Christian Werthmann

Short CV

Christian Werthmann received his Master of Landscape Architecture degree with a specialization in urban design at the University of Kassel in Germany. Before moving to the United States in 1997 he was a project designer in the landscape architecture office of Latz and Partners and taught as a Research Fellow at TUM. In the United States he worked as a landscape architect in several prominent offices such as Peter Walker and Partners and Hargreaves Associates. Up until 2012, Werthmann was an Associate Professor and the former Director of the Master in Landscape Architecture Degree Programs at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. Currently, Christian Werthmann is Professor of Landscape Architecture and Design at the Leibniz University Hannover.

Selected Awards

• 2010, Communication Excellence Award of the American Society of Landscape Architects Tactical Operations in the Non-formal City 
• 2005, Honorary Award of the American Society of Landscape Architects, Parking Structure #4, Office: Peter Walker and Partners, Stanford University, CA
• 2000, First Prize, San Francisco Prize 2000, International Competition Harvey Milk Memorial USA

Research Interests

Werthmann’s research concentrates on the potentials of landscape architecture and civic infrastructure in heavily urbanized and socially conflicted terrain, predominantly in the rapidly developing informal cities of the Global South. In his research work Werthmann overlays technical innovation with social and natural systems to foster new productive and aesthetically challenging public spaces that transcend traditional notions of landscape and building. Most recently, he is engaged in the development of an earthquake refugee community in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, (jointly with faculty from MIT) and anticipatory strategies for informal migrants into the hills of Medellin.

Selected Publications

• Werthmann, C.; Schroepfer, T.: Aspirations and realities of exemplary eco-cities. DETAIL Green 2, 2010.

• Werthmann, C.: Leapfrogging Slums. Ecological Urbanism, 2010.

• He, L.; Werthmann, C., Schroepfer, T.: TransUrban. Charting Experiments for Cities of the Future. Case Study 03: Valdesparterra, Spain; Case Study 04: Sarriguren, Spain; Case Study 05: BO2. Design & Technology Report Series, 2010.

• Werthmann, C.: Green Roof- A Case Study. Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates’ Design for the Headquarters of the American Society of Landscape Architects. Princeton Architectual Press, 2009.

• Werthmann, C.: Tactical Operations in the Informal City. São Paulo Housing Agency, 2009.