Christoph Valentien was born in Stuttgart in 1939 and studied landscape architecture from 1960 to 1964 in Weihenstephan at what was then the Technical University of Munich. From 1965 to 1967 he completed a postgraduate degree in urban design at RWTH Aachen under Erich Kühn. During this time, he also worked at the planning department of the city of Duisburg. Beginning in 1967, he served first as a research assistant and later as a freelance lecturer at the Institute for Landscape Planning under Walter Rossow at the University of Stuttgart. In 1971, together with his wife Donata, he founded the office Valentien + Valentien, initially in Stuttgart and later based in Weßling, Bavaria.
In 1980 he was appointed to the Technical University of Munich, where he held the Chair of Landscape Architecture and Design—later Landscape Architecture and Public Space—for 22 years. Collaborative design projects with the architecture and urban planning departments at TUM were always of great importance to him in the field of landscape architecture, and he pursued them with dedication. He inspired and supported many students through his teaching.
Through his office, Christoph Valentien realized numerous projects that continue to shape Munich’s urban landscape today. Large open spaces were created in the first construction phase in Munich-Riem (1995), including the Platz der Menschenrechte (Square of Human Rights) in 2005. At the Technical University of Munich, he designed the tree square on Theresienstrasse, shaded by ginkgos. The design and implementation of the Kulturforum in Berlin from 1998 to 2011, as well as the renovation of the old town of Ochsenfurt (2007), are just two of many projects whose impact extends far beyond Bavaria. A significant milestone in Valentien’s career was the opportunity to develop and realize parks in China starting in 2005. Representative examples include the Botanical Garden in Shanghai (2005–10) and the Botanical Garden in Datong (2010).
His body of work, created together with the office Valentien + Valentien, received numerous awards, including the German Urban Development Prize (1996 and 2006) and the Fritz Schumacher Prize (1996), followed by the Bavarian State Prize for Architecture (2018). In 2001 he was appointed Concurrent Professor at Nanjing Forestry University in China.
The Chair of Landscape Architecture and Public Space will honor the memory of Christoph Valentien. Our sympathy goes to his family and all who were close to him.