Positions

Anthony R. Brand is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Auckland's School of Architecture and Planning, where he teaches history, theory and criticism, and holds Co-Chair of the AI Teaching and Learning Sub-Committee for the faculty of Engineering and Design. His research centres on phenomenology, embodiment, and situated cognition—exploring how we feel architecture through the entangled complexity of brain, body, and environment. His first book, Touching Architecture: Affective Atmospheres and Embodied Encounters (2022), developed from his PhD thesis, investigates how and why architecture affects us. His forthcoming second book, Tracing Architecture: Exploring the Significance of Our Narrative Lifeworlds (2026), examines the existential value of traces in design, construction, and inhabitation, centred around themes of authenticity, narrativity, and temporality. Recent work focuses on the intersection of AI, emerging technologies, and architectural pedagogy.

Anthony completed his Bachelor of Architecture and Diploma of Architecture at the University of Nottingham (UK) before relocating to New Zealand in 2009. After working with Habitat for Humanity in Ōtara, he joined the University of Auckland in 2011 to pursue doctoral research. His PhD thesis, Touching Architecture: A Felt Phenomenology of Affective Atmospheres and Embodied Encounters, was awarded the Faculty of Creative Arts & Industries Prize for Best Doctoral Thesis (2018) and nominated for the Vice Chancellor's doctoral thesis award.

Following submission, he worked in architectural practice at Rowe Baetens before returning to academia as a full-time lecturer in 2019.

Beyond research and writing, Anthony is deeply committed to architectural education. He has supervised numerous MArch(Prof) thesis students and doctoral candidates, and has coordinated the Master of Architecture (Professional) thesis programme. His pedagogical innovations - particularly in integrating AI into design studios and reimagining assessment practices - have been recognised through invitations to speak at international conferences and feature in publications like ArchitectureNZ. He was a finalist for the AASA Education Prize for Early Career Academics (2022).

Anthony's work bridges theory and practice, making complex phenomenological concepts accessible whilst maintaining scholarly rigour. He has been invited to serve as external examiner for architecture programmes at Victoria University Wellington, Unitec, and Auckland University of Technology, and regularly reviews for journals including Interstices and Frontiers. In 2025, he was invited to chair the ADNZ webinar series on AI and Architecture, and in 2022, the Society of Architectural Historians (USA) invited him to join a roundtable on "Conserving Built Space Through the Senses."

When not teaching, researching, or writing, Anthony continues to engage with architectural practice and remains fascinated by the traces, atmospheres, and embodied experiences that transform mere space into meaningful place.

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More-than a Feeling

Positions

More-than a Feeling