In June, Berthold Burkhardt (1941-2025), one of the supporters of the first hours of Docomomo, passed away. He was involved in the organization of the International DOCOMOMO Conference at the Bauhaus Dessau in 1992, and actively participating in the “restart” of Docomomo Germany as an association in 2006.

He studied architecture and civil engineering in Stuttgart from 1960 to 1965 and as an architect and engineer in Frei Otto’s office, he was involved in iconic large-scale buildings such as the German Pavilion at Expo 67 in Montreal and the roof structures for the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. As a staff member of Institute for Lightweight Structures at the University (ILEK) in Stuttgart and in research projects, he was able to devote himself scientifically to the topics that have occupied him throughout his entire professional life: lightweight structures, which originated from the oldest construction method of all, the building of tents.

In 1984 he was appointed as professor and Head of the Institute for Structural Design at the TU Braunschweig he was able to combine his research with architectural teaching to continue his work as an independent architect, from 1993 together with Martin Schumacher in the Burkhardt + Schumacher office. Conservation and renovation projects became increasingly important, to mention the employment agengy in Dessau by Walter Gropius and the Chancellor’s Bungalow in Bonn by Sep Ruf.

Next to his active involvement in Docomomo, he was a member of ICOMOS, Europa Nostra, the Alvar Aalto Society, the Koldewey Society for Historical Building Research and the Society for the History of Building Technology, and served several years as head of the monitoring group for the German World Heritage Sites. As an expert and advisor, he supported the Wüstenrot Foundation and the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation, and played a key role in setting the course for the general refurbishment of the Bauhaus building from 1996 onwards.

We will miss him as an architect, engineer, scientist, mentor and friend. However, he will remain alive in the memory of joint projects and discussions as well as in his writings and architecture.