Cor Wagenaar studied history at the University of Groningen. In 1993 he completed a PhD thesis on the reconstruction of Rotterdam. He has participated in research projects funded by the Netherlands Organisation 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 specialised in healthcare architecture as a second field of expertise since the late 1990s, has written numerous articles and books on the topic (among them Hospitals. A Design Manual in 2018, published in Chinese in 2023), and has also worked briefly as a hospital consultant. In 2014, he was appointed Professor (special appointment) at the University of Groningen, specialising 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 Centre 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.