Ingo Sommer, born in 1942, studied architecture and urban planning after completing an apprenticeship as a bricklayer. In 1971 he graduated from the Technical University of Berlin. His academic teachers were Willy Kreuer, Peter Koller and Julius Posener. He worked as an architect in Berlin building administrations and headed the Wilhelmshaven building construction department from 1973 to 2002. At the same time, he devoted himself to architectural historical research and academic teaching as well as his dissertation (Nazi building history) and his habilitation (architecture of the housing reform). He discusses building culture in numerous publications and lectures. Since 1991 he has taught at the Institute for Art and Visual Culture at the University of Oldenburg, and since 2006 as an honorary professor.
