Behnisch volunteered for the German navy at seventeen in 1939, served on U-boats, took command of U 2337 in October 1944 and spent 1945 to 1947 in British captivity. He studied architecture at Stuttgart from 1947, opened his own office there in 1952 and founded Behnisch & Partner in 1966. German Wikipedia describes him as an advocate of democratic building without any symbolism of status or power, and the description fits: schools, the Bonn Bundestag chamber, the Hysolar institute, buildings that avoid the monumental axis on principle. Worldwide recognition came with the Munich Olympic grounds of 1967–1972. He was professor at Darmstadt from 1967 to 1987 and joined the Akademie der Künste in Berlin in 1982. He died in Stuttgart in 2010.
