Böhm, Gottfried (1920-2021), was a German architect and city planner who won international praise for his creativity in blending tradition with modern styles in his designs. Böhm’s projects are sensitive to their urban environment in terms of color, form, and materials. In his earlier projects, Böhm emphasized concrete and brick. He developed a form of tentlike ceiling out of concrete that enabled many of his buildings to cover large spaces without interior supports. His later works are noted for their use of steel and glass. In 1986, Böhm was awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize, the most prestigious international award in architecture (see Pritzker Architecture Prize).
One of Böhm’s best-known projects is the University Library and Auditorium (1989) in Mannheim, Germany. The building is designed as a fortress protecting the books inside. The walls are thick and solid, broken only by decorated portholes that suggest Venetian or Islamic architecture. Most natural light comes through the roof. Böhm’s skill at blending the old and the new appears in the Bensberg city hall (1969), effectively integrated into historic ruins. Böhm’s involvement in city planning can be seen in his design for the area in Cologne around the cathedral and the Heumarkt. Böhm’s other major projects include the Zueblin corporate headquarters (1985) in the Stuttgart suburb of Möhringen, the Profil ARBED headquarters (1994) in Luxembourg, and the Hans-Otto Theatre (2006) in Potsdam.
Gottfried Karl Böhm was born on Jan. 23, 1920, in Offenbach am Main, Germany. He graduated from the Munich Technical School (now Technical University of Munich) in 1946 and then studied sculpture at the Munich Academy of Fine Arts. Some of his architectural designs reflect the influence of German Expressionism of the early 1900’s.
Böhm worked in the office of his father, the noted architect Dominikus Böhm, until his father’s death in 1955. Gottfried then took over the firm. Dominikus Böhm had specialized in designing churches, and among Gottfried’s early works were several notable church projects near Cologne, including the parish church (1958) at Schildgen and especially the Pilgrimage Church (1968) at Neviges. Böhm was professor of town planning and training at RWTH Aachen University from 1963 to 1985. He died on June 9, 2021.
