Gottfried Böhm

Gottfried Böhm (°Offenbach, January 23, 1920) is a German architect, in 1986 he won the Pritzkerprize.

His father, Dominikus Böhm, is renowned for having built numerous churches throughout Germany. His grandfather was also an architect. After graduating from Technical University of Munich in 1946, he studied sculpture at a nearby fine-arts academy. Böhm later integrated his skills in clay model making, which he learned during this time, into his design process.

After graduating in 1947, Böhm worked for his father until the latter’s death in 1955 and later taking over the firm. During this period, he also worked with the “Society for the Reconstruction of Cologne” under Rudolf Schwarz. In 1951 he travelled to New York City, where he worked for six months in the architectural firm of Cajetan Baumann. While travelling in America he met two of his greatest inspirations, German architects Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Walter Gropius. Böhm was married to Elisabeth Böhm, also an architect, whom he met in 1948 while studying in Munich 1948. She assisted him in several of his projects, working mainly on interior designs. They have four sons, three of which are now architects.