The selection process

After the application deadline on May 31, 2025, a multi-stage selection process will begin. An expert jury appointed by the funding association will review the applications and invite selected candidates to present their project ideas in a presentation. The decision is based on the general professional qualifications, personal qualifications, creativity and relevance of the proposed project idea for the city of Cologne, as well as the reference to Gottfried Böhm's understanding of architecture and urban planning. The final selection of the scholarship holder will be made at the end of August. The scholarship begins on October 1, 2025 and ends on September 30, 2026.

(c) dronepicr (CC BY 2.0); https://commons.wikimedia.org

Jury of the Gottfried Böhm Scholarship

Prof. Paul Böhm

Architect, Faculty of Architecture, Technischen Hochschule Köln

Christl Drey

Architect and urban planner, Chairwoman of the House of Architecture Cologne

Susanne Fabry

Chairwoman of the Association of Friends and Sponsors of the Cologne University of Technology e.V.

Bernadette Heiermann

Architect BDA, research assistant at RWTH Aachen

Eva Herr

Head of the Cologne City Planning Office

Prof. Dr. Stefan Herzig

Professor emeritus and former President of the Technische Hochschule Köln

Kaspar Kraemer

Architect BDA, Member of the Association of Friends and Sponsors of the Cologne University of Technology e.V.

Klaus Küppers

NRW Branch Manager of the PANDION Real Estate GmbH

Jürgen Minkus

Architect BDA, Chairman of the Cologne Design Advisory Board

Julien Kinnart

Office of the Lord Mayor of Cologne, Planning and Building Officer

Prof. Carola Wiese

Architect BDA, Faculty of Architecture, Technischen Hochschule Köln

The scholarship benefit

The scholarship holder receives:

  • a one-year residence scholarship: living & working in Cologne,
  • free accommodation,
  • a monthly scholarship amount of 2,500 euros,
  • a workspace for free use in a professional environment in the field of architecture,
  • a professional tutor during the one-year residency.

»A building is for
space and a framework
frame of its dignity. «

Duties of the scholarship:

Acceptance of the scholarship obliges the scholarship holder:

  • to be present in Cologne for at least 280 days during the residency,
  • regularly participate in exchange meetings with the tutor (at least 6 dates during the residency year),
  • to meet with stakeholders and interest groups on the Gottfried Böhm Fellowship and around the topic of the planned work during his/her residency,
  • to present the interim results of his/her work to representatives of the expert jury eight weeks before the end of the fellowship,
  • to publicly present and discuss the final results of his/her work in the last month of the residency scholarship,
  • to grant the Verein der Freunde und Förderer der Technischen Hochschule e.V. (Association of Friends and Sponsors of the Cologne University of Technology) unrestricted publication rights to his/her work, but not exclusively. Otherwise, the copyright and publication rights remain unrestrictedly with the scholarship holder.