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Oswald Mathias Ungers (12.07.1926–30.09.2007) was born in Kaisersesch, in the Eifel region. Under Egon Eiermann he studied architecture from 1947 to 1950
at the University of Karlsruhe. He set up is own architectural practice in Cologne in 1950, and became famous as architect and architectural theorist. He is well known
for his rationalist designs and an architetural language which emphasises cubic forms. His best known projects are museums in Frankfurt, Hamburg and Cologne.
As a consequence of his success, he was able to open offices in Berlin (1964), Frankfurt (1974) and Karlsruhe (1983).
From 1963 to 1967, Oswald Mathias Ungers was a professor at the Technical University of Berlin, serving as dean of the faculty of architecture from 1965 to 1967.
In the year 1968 he moved to the United States of America, where he worked for the department of architecture at the Cornell University form 1969 to 1975. During his
time in the USA, he became a member of the American Institute of Architects in 1971. Additionally he was a visiting professor at the Harvard University (1973 and 1978)
and at the University of California in Los Angeles (1974 and 1975). After his return to Germany in 1976, he became a visiting professor at the University of Applied Arts Vienna
(1979 and 1980). At the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf, Oswald Mathias Ungers became a full professor in 1986.
The buildings by Oswald Mathias Ungers are characterized by rigid gemetrical grids, which served as regulatory lines in his creations. Elementary forms such as squares,
circles, cubes and bowls are basic Elements in his desings. These elementary forms were used in different ways and where transformed in different designs. As an architectural
theorist and a professor, Oswald Mathias Ungers developed a language, which is called "square-style" by his critics and "german rationalism" by his admirers. His theory is related to
Jean-Nicola-Louis Durand, who published his exemplary books with geometrical archetypes for every kind of building 1820. Ungers architectural language clearly had the
intention to be based on elementary means of creation with the goal to be independent of changing spirit of the time. His architectural ideals are mainly of roman-greek origin.
Ungers is considered to be one of the most important theorists of the so-callded second modernism. The most famous students of Oswald Mathias Ungers are Hans Kollhoff,
Rem Koolhaas and Max Dudler - of course among many others.
Oswald Mathias Ungers was a collector of architectural books and created one of the most important architectural libraries, which was made a foundation already in 1990.
The library contains important works such as the first edition of Vitruvs De Architectura Libri Decem (1495), rare Bauhaus editions and publication of the russian avantgarde,
for example by El Lissitzky. The foundation is located in the first Ungers House in Cologne and open to public for scientific work.
1958 - 1990 Ungers House I - Cologne
1979 - 1984 German Museum of Architecture - Frankfurt
1980 - 1983 Trade Fair Hall 9 - Frankfurt
1983 - 1984 Gatehouse of Trade Fair Complex - Frankfurt
1988 - 1991 Oswald Mathias Ungers - Bayerische Hypotheken und Wechselbank - Düsseldorf
1989 - 1990 Residential, Office and Commercial Building - Frankfurt
1994 - 1996 Ungers House III - Cologne
1995 - 2001 Palace of the Arts Duesseldorf - Düsseldorf
1996 - 2001 Wallraf-Richartz-Museum - Cologne