Gottfried Böhm

Gottfried Böhm (January 23, 1920 – June 9, 2021) was a German architect. In 1986, he became the first German architect to be honored with a Pritzker Prize.Gottfried Bohm on Architectuul

Early life
Böhm was born in Offenbach am Main near Frankfurt on 23 January 1920.  He was the youngest of three children of Maria and Dominikus Böhm. Böhm was forced to serve into the Wehrmacht during World War II.  He served until he was injured in 1942.  He studied at Technische Hochschule, Munich.

While traveling in the United States, he met two of his greatest inspirations, German architects Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius.

Career
He was known for creating sculptural buildings made of concrete, steel, and glass. Böhm's first independent building was the Cologne chapel "Madonna in the Rubble".  The chapel was completed in 1949 where a medieval church once stood before it was destroyed during World War II. Böhm's most well known building is the Maria, Königin des Friedens pilgrimage church in Neviges.

He was a critic of urban planning. He also built structures in Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Turin.

Personal life
Böhm was married to Elizabeth Haggenmüller, also an architect, until her death in 2012. He met her in 1948 while studying in Munich. She helped him in several of his projects, mainly through interior design.Hiltrud Kier, Bauten und Projekte in: Kristin Feireiss (ed.): Elisabeth Böhm: Stadtstrukturen und Bauten, p. 64  Together, they had four sons.

Böhm turned 100 in January 2020.As Gottfried Böhm Turns 100, an Exhibition Foregrounds His Concrete Religious Architecture He died on June 9, 2021 in Cologne at the age of 101.

Famous buildings
 St. Columba Church, in Cologne, Germany (1947-1950)
 Pilgrimage Church, in Neviges, Germany (1968-1972)
 Christi Auferstehung (Church of Resurrection), in Cologne (1968-1970)
 Bensburg Town Hall, Germany (1964-1969)

References

Other websites

 Pritzker Prize page on Gottfried Böhm 

Category:1920 births
Category:2021 deaths
Category:German architects
Category:German centenarians
Category:People from Hesse
Category:Pritzker Architecture Prize winners