Frei Otto

Frei Otto worked on the tensile roof structures for the Munich Olympic Stadium complex with Behnisch and Partners. The sweeping cable-net roofs became one of the defining architectural images of the 1972 Games.

Otto was named the 2015 Pritzker Architecture Prize laureate shortly before his death. The prize recognized his lifelong work on lightweight structures, tents, cable nets, and architecture that used minimal material intelligently.

Otto collaborated on the West German Pavilion at Expo 67 in Montreal with architect Rolf Gutbrod. The pavilion used a tent-like tensile structure, an important precursor to the Munich Olympic roofs.

At the University of Stuttgart, Otto's Institute for Lightweight Structures explored membranes, nets, soap-film models, and efficient structural forms. His research influenced architects and engineers interested in doing more with less material.