Frei-Otto-Park in Siegmar
Honour for one of the most important architects of the 20th century
At its meeting today, the city council decided to name the park in Siegmar, between Rosmarinstrasse and Zwickauer Strasse, "Frei Otto Park".
The public green space is located not far from Frei Otto's birthplace at Rosmarienstraße 23. The architect grew up in Siegmar and attended the local school. In 1943, he began studying architecture at the Technical University of Berlin, which he had to interrupt due to the turmoil of the war, but continued his studies in 1948, including in the United States. Even at this time, he was fascinated by the possibilities of designing lightweight buildings and innovative roof constructions. He realised his dream of flying with his "floating" buildings on the ground.
His best-known works are unique roof constructions: the transparent tent roof of the Munich Olympic Stadium (1972), the Japanese pavilion at the Expo in Hanover (2000) together with colleagues and the spider's web roof over the German tent pavilion for the World Expo in Montreal (1967).
Frei Otto continued to work as an architect in his studio in Leonberg near Stuttgart until his death on 9 March 2015. In recognition of his life and work, he was posthumously awarded the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2015, in addition to numerous honours and awards. The award is regarded in professional circles as the Nobel Prize for architects.