The focus of his research and publications is the history and theory of architecture from the 19th to the 21st centuries where it intersects with the history of technology. His main publications include Hermann Muthesius 1861–1927: Das Landhaus als kulturgeschichtlicher Entwurf (2008), Schwellenatlas (2009), Atelier Bow Wow: A Primer (2013), Fritz Haller: Architekt und Forscher (2015), Architecture/Machine (2017), Architectural Ethnography (2018), Founding Myths (2019), and Architektur Ethnographie (2020). His articles have been published in journals, including AA Files, ARCH+, Grey Room, The Journal of Architecture, werk, bauen + wohnen and the Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte.

He studied architecture at the ETH Zurich (1996), undertook a scholarship with the Swiss Institute for Archaeology & Architectural Research in Cairo (1996-97), and obtained his PhD in Architecture from the ETH Zurich (2002).

Laurent Stalder was previously Assistant Professor in the History Department of Université Laval in Québec City, Canada (2002-06), and Assistant Professor for Architectural Theory at the GTA Institute (2006-11). He was a visiting scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2009).

He is a member of the board of trustees of the Swiss Architecture Museum in Basel and the Werner Oechslin Library Foundation.