David Gissen is a New York-based author, designer, and educator who works in the fields of architecture, landscape, and urban design.
His recent book, The Architecture of Disability (University of Minnesota Press, 2023) has been praised as “an exhilarating manifesto” and a “complete reshaping about how we view the development and creation of architecture.” The Architecture of Disability offers a critical perspective on histories and futures of buildings, cities, and landscapes — beyond a sole focus on the problems of accessibility.
David’s previous books include Subnature: Architecture’s Other Environments (Princeton Architecture Press, 2009), and Manhattan Atmospheres (University of Minnesota Press, 2014). His architectural and design works have been exhibited and published widely — in the Venice Biennale (2016, 2021), Canadian Centre for Architecture, and the Center for Architecture in New York.
David has held several distinguished academic appointments: Dean’s Visiting Professor at the Columbia University, Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation (ongoing); Eero Saarinen Visiting Professor of Architecture at Yale University (2019 – 2020); University Professor (2019-20) at the Institute for Art and Architecture, Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna, Austria; and Visiting Professor of Architecture History in the PhD. program in the History, Theory, & Criticism of Architecture and Art (HTC) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2015).
He is currently Professor of Architecture and Urban History at the Parsons School of Design/New School University. He lectures and teaches internationally in the areas of architecture, interior, urban, and landscape history, theory, and design. Recent lectures include public presentations at Princeton University, Harvard University, The California College of the Arts, and The Center for Architecture, New York.
David offers consultation, workshops, and strategic planning for museums, municipal governments and agencies, design firms, and institutions seeking to bring complex disability perspectives into their organization. He has led recent workshops at the Museum of Modern Art, Guggenheim Museum, The Copenhagen Architecture Festival, et al.