Profile

Montreal native Henri T. de Hahn moved with his family to Vienna, Austria at a young age, and at nine to Switzerland. After graduating from the College St-Michel in Fribourg in 1979 with a B.S., de Hahn was trained as an architect at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, completing an M.Arch in 1985. He studied under distinguished faculty member Robert Slutzky and completed his thesis under Pierre von Meiss. During his studies he interned for a year with Atelier Cube in Lausanne, Switzerland, and attended his fifth year at The Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies (IAUS) in New York City under the tutelage of George Ranalli, Diana Agrest and Anthony Vidler. Upon completion of his degree, de Hahn studied a year at The Cooper Union under Raimund Abraham, and interned at a New York firm working on a number of renovation projects.

In 1987, de Hahn was invited by Anthony Eardley to join the faculty as a lecturer and later became an Assistant and Associate Professor at the College of Architecture, University of Kentucky. Between 1993-96 he taught in Switzerland in the Architecture Department at the ETH-Zürich, and at the Art Center in Vevey while working with the architectural firm Musy et Vallotton Architectes in Lausanne. After his return to the United States, he focused his teaching and research agenda on an interdisciplinary approach to problem solving strategies between the departments of architecture, historic preservation and interior design. During his nineteen years at Kentucky, he held several administrative positions and completed a number of architectural projects under his firm Atelier de Hahn in conjunction with his wife Tracee de Hahn.

In August 2006, de Hahn was appointed Department Head and Professor of the Architecture Department of the College of Architecture and Environmental Design at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. Under his leadership, the Department advanced the core curriculum, expanded the interdisciplinary approach to design; diversified its off-campus programs, including international exchange programs, professional and co-op studios; established a robust publication series; and developed a number of strategies pertaining to a culture of giving among alumni and industry partners. De Hahn left Cal Poly at the end of 2012 to serve as Provost at NewSchool in San Diego, CA.

De Hahn is a registered architect in Switzerland, and member of the Swiss Society of Architects (SIA), REG A, International Associate AIA, and numerous professional societies both in Europe and America.