Cor Wagenaar studied history at the University of Groningen. In 1993 he published a PhD thesis on the reconstruction of Rotterdam. He has participated in research projects sponsored by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2001 he joined the Institute of History of Art, Architecture and Urbanism at Delft University. Wagenaar has developed health care architecture as his second specialization since the late 1990s, wrote numerous articles and books on the topic (among them Hospitals. A Design Manual in 2018, published in Chinese in 2023), and for a short time worked as a hospital consultant. In 2014, he was appointed Professor by special appointment at the University of Groningen, specializing in architecture, urbanism, and health. In 2016 he became Full professor in the history and theory of architecture and urbanism, and head of the Expertise Center Architecture, Urbanism and Health. He chairs the scientific board of the Berlin based European Network Architecture for Health. Cor Wagenaar lives and works in Groningen and Berlin.