Prof. Ursula Steinhilber wrote this obituary; she was a professor of building construction at HFT Stuttgart until 2017 and an office partner in the joint architectural practice.
With the appointment of Otfried Weis to the HFT Stuttgart in 1990, after many years of teaching at the University of Karlsruhe, his Stuttgart years began, then in 1992 with my appointment our almost 20-year long collaboration in teaching and building together in the Steinhilber+Weis office.
In teaching he impressed not only by his comprehensive knowledge and skills in all matters of architecture and construction, but also by the way he conveyed the knowledge, with a lot of patience and his characteristic charm. In addition to imparting fundamental knowledge, it was important to him that students learn to develop methodological competence.
Unforgettable his perfect drawings on the blackboard for thinking and drawing along, drawing with the right hand, labeling with the left and the simultaneous explanations about it. Unforgettable also his comment in the corrections, if a student was of the opinion, that it was enough now, because one would not see everything afterwards anyway: "The dear God sees everything, and I also."
With the same ambition, the office implemented a wide variety of projects that won architectural awards, such as the casino on the A7 near Feuchtwangen, the Pliensau Bridge in Esslingen, the large terraced housing development on Knielinger Allee in Karlsruhe, conversions and extensions to the university in Pforzheim, and other projects in Stuttgart and Berlin.
Inspiring were the many well-prepared excursions to Italy, Paris, Vienna, Barcelona, to Austria, Switzerland and Berlin, where foundations were laid for the repertoire of architectural and urban design elements, his own and those of the students.
In his long professional career, he was a role model for many students and staff, and his influence extends far beyond his own teaching and building activities to generations of architects.
We remain grateful to him for this.
Prof. Ulla Steinhilber April 2022
The funeral will take place on April 06, 2022 at 1:00 pm at the cemetery in Bruchsal.
The deep sympathy of the Faculty of Architecture and Design goes to the relatives of Prof. Otfried Weis.
