- Research Associate -

Ben Klages is a trained carpenter and designer whose background bridges hands-on craftsmanship and architectural thinking. He began his studies at the Münster Akademie für Gestaltung, graduating with a degree in Design and Crafts, which deepened his understanding of materials, forms and spatial composition. 

He holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Architecture from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and studied partially at Arkitektskolen Aarhus (AArch), where he developed a strong interest in socially engaged and context-sensitive architecture. Throughout his work as carpenter and designer, he has worked on a variety of architectural and design projects, ranging in scale from small to medium, and has also been a teaching assistant at Prof. Uta Graff's Chair of Architectural Design and Conception at TUM. 

He is currently employed at Kéré Architecture in Berlin, where projects rooted in sustainable and community-oriented design are contributed to by him as an architectural designer. In his role at the university, he combines practical experience, design sensibility and international perspectives to support research and teaching at the intersection of craft, architecture and societal relevance.