Hansjörg Göritz [English: Hansjoerg Goeritz] (born 5 June 1959) is a German-American architect, professor, author and designer associated with pure and minimalist architecture that emphasizes place, space, light and material. For his early works he was awarded one of the most prestigious architecture awards in Germany in 1996, the Development Award Baukunst to the Kunstpreis Berlin by the Academy of Arts, Berlin. In 2013 he was recognized as an Affiliated Fellow to the American Academy in Rome.
Goeritz was born in Hannover, West Germany and grew up in the vernacular context of Lower Saxony as the son of a mason. After his Abitur he apprenticed to a mason with honors as Best of the Guild. At the same time he enrolled for courses at an evening school for master masons, after which he apprenticed in architecture mainly as an autodidact, in conjunction with studies at Hildesheim University of Applied Arts and Sciences, and at the London Architectural Association School of Architecture. After Grand Tours d'Orients in the Mediterranean, to Cistercian monasteries, to picturesque gardens in England, and travels in Scandinavia he practices with his Studio in Hannover since 1986, and Berlin since 2007.
He has taught architecture as a visiting professor at Hildesheim University of Applied Sciences and Arts in 1995 - 1997, as a tenured professor at Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts in 1999 - 2001, and is a professor at the University of Tennessee, College of Architecture and Design in Knoxville, Tennessee, since 2007. In an international arena he lectures widely and was a visiting critic at prestigious institutions including the Accademia di Architettura Mendrisio and Yale, and is a visiting adjunct faculty at Auburn University. By appointment he is affiliated to Bund Deutscher Architekten BDA (German Association of Architects) since 1993 and Deutscher Werkbund DWB (German Association of Fine Works) since 2000, and is an International Associate with the American Institute of Architects AIA since 2007.
He designed Liechtenstein's state forum and parliament buildings, the first in its history, for which he was awarded the international Brick Award 2010 that was previously awarded to Pritzker laureate Peter Zumthor in 2008. His Expo 2000 train station design is materialized with custom made Florentine cobalt blue glass blocks and blue pigmented concrete to match the color of the German state railway corporate design on the Expo-line, connecting the airport to the Expo fairgrounds, in Hannover, Germany. The project became an exhibit at the 6th Biennale di Architettura, Venice 1996.
Among other notable recognitions he was a state nominee for the German Villa Massimo Rome Prize 1988, for the German international architects and architecture critics award, the Erich-Schelling-Award 1998, and was awarded the Deubau-Award for Young German Architects 1994, the BDA Award Lower Saxony 1994, and the German Brick Award 1994.
Family
Göritz is married to Gisela Göritz. The couple has two children, Cornelius, a filmmaker and specialist for vintage Porsche cars, and Camilla, an actress
Selected projects
1989 House with Glass Block Lantern (M Dentist Office), Hannover, Germany
1990 House on Columns within a House (Suburban H Residence), Pattensen, Germany
1992 Stone House inside Timber House (Rural K Residence), Kirchhorst, Germany
1993 Stone Wall (Klimmt Head Offices + Showroom), Hildesheim, Germany
1993 Hall within Stone Block (Suburban H Residence), Ahlem, Germany
1996 Long Dormitorium (Suburban Condominiums), Bemerode, Germany
1997 Volumes of Glass Blocks (Metro Rail Station EXPO 2000), Hannover Nordstadt, Germany
2001 - 2008 Supreme House (National Forum and Assembly), Vaduz, Principality of Liechtenstein
2007 Concrete Origami, (New Rhine River Embankment Promenade), Basel, Switzerland
2008 - 2009 Grand Garden (Knoxville Botanical Gardens and Arboretum), Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
Awards and recognitions
1988 Villa Massimo, German Rome Prize, Section Architecture, State Nominee, Lower Saxony Ministry of Education and Culture
1994 BDA Award Lower Saxony 1994, German Association of Architecs, acknowledgment for Klimmt Head Offices
1994 BDA Award Lower Saxony 1994, German Association of Architecs, award for H Residence
1994 National Brick Award 1994 for 'Hall within Stone Block', 'Stone House inside Timber House', and 'Stone Wall'
1994 National Deubau-Preis Junge Architekten [6] 1994 for 'Hall within Stone Block', 'Stone House inside Timber House', and 'Stone Wall'
1996 Kunstpreis Berlin 1996, Development Award Baukunst, Akademie der Künste Berlin, Germany
1998 Erich-Schelling-Award 1998, Trustees Nominee, International Award for Architects and Architecture Critics
2000 Aga Khan Trust for Culture, Geneva Switzerland, selects writings and buildings for trust's collection
2006 Hyde Chair of Excellence, shortlisted, University of Nebraska at Lincoln, USA
2007 Postage Stamp, Series 'Contemporary Architecture', First Edition 19 November 2007, New Parliament, Principality of Liechtenstein
2008 Bundesstiftung Baukultur Potsdam [German Foundation for Built Culture] selects public buildings for trust's collection
2009 German Architecture Museum DAM Prize for Architecture in Germany selected Liechtenstein National Assembly
2010 Brick Award 2010, International Prime Award for Liechtenstein State Forum and National Assembly
2010 Scholar of the Week, University of Tennessee, for merits of the International Brick Award 2010
2012 Prometheus Leadership Award, University of Tennessee, Center for Educational Leadership, for contributions to improve education through an interdisciplinary approach to leadership, learning and service
2013 American Academy in Rome Affiliated Fellowship, University of Tennessee, for Rome research proposal 'Intra Murus', including studies on Louis I. Kahn's 1953 AAR residence
Selected publications
1994 Frankfurter Allgemeine Feuilleton 22 March 1994 (Lernen von Vitruvius - Erinnerung an vergessene Ursprünge: Die preisgekrönte Architektur von Hansjörg Göritz, Gert Kähler)
