Lasse Rau

Lasse Rau (he/him) is a Doctoral Student in Architecture at Columbia GSAPP. Lasse’s research traces the history of ecologic and economic models and their subjects within modern planning. He has taught history seminars and urban design and architectural studios at the Rhode Island School of Design, Wentworth School of Architecture, and the Boston Architectural College. His scholarship has been published in Thresholds Journal (MIT Press) and Situation Magazine.

Lasse earned a Master of Science in Architecture Studies from MIT, where he was awarded the Highest Academic Achievement prize and served as the department’s Teaching Development Fellow for the year 2021-22. His thesis, “On Viscous Grounds: Planning for Friction across the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, 1968-1981,” read the development of the American Arctic in relation to environmental policy, worker housing, and Native land use mapping. His studies were supported by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). Prior to MIT, Lasse studied architecture at TU Berlin where he co-taught workshops on digital representation and drawing. He has practiced with 51N4E, Sam Chermayeff Office, and Office MMK.