ARB, Freier Architekt
Biography
Peter Karl Becher received his diploma in Architecture from the University of Applied Sciences in Karlsruhe, Germany in 1995. Gaining a postgraduate diploma in Conceptual Design in 1998 he studied at the Staatliche Hochschule für Bildende Künste - Städelschule - in Frankfurt under Enric Miralles, Peter Cook, Stan Allen, Mark Wigley, Wilfried Wang and Cecil Balmond. In 1998 he was granted a student scholarship at the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) in Los Angeles under Joseph Giovannini and Mike Davis.
From 2003 to 2005 he worked for internationally renowned architectural practice Herzog & de Meuron on the Beijing National Stadium - the Main Stadium for the Olympics 2008, in both Switzerland and China. As senior architect he managed the design of the twin layer membrane roof, primarily living in Beijing in 2004 and 2005.
From 2005 to 2007 he worked as project architect for Herzog & de Meuron (UK) Ltd on a mixed use project in East London combining residential high-rise buildings with a medical centre.
In 1996 and 1997, and from 1999 to 2003, he worked for Carsten Roth Architekt, a nationally acclaimed practice in Hamburg, as both project architect and site supervisor. He was a key figure in various award-winning industrial, commercial and cultural buildings and projects in Germany. These include a printing factory and a logistics centre in Röbel, and in Hamburg the office building complex 'Medienpool Waterloohain', the St Nicolai Memorial Meeting Centre and the 'Haus im Haus' competition for the Chamber of Commerce.
In 2007 he established Studio Becher as an international practice for situational architecture and urban design based in London.
Peter Karl Becher has extensive teaching experience. From 2012 to 2016 he was a Design Fellow at the Department of Architecture at the University of Cambridge. Between 2010 and 2012 he led a diploma unit at the Architectural Association in London, focusing on experimental building design in historic context. From 2008 to 2010 he led a degree studio at Kingston University, and from 2007 to 2010 he taught diploma at London Metropolitan University with David Grandorge. In 2009/10 he was a visiting tutor at NTNU Trondheim (with Geir Brendeland and Olav Kristoffersen).
Peter Karl Becher has taught at various workshops, most recently at the AA Visiting Schools in Beijing, Berlin and George Town, Malaysia. He has been invited as a guest critic and lecturer internationally, including the Architectural Association (AA), the Bartlett, London Metropolitan University (The Cass), Kingston University, UEL and the Royal College of Art (all London), the universities of Bath, Braunschweig, Cambridge, Cardiff, Darmstadt and Nottingham, the ETH Zurich, NTNU Trondheim and Tsinghua University Beijing.
Peter Karl Becher is both registered with the British Architects Registration Board (ARB) and the German chamber of architects, Architektenkammer Baden-Württemberg (AKBW). He is also a co-founder of the Ernst May Gesellschaft in Frankfurt, Germany.