Böhm, Gottfried

Böhm, Gottfried (1920– ). Son of Dominikus Böhm, born in Offenbach-am-Main, he joined his father's office in 1952, which he headed after the latter's death. His early work was mostly as a church architect, in which aspects of his father's Expressionism were reinterpreted. His Pilgrimage Church of Mary, Queen of Peace, Neviges, near Velbert (1963–8), looking like a craggy rock-formation, is a dramatic example of his use of irregular pointed forms, as is his extraordinarily fortress-like Rathaus (Town Hall) at Bensberg (1963–9), connected to the ruins of a medieval Schloss (castle) and rising above timber-framed houses. Later works, such as the offices for data processing and statistics in Düsseldorf (1969–76) and the Deutsche Bank, Luxembourg (1991), turned away from Expressionism to a more Rational architecture of steel and glass, while the conversion and restoration of Saarbrücken Schloss (1979–89) demonstrates a sureness of touch in mixing old and new fabric. Other designs include buildings for Bremerhaven (1982–9) and Mannheim (1986–8). Universities, the Baufirma Züblin Headquarters, Stuttgart-Möhringen (1982–4), and the Town House, Rheinberg (1977–80).

Bibliography

Böhm (ed.) (2001);
Kalman (1994);
Pehnt (1999);
Raev (1982, 1987);
S. Richardson (1987)