Jolanthe Kugler is the chief curator for contemporary design and architecture at mudac – Musée cantonal de design in Lausanne, Switzerland and co-director of the design research review RADDAR, published by mudac (until 2023 in collaboration with T&P Work Unit, Paris). Her academic roles as a professor of interior architecture at Politecnico – Scuola di Design in Milan, Italy and a lecturer for History and Theory of Design at Hochschule für Gestaltung und Kunst (HGK FHNW) in Basel showcase her commitment to educating and shaping the future of the field.
She studied architecture, art history and urban sociology in Mendrisio, Florence and Paris and graduated with a Master of Science in Architecture from the Accademia di architettura di Mendrisio, Switzerland. She specialises in urbanism from the University of Applied Sciences ZHAW in Zurich and didactics in higher education at the University of Fribourg.
After working for several years as an architect in studios in Italy, Germany and Switzerland, she widened her field of interest, focusing on the then-newly emerging field of urban development. From 2009 to 2022, she held various positions, most recently as a lecturer, at the Institute for Urban Development at the University of Applied Sciences FHNW Basel, Switzerland, focussing on criteria and processes for social and sustainable urban development and the interplay between social, built, and perceived environments.
At the same time, she developed her curatorial practice at the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein, Germany, curating numerous international travelling exhibitions on various topics related to the design of our everyday lives between 2012 and 2021, including Lightopia—Designing Light, Shiro Kuramata—Design as Poetry, The Bauhaus #itsalldesign, and Balkrishna Doshi—Architecture for the People.
Jolanthe is the editor of several books on design and architecture (including the award-winning monograph on Balkrishna Doshi and the first architectural guide to the anthroposophical colony around the world-famous Goetheanum near Basel), has written numerous articles for specialist publications and journals on design and architecture and regularly shares her expertise as a lecturer, guest critic and jury member.
