Anne-Louise Sommer is rector of The Danish Design School.

As rector Anne-Louise Sommer is responsible for spear-heading the continued development of The Danish Design School as a dynamic research and educational institution.

Anne-Louise Sommer’s research is based on an expanded concept of design (where design is about more than concrete solutions). Her research focuses on the historical dimension and is influenced by a consistent emphasis on the relationship between works and the current perceptions and ideas in the culture that the works are produced in.

Specifically, for example, Anne-Louise Sommer has studied the relationships between furniture design, cultural trends, national identity, and ideology, a theme that she has addressed in her book on the Danish designer Kaare Klint and in a series of articles and conference contributions.

The modern metropolitan cemetery is another topic that Anne-Louise Sommer has studied in depth. Both the design of the cemeteries and the way in which people use them are subject to ongoing development. In her book De Dødes Haver (The gardens of the dead) and in a number of articles, papers, lectures and other contributions Anne-Louise Sommer has addressed how this development unfolds in close interaction with the changing conditions and perceptions in society with regard to such issues as religion, social conditions, aesthetics and nature.

Anne-Louise Sommer has broad educational and research experience from positions in a number of universities within the fields of art history, interdisciplinary aesthetic studies, and cultural studies.

Anne-Louise Sommer holds an M.A. in comparative literature studies from the University of Copenhagen.