Anna Klingmann

Anna Klingmann, M.Arch. PhD. is principal of Klingmann Architects & Brand Consultants, a multidisciplinary architecture and branding firm in New York. Klingmann Architects & Brand Consultants has been recognized as a leader in the design of complex, international, large-scale mixed-use destinations—always with a strong focus on sustainability and the local heritage. KABC’s strategists and planners work globally on a broad range of projects, from new urban districts and retail to corporate campuses, resorts, public parks and residential communities.

A German native, Anna Klingmann received her Bachelor of Architecture from Pratt Institute in New York with Honors and her Masters Degree in Urban Development from the Architectural Association in London. She received her PhD. summa cum laude in branding and architecture from the University of Arts in Berlin. She began her career in New York where she worked for commercial architectural offices. Later she moved to London, where she worked for the internationally renowned architects Zaha Hadid and Rem Koolhaas. Since 1997, she held assistant professorships at Cornell University, Columbia University, and the University of Pennsylvania, and has taught at the Architectural Association in London, the ETH in Zurich, the University of Arts in Berlin, the University of Florida, the Bauhaus Foundation, and University of Texas at Austin. Inspired by the potential of architecture to connect commerce, culture, and community, she founded Klingmann Architects & Brand Consultants in 2001.

Her projects have been published in many international journals and magazines including: Arch Magazine, Istoe Independe, Real Estate Weekly, Fast Company, AD Magazine, Daidalos, Architectural Record, The Age, and Architecture Aujourdhui among many others. She has written academic articles on her BRANDISM® principles, an innovative approach to merging architecture and branding, which have appeared in numerous publications such as Face Magazine, Archithese, The Architectural Theory Review, Detail Magazine, Thresholds, Arch+, among others.

Today, clients around the world seek out Anna Klingmann’s advice and opinions on creating unique and sustainable mixed-use destinations. She is a frequent, invited speaker at conferences in the United States and abroad, where her talks explore how architecture can be strategically employed to create imaginative places that truly engage customers and create memories in them.

Her book Brandscapes: Architecture in the Experience Economy, (MIT Press 2007), illustrates cutting-edge ideas how architecture can effectively brand mixed-use destinations, residential communities, and retail environments.