Several of his graduate seminars are internationally recognised:
AAE 770: Research Methods for Architects in Environmental Design (M.Arch.) Drawing on 30 years of active research and publication, this graduate seminar equips students with the tools to publish original work, secure grants, and build a credible research agenda — skills rarely taught with this depth in architecture schools.
AAE 660: Desert Cities — Issues and Solutions in Contemporary Urbanism (M.Arch.) One of the only courses of its kind globally, this seminar treats the city as a living laboratory, examining the urbanisation of desert regions through the lens of climate resilience, resource scarcity, and design adaptation.
Sustainability principles are embedded across all teaching, research, and practice.
His teaching outcomes have been widely published and exhibited, and have served as exemplary work in program accreditation reviews.
Design Research Studios and Seminars
Lehmann has received the Award for Teaching Excellence from the University of Newcastle (NSW), and the Fielden Medal for Teaching Excellence from the University of Nevada — two institutional recognitions that reflect a consistent commitment to rigorous, purpose-driven pedagogy. He builds learning environments that challenge students to think critically and work creatively, connecting academic inquiry to real-world consequence and purpose. He has led Design-Build studios with award-winning outcomes — including the Wedding Pavilion in Roma Street Park, Brisbane (QUT, 2006), and 3rd Prize in the US Solar Decathlon Competition, Las Vegas (UNLV, 2018-2020).
He has held visiting positions at prestigious institutions across eight countries, including UC Berkeley, TU Munich (as DAAD Visiting Professor), TU Berlin, NUS Singapore, Tongji University Shanghai, Tianjin University, and Xi'an Jiaotong University (Distinguished Visiting Professor). From 2022 to 2024, he held an appointment as Invited Global Professor in the Graduate School at Keio University, Tokyo.
Lehmann has served as guest critic in design studios at more than 50 universities worldwide, most recently at Washington University St. Louis, Tulane University, and Keio University Tokyo.
International Lecture Series
From 2018 to 2026, Lehmann has initiated and moderated a semester-based International Public Lecture Series for the Las Vegas School of Architecture, AIA Nevada and AIA Las Vegas. Over his 35-year career, he has interviewed and moderated conversations with hundreds of prominent figures, including Hans Hollein, Daniel Libeskind, Antoine Predock, Lucio Costa, Harry Seidler, and Arata Isozaki.
Global Studio
From 2003 to 2020, Lehmann founded and led a series of Global Studios — a 15-year initiative coordinating design studios across six countries in collaboration with TU Berlin, TU Munich, Tongji University Shanghai, NUS Singapore, Universidad Iberoamericana Mexico City, Anant National University Ahmedabad, and Papua New Guinea University of Technology. The programme built capacity, fostered international knowledge exchange, and created lasting networks across students, academics, practitioners, and local communities from multiple disciplines and institutions.
Internship Program
At his Berlin office, Lehmann ran an internship program in partnership with his alma maters — TU Berlin and the AA School London — employing fresh graduates to ease the transition from academia into professional practice. Over the course of a decade, more than a dozen young designers came through the program.
MANY OF THE GREAT CHALLENGES OF OUR ERA ARE DESIGN PROBLEMS. I TRAIN STUDENTS THE RIGOR TO MEET THEM HEAD-ON.
Mentoring and Advocacy
Lehmann has long championed the advancement of underrepresented minorities and women in architecture and urbanism — believing that strong mentoring is essential to creating a stimulating environment for learning and research, and to preparing students for the realities of practice.
Many of his former students have become leading practitioners.
He views the question of how the profession can better support new graduates — while simultaneously confronting climate change and rapid urbanisation — as one of the defining challenges of our time in architectural education.
The design disciplines and social sciences are particularly well positioned to lead on these challenges, and Lehmann has taken that responsibility seriously, extending his influence well beyond the campus.
His active commitment includes reconnecting with alumni to establish scholarships and awards for first-generation students from underrepresented communities; organising public symposia and annual lecture series that platform women and minority colleagues — among them the SAY IT LOUD exhibition and symposium (2020) and the Latin American Architecture Symposium at UNLV (held as part of the AIA National Conference, 2019); championing fundraising in collaboration with the AIA and other partners to create new student awards; and supporting students navigating the pressures of tuition costs, cost of living, and the difficult transition from education into professional practice.
Beyond the campus, Lehmann actively supports tree-planting initiatives and contributes to broader charitable work through his membership of the Lions Club.
THE GREATEST PROFESSIONAL PRIDE, HOWEVER, LIES IN THE STUDENTS I HAD THE PRIVILEGE TO TEACH.
