Architects 1991-1995
Founder of GLSK skating association in Göteborg 1993, chairman 1993-96
Reader for BTJ, the Swedish libraries book review, 1987-2015.

Some lectures



"Arkitektur till tröst" at Helgogalan, The National Property Board (SFV) awards 2023
"Why Architecture?" in the "Different Level" international online lecture program 2023
“Consolation beyond Comfort. How Architecture can meet Real Needs” Key-note at the international conference of Cica, Comité international des critiques d’architecture, 2023
"The body and the building" for HDK Steneby at Gothenburg University 2023
"Why do architecture exist?" for the Royal Society of Science and Arts in Gothenburg 2020
"Understanding Contemporary Classicism" for the City Planning Department in Stockholm, 2019
"Friedrich August Stüler" at the Goethe Institute in Stockholm, 2019
"Crafts and Architecture" for HDK Steneby at Gothenburg University 2019
"Why architecture?" at the XVIII Canova International Architect Encounter in Domodossola, Italy, 2019
"On architecture politics" Key note at the Swedish City Architects assembly 2018
"What is Architecture?" Lecture at the launch of a new urban program, Eskilstuna 2018
"Future Living", lecture at Innovation Runway seminar in Jönköping 2018
"Pioneering the Use of Prefabrication", Key note at the Marcus Evans course Construction Excellence, Singapore 2016.
"Living in wood", concluding remarks at the international wood conference in Helsinki 2016
"On conflicts in planning and building" for the Nobel Prize Council, Stockholm 2016
"What is Architecture" in the "Architecture Speaks" lecture series at the Aalto University, Helsinki 2016
"Planning and Feuds" at the Museum of Architecture, Helsinki 2016
"Planning and Feuds" at the Euplett conference, Falkenberg 2015
"Granite Architecture" at Udden stone seminar, Hunnebostrand 2015
"Alvar Aalto in Sweden", Key note at "Alvar Aalto beyond Finland" in Rovaniemi, Finland 2015
"On Finland" and "On Denmark", Folkuniversitetet, Stockholm 2015
"Building Finland", Museum of Finnish Architecture 2014
"What is Architecture?", Form Design Centre in Malmö 2014
"University Auditoriums", Karolinska Institutet, 2013
"What is Architecture", Senioruniversitetet, 2013
"On urbanism", Karlstad kommun, SNS, Veidekke et al, 2012
"On Sweden", AIA. House of Sweden, Washington DC, 2012
"Beauty today and tomorrow", Zettervall Institute, 2012
"Stone", Masterclass at Royal Institute of Technology, 2011
"On the terms architecture, quality, sustainability, world class, urbanism and historical value", dep of urban planning, City of Stockholm, 2010
"Architecture for everyday life", keynote speaker at Swedish Architects Day, Shanghai Expo 2010
"Is there a Nordic architecture?", City Architects annual assembly 2010
"On prefab", XII International Biennale of Architecture in Buenos Aires, 2009
"Smart Price", keynote speaker at IBA/Arch+ conference in Hamburg 2009
"1809 - On the border", keynote speaker, Tornio/Haparanda 2009
"The new exceptions" and "International influences of Carl Nyrén" at Senioruniversitetet, 2009
"On Sweden", Academy of Fine Arts, Tallinn, Estonia, 2009
"Crucial Words", RWTH Aachen, Germany, 2008
"Contemporary concrete" NAL, Oslo, Norway, 2008
"Nordic architecture", Royal Institute of Technology, 2008
"Writing architecture", UIA, Turino, Italy, 2008
"On prefab in Scandinavia", The Architectural League/MoMA, New York, USA, 2008
"On Wingårdhs", TU Berlin, Germany, 2008
"On Sweden", Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, USA, 2007
"On cities", Casa dell litteratura, Rome, Italy, 2007
"On wood", Bergen, Norway, 2006
"On Sweden", Museum of Fine Arts, Stettin, Poland 2002; Swedish Design Days, Prague, Czech Republic 2002; Gallery of Architecture, Budapest, 2002; Museum of Fine Arts, Bratislava, Slovakia, 2002; Architektur am Ringturm, Vienna, Austria, 2002; School of Architecture, Warszawa, Poland, 2001; Museum of Architecture, Vilnius, Lithuania, 2000; Museum of Architecture, Riga, Latvia, 2000; Museum of Architecture, Tallinn, Estonia, 1999; The Architecture Biennale, Buenos Aires, 1998.
"On exhibitions", The Architecture Triennale, Oslo, Norway, 2000

Exams, grants, etc




Grant from Berit Wallenbergs stiftelse, Brandförsäkringsverket and Patriotiska sällskapet 2024
Grant from Partikulare Stiftelse, 2023
Grant from the Swedish Authors Fund 2023
Silver medal at XV Istanbul Architecture and Urban Film Festival 2021
"Artek and the Aaltos" received the 2018 Philip Johnson Award for outstanding exhibition catalogue by the Society of Architectural Historians.
Winner of the CICA Pierre Vago Journalism Award 2017
Fellow of Swedish P.E.N.
Grant from ARQ research fund, 2018
Grant from FFNS research fund 2018
Grant from the Jan-Inghe Hagström Memorial Fund at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, 2016, 2018
Medal from the city of Vyborg for the engagement in the Alvar Aalto Library, 2010
Fellow of CICA, Comité International des Critiques d Architecture, 2008-
Ph. D. in history of architecture at Chalmers University of Technology, 1996
Fellow of AICA, The International Association of Art Critics 1995-
Funding from Formas for The Nordic Architectural Magazine Project in 2004
Funding from Japanstifelsen and ARQ for studies in Japanese urbanism in 2003
The Werntstedt grant 1990
Architect SAR 1989
M Arch at Chalmers University of Technology 1988