The renowned German architect Gottfried Böhm has passed away at the age of 101. In 1986, Böhm became the first German architect to be awarded the Pritzker Prize, recognizing his skilled use of concrete, steel, and glass in church architecture. Böhm won particular acclaim for his sculptural concrete churches, including the Pilgrimage Church in Neviges, Germany, which is regarded as one of the most important church constructions on the 20th century.

Born in 1920 near Frankfurt, Germany, Böhm was part of a generation of German architects tasked with rebuilding the country after the Second World War. His work was heavily influenced by the works of early European modernists, including Walter Gropius and Mies van der Rohe, both of whom Böhm met personally.

Böhm’s first building, the Madonna in the Rocks chapel in Cologne, Germany, was completed in 1949 and was incorporated into the Peter Zumthor-designed Kolumba Art Museum in 2005. Throughout his career, Böhm placed an emphasis on creating connections between the past and future, a concept he applied to projects such as his Pilgrimage Church, and his Bensberg City Hall near Cologne. While best known for his churches, of which he designed and built more than 70, Böhm also diversified into sectors such as museums, civic centers, offices, and apartments; and cities such as Los Angeles, Boston, Tokyo, and Turin.

Böhm was surrounded by a family of many architectural talents. Both his grandfather and father were architects before him, with Böhm taking control of his father’s firm following his death in 1955. In 1948, Böhm married the architect Elisabeth Haggenmüller, who assisted him on many projects until her death in 2012. 

Three of Böhm’s sons have also become architects, all operating independent firms under the same roof having began their careers working in Böhm’s practice in the 1980s. One of Böhm’s final works was the 48,000-square-meter Cologne Central Mosque completed in 2015, designed by Böhm along with his son, Paul Böhm. 

Böhm’s death follows weeks after the death of fellow Pritzker Prize-winning architect Paulo Mendes da Rocha at the age of 92.