A new face will lead one of the UK’s most prestigious design institutions after the announcement that RISD professor Amy Kulper will be the next Director of University College London’s The Bartlett School of Architecture.

Kulper is presently the head of the Architecture department at RISD and has held numerous teaching positions throughout her career including recent stops at UCLA, SCI-Arc, and the University of Cambridge.

Kulper's extensive writing and research primarily focuses on the intersection of history, theory, and design. Her work as an academic has earned her the University of Michigan’s Donna M. Salzer Award for teaching excellence and recently included the oversight of the newly-created combined 4+2 program between Brown and RISD. 

As a critic and curator, she has been published several times in Log, The Architectural Review, Candide, and Architecture and Culture. Her exhibitions have been held at London’s Roca Gallery and Carnegie Mellon University. Kulper was also the co-chair of the ASCA national conference Black Box: Articulating Architecture’s Core in the Post-Digital Era in 2019.

Kulper will replace Bob Sheil, who had served in the post from 2014 until his planned departure this past fall amidst allegations of racism and sexual discrimination at the school. Sheil is returning in a faculty role despite a viral campaign calling for his ouster. Kulper will officially take office effective September 1st. 

“I am honored to have been selected as the next Director of The Bartlett School of Architecture and look forward to future collaborations with staff and students,” she said in a statement. “We are currently witnessing a sea-change in architectural education as the architect’s role is strategically expanded to include fluency and expertise in racial, social, and environmental justice and decoloniality. The Bartlett is a global leader in the pedagogy of the built environment, and I look forward to harnessing the creative innovations of its community as we embrace this transformation in the education of the architect.”