Rob Krier (10 June 1938 – 20 November 2023) was a Luxembourgish sculptor, architect, urban designer, and theorist. He was a professor of architecture at Vienna University of Technology, Austria. From 1993 to mid-2010s he worked in partnership with architect Christoph Kohl in a joint office based in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, Germany. He was the older brother of fellow architect Léon Krier. Both are well-known representatives of

New Urbanism New Urbanism is an urban design movement that promotes environmentally friendly habits by creating Walkability, walkable neighbourhoods containing a wide range of housing and job types. It arose in the United States in the early 1980s, and has ...

and

New Classical Architecture New Classical architecture, also known as New Classicism or Contemporary Classical architecture, is a Contemporary architecture, contemporary movement that builds upon the principles of Classical architecture. It is sometimes considered the mode ...

Career

Krier studied architecture at the

Technical University of Munich The Technical University of Munich (TUM or TU Munich; ) is a public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and applied and natural sciences. Established in 1868 by King Ludwig II ...

from 1959 to 1964. After graduating, he worked with

Oswald Mathias Ungers Oswald Mathias Ungers (12 July 1926 – 30 September 2007) was a German architect and architectural theorist, known for his rationalist designs and the use of cubic forms. Among his notable projects are museums in Frankfurt, Hamburg and Cologn ...

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

and

(1965–1966) and

Frei Otto Frei Paul Otto (; 31 May 1925 – 9 March 2015) was a German architect and structural engineer noted for his use of lightweight structures, in particular tensile and membrane structures, including the roof of the Olympic Stadium in Munich for t ...

in Berlin and

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

(1967–1970). From 1973 to 1975, he was an assistant in the school of architecture at the

University of Stuttgart The University of Stuttgart () is a research university located in Stuttgart, Germany. It was founded in 1829 and is organized into 10 faculties. It is one of the oldest technical universities in Germany with programs in civil, mechanical, ind ...

. In 1975, he was guest professor at the

École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne The École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (, EPFL) is a public university, public research university in Lausanne, Switzerland, founded in 1969 with the mission to "train talented engineers in Switzerland". Like its sister institution E ...

, in Switzerland. From 1976 to 1998, he was professor of architecture at Vienna University of Technology.Kleefisch-Jobst, Ursula and Flagge, Ingeborg (Eds.): ''Rob Krier: A Romantic Rationalist; Architect and Urban Planner'', Springer, 2005 In addition, in 1996, he was a guest professor at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, in the United States. From 1976 to 1994, Krier had his own architect's office in Vienna. From 1992 until 2004, he ran a joint office with Nicolas Lebunetel in

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

, France. In 1993, he also founded a joint office with Christoph Kohl in Berlin. most recently incorporated as “Krier ∙ Kohl Gesellschaft von Architekten mbH”. Since June 2010, the renamed KK Gesellschaft von Architekten mbH has been backed by Rob Krier as senior advisor. Krier first came to international attention with his 1975 book ''Stadtraum'', which was translated into English under the title ''Urban Space'' in 1979, reprinted as ''Stadtraum / Urban Space'' in 2005Stadtraum / Urban Space, Reprint of „Stadtraum in Theorie und Praxis“ (1975) / „Urban Space“ (1979), Umbau-Verlag Solingen, 2005 Krier contributed theoretically and practically to several key projects, including Ritterstrasse (1977–80) and Rauchstrasse (1980) in Berlin, Breitenfurterstrasse in Vienna (1981–87), and Kirchsteigfeld in Potsdam (1992–97).

Death

Krier died on 20 November 2023 in

, at the age of 85.Der Architekt Rob Krier ist gestorben

Publications

*''Stadtraum in Theorie und Praxis'' (1975), Karl Krämer, Stuttgart. Translated into English, French, Italian, Spanish. English translation: ''Urban Space'' (1979), Academy Editions, London *''Urban Projects 1968-1982'' (1982), Rizzoli International *''On Architecture'' (1982), Academy Editions, London *''Architectural Composition'' (1988), Academy Editions *''The Making of a Town. Potsdam - Kirchsteigfeld'' (1997), with Christoph Kohl, Papadakis Publishers *''Town Spaces. Contemporary Interpretations in Traditional Urbanism'' (2003), Krier Kohl Architects, Basel/Berlin/Boston *''Figures. A Pictorial Journal'' (2005), Papadakis Publisher, London * ''Stadtraum / Urban Space'' (2005), Reprint of "Stadtraum in Theorie und Praxis“ (1975) / "Urban Space“ (1979), Umbau-Verlag Solingen *''Cité Judiciaire Luxembourg 1991-2008'' (2010), Edition Axel Menges, Stuttgart/London

Awards

* Athena Medal from the

Congress for the New Urbanism New Urbanism is an urban design movement that promotes environmentally friendly habits by creating walkable neighbourhoods containing a wide range of housing and job types. It arose in the United States in the early 1980s, and has gradually in ...

, 2009 * Driehaus Architecture Prize, 2022

References

External links