Born 1935 in Riga. 1965 co-founder with Volkwin Marg of the architectural partnership von Gerkan, Marg and Partners. 1974 appointed professor, chair A for Design, TU Brunswick, head of Institute A for Architectural Design. Member of Freie Akademie der Künste, Hamburg, 2005 honorary doctorate (Chung Yuan Christian University, Taiwan), 2007 honorary professor (East China Normal University College of Design, Shanghai), 2007 president of aac. Numerous awards, incl. Fritz Schumacher Prize, Romanian State Prize, bronze plaque of Freie Akademie der Künste, Hamburg, BDA Prize, Federal Cross of Merit.