Peter Hasdell is the Associate Dean of Academic Programmes in the School of Design. Associate Professor, he was the discipline Leader of the Environment and Interior department for 6 years prior and is the director of the cross-disciplinary Design Social research initiative. Architect, urbanist, and academic, he graduated from the University of Sydney where he studied computer science, film theory and architecture followed by graduate and professional studies at the Architectural Association in London.

Peter has taught since 1994 in Architecture and Design schools including the Bartlett School, UCL, London; KTH Arkitektur, Stockholm; The Berlage Institute, Rotterdam; Columbia University, NY; Faculty of Architecture, University of Manitoba; The Rural Studio, Auburn University, Alabama; and Hong Kong University. He has taught with well-known architects and innovators including Sir Peter Cook, Raoul Bunschoten, Peter Salter, John Hejduk and Mark West. He has been a core research member of the renowned research institutes Chora Institute of Architecture and Urbanism in London; and the Centre for Architecture Structures and Technology (C.A.S.T.) in Manitoba. He has initiated and directed research institutes including the Architecture and Urban Research Lab (A+URL) in Stockholm; and Pneuma in Canada. Recipient of numerous awards and grants including from the European Union two times. His present research focuses on the metabolic architecture on the scales of the city (city as a life form, urban ecology), and as architecture (interactive and responsive architectures). Books include Border Ecologies (Birkhauser 2016) and Miaoxia Community Kitchen (SD Publications 2017) on a rural participatory project in Sichuan. His practice D+A hq Ltd, HK conducts architecture and planning projects in China and SE Asia since 2007 and has built several buildings in China including the competition and award winning Rainbow School in Kunming for Beijing Normal University 2014.

He is the founder of In-situ Project a research platform aimed at sustainable rurasl development, recognised as 4 star impact research in 2021.