press release

42 applications from 23 countries for the Gottfried Böhm Scholarship

Cologne 06.09.2023 - In May 2023, the postgraduate scholarship launched by Lord Mayor Henriette Reker for the 100th anniversary of Gottfried Böhm's birthday started for the first time. The well-funded scholarship is intended to give postgraduate architects from all over the world the chance to spend a year developing a creative and visionary urban planning project for Cologne and the region.

Now, the application deadline ended on 31 August 2023. A total of 42 architects and urban planners from 23 countries applied. These include Afghanistan, Egypt, Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, China, Germany, DR Congo, France, Guinea, India, Iran, Italy, Cameroon, Lebanon, Madagascar, Poland, Senegal, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine and Central Africa.

"We are pleased to have received qualified applications from all over the world already in this first round," says Susanne Fabry, Chairwoman of the Verein der Freunde und Förderer der TH Köln e.V. "This will not be an easy task for the jury to make a decision given the number, quality and variety of project proposals." The jury will meet in mid-September, so the first round of the residency scholarship is expected to start in October 2023.

About the scholarship
The scholarship holder will receive free accommodation for one year, a workplace in a creative environment in the middle of the city - in 2023/2024, for example, in the Forum of the Foundation for Art and Architecture - and a monthly grant of 2,500 euros. The scholarship is offered and supervised by the Verein der Freunde und Förderer der Technischen Hochschule Köln e.V. (Association of Friends and Sponsors of the Cologne University of Applied Sciences).

The results of the work produced as part of the Gottfried Böhm Scholarship will be presented at the end of the scholarship at a reception hosted by the Lord Mayor of the City of Cologne and then exhibited for a fortnight in the Spanish Building. With the scholarship, the City of Cologne and the sponsors of the scholarship want to honor the Pritzker Prize winner, who died in 2021. The start of the scholarship is planned for the beginning of October 2023.

About the jury
The following jurors will decide in mid-September who will be the first recipient of the Gottfried Böhm Scholarship:

  • Prof. Paul Böhm, architect BDA, Faculty of Architecture at the Cologne University of Technology
  • Christl Drey, architect and urban planner, Chairwoman of the House of Architecture Cologne
  • Susanne Fabry, Chairwoman of the Verein der Freunde und Förderer der Technischen Hochschule Köln e.V. (Association of Friends and Sponsors of the Cologne University of Technology e.V.)
  • Bernadette Heiermann, architect BDA, research assistant at RWTH Aachen University
  • Eva Herr, Head of the City Planning Office of the City of Cologne
  • Prof. Dr. Stefan Herzig, President of the Cologne University of Technology
  • Kaspar Kraemer, architect BDA, member of the Verein der Freunde und Förderer der Technischen Hochschule Köln e.V. (Association of Friends and Sponsors of the Cologne University of Technology e.V.)
  • Klaus Küppers, NRW Branch Manager of PANDION Real Estate GmbH
  • Jürgen Minkus, Architect BDA, Chairman of the Cologne Design Advisory BoardClaire Verroul, Office of the Lord Mayor of Cologne, Planning and Building Officer
  • Prof. Carola Wiese, Architect BDA, Faculty of Architecture, Cologne University of Applied Sciences

 The following sponsors support the scholarship:

  • Architekturbüro Paul Böhm
  • Friedrich Wassermann Bauunternehmung für Hoch- & Tiefbauten GmbH &
    Co. KG, vertreten durch den GF Anton Bausinger
  • HECKER WERNER HIMMELREICH Rechtsanwälte Partnerschaft mbB
  • Hermann Jutkeit
  • PANDION AG
  • Stadt Köln
  • Stiftung für Kunst und Baukultur Britta und Ulrich Findeisen
  • Wolf Immobilien Gruppe



Press contact: Thomas Müller, mueller@dieprberater.de, 0049 151 629 09973