Life in motion
Albert Speer led a busy life. He was always on the move, all over the world, be it on his scooter in the 1960s in Turkey, on the subway in Beijing, on the ICE fast train to Cologne or on a plane heading to one of the world’s major cities.
1934
Albert Speer is born in Berlin
1952 – 1955
Carpenter’s apprenticeship and certificate in Heidelberg
1955
High-school leaving certificate at night school in Nuremberg
1955 – 1960
Studies Architecture at the Technical University in Munich under Professors Döllgast, Hasenpflug, Ludwig and Wiedemann
1960 – 1964
Employed in companies in Germany, Sweden and Turkey, including Apel, Beckert und Becker (ABB) in Frankfurt/Main
1964
Wins second prize in the competition for the development concept for the relocation of the station and downtown Ludwigshafen
1964
Albert Speer founded his own office in Frankfurt/Main and since then he works as a freelance urban planner and architect on national and international projects
1964
Awarded first freelance contract for a residential development in Limburgerhof nr. Ludwigshafen, Germany
1966
Winner of the German Young Architects’ Prize (DEUBAU-Preis) for the satellite town Birkenheide, Ludwigshafen
1966
Takes part in the competition for the tourism-related development of the region around the ancient town of Side on the Turkish Riviera
1968
Gains first international contract: urban and regional planning of West Tripolitania, Libya
1968 – 1970
Handles urban renewal projects and legal zoning plans in Lübeck, Speyer and Worms, Germany
1970
Citizens’ initiative against a tunnel under the “Zeil” in Frankfurt/Main
1970
Made a member of the Association of German Architects (BDA) and member of the German Academy of Urban and Regional Planning
1971 – 1972
Develops tourism master plan for the Kingdom of Nepal
1972
Wins planning contract for the DG Bank headquarters in Frankfurt/Main
1972 – 1997
Appointed Chair of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the
University of Kaiserslautern
1973 – 1981
Acts as planning consultant (integrated planning team for the Algerian planning authorities: over 30 employees in Algeria for 2 years) for 15 cities for the State of Algeria (client: Cadat)
1973
Office restructured into Speerplan
1975
Starts regional development planning in the State of Rhineland-Palatinate
1977
Awarded the contract for the planning and construction of the Diplomatic Quarter in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
1979
Begins work as a consultant to the City of Frankfurt/Main
1979 – 1983
In charge of planning and construction of a residential development for employees of the Saudi Arabian Foreign Ministry
1980 – 1982
Devises development concept for the “Museumsufer” in Frankfurt/Main
1983
Consultant for the redevelopment of Paulsplatz square in Frankfurt/Main
1983 – 1985
Tables the master plan for downtown Frankfurt/Main and devises the master plan and high-rise development concept for the Mainzer Landstrasse axis in Frankfurt/Main
1985
Founds AS&P – Albert Speer & Partner GmbH
1986 – 1988
Prepares the bid book and master plan for the 2000 Olympic Games in Frankfurt/Main
1990
Awarded first major project in China: Development structure for Guang Fu Dao district in Tianjin
1990
Designs the “Holbeinsteg” pedestrian bridge over the River Main and the DG Bank “City Haus” in Frankfurt/Main
1990 – 1993
Implements numerous major national and international projects, including the Trianon high-rise and the Telenorma office complex in Frankfurt/Main, and the OAU Conference Center and prototype ministerial buildings in Abuja, Nigeria
1994
Visiting professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich
1994
Professor Albert Speer Foundation established
1994 – 2000
Master planner and member of the Design Council for EXPO 2000 in Hanover
1997
Plans the Anting model town in Shanghai
1998
Starts master planning for the “Europaviertel” district in Frankfurt/Main
1999 – 2000
Devises plans for Shanghai International Automobile City and other major
projects in China
1999 – 2001
Construction of Victoria Tower in Mannheim
2000 – 2002
Prepares tourism master plan for Croatia and Montenegro
2001
Opens a joint representative office in Shanghai together with Fichtner Engineers
2001 – 2004
Prepares development concepts for EXPO 2010 in Shanghai
2001 – 2005
Location selection, functional design and coordination services for the new “Allianz Arena” soccer stadium in Munich
2002
Urban design study for the 25-kilometer central urban axis in Beijng
2002 – 2004
Develops of the City of Leipzig bid for the 2012 Olympic Games
2003
Receives the Goethe Award from the City of Frankfurt
2003 – 2004
Handles transportation and urban design framework planning for the 25-kilometer King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz urban corridor in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
2004
Leading Architecture Award bestowed by the Federation of Associations of German Architects and Engineers
2005
In charge of design and construction of a new court building in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 1st prize in the international competition
2006
Awarded the Federal Order of Merit on Ribbon by Udo Corts, Hessian minister for science and the arts
2006 – 2007
Manages revisions to the master plan for Abuja, Nigeria
2007
AS&P Architecture Consulting (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary, founded
2007
Develops a strategic general plan for “6th of October City / Sheik Zayed City”, Cairo
2007
Provides master plans for six selected regions in Russia to promote national tourism
2007 – 2008
Compiles strategic master plan for Cologne city center and the district of Deutz on the right-hand bank of the Rhine
2008
Made a member of the National Urban Development Policy Board of Trustees
2009 – 2010
Develops the successful Bid Book for the 2022 FIFA World Cup™ in Qatar
2009 – 2013
Handles planning and construction of the Fraport AG headquarters at Frankfurt Airport; certification with the “German Sustainable Building Quality Seal in Gold” by the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB)
2010
Awarded the Special Prize of the 2010 ULI Leadership Award by the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Germany
2010
1st prize in the international competition for the master plan “North Bund”, Shanghai
2010
Award of contract to develop the strategic master plan for urban design and development of transport in Alexandria up to 2032
2011
Green Building Frankfurt RhineMain Architecture Prize for “Campo am Bornheimer Depot”, at the time Germany’s largest passivhaus-standard residential quarter on an inner-city redevelopment site
2011
The Technical University of Munich (TUM) appoints Albert Speer Honorary Professor, honored as a TUM Distinguished Affiliated Professor for Architects
2011 – 2014
In charge of object planning and monitoring of firms working on construction of the new European Central Bank (ECB) on the site of the former “Großmarkthalle” wholesale fruit and vegetable market in Frankfurt/Main
2012
Member of the Advisory Board for Economic and Future Issues of the Hessian Ministry of Economy, Transport, Urban and Regional Development
2012 – 2014
Preparation of a master plan and innovation handbook for the InnovationCity Ruhr, Model City Bottrop project
2014
Prof. Albert Speer celebrates his 80th birthday
2015
HeidelbergCement AG commissions AS&P to realize its Group headquarters in Heidelberg. For Audi AG, the company devises the structural planning for the Audi IN‑Campus in Ingolstadt.
2016
A new chapter begins: Friedbert Greif, Axel Bienhaus and Joachim Schares, partners and members of the management for many years, take the lead. Albert Speer continues to be a source of inspiration and ideas for the company. AS&P evolves into AS+P.
2017
It’s the end of an era: The company’s founder Professor Albert Speer passes away in September aged 83.
