Background
Baumann was born 3 August 1899 in Grünkraut, a town in the Ravensburg district of the State of Baden-Württemberg in Germany.
Baumann was born 3 August 1899 in Grünkraut, a town in the Ravensburg district of the State of Baden-Württemberg in Germany.
He then went on to earn a bachelor"s degree from Saint Bonaventure University in 1941 and a Master of Science from Columbia University, where he later served on the Board of Governors of the School of Architecture.
Baumann’s designs were incredibly progressive, providing modern interpretations of Gothic architecture. He spent two years in military service during World War I, mostly with the engineering corps of the German Imperial Army. In 1925 Baumann was sent to the United States to help with his skills as a cabinetmaker and wood carver.
lieutenant was there that he made his final profession at Saint Bonaventure Friary in Paterson, New Jersey on 16 July 1926.
He served that community for the next ten years. He was also active in the National Committee on Religious Buildings, the Architectural League of New York, the National Sculpture Society, the New York Building Congress and the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards.
Baumann was the American representative of the International Commission for the Restoration of the Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. He also gained The National Council Certificate, which qualified him as an architect throughout the United States.
On the 9 May 1969, Baumann died from a heart condition at University Hospital in New York City.
Before his death, he had been awarded honorary degrees from Saint Bonaventure University, Saint Francis College, Biddeford, Maine, and Rosary Hill College, Buffalo, New New York During his lifetime, he designed many structures, including churches, convents, schools, college residences, retreat houses, and seminaries. Although it was not engaged in general practice, Baumann’s firm attracted a number of architects and designers who later earned national reputations.
He remained a member of this Province throughout his life. Baumann became the first member of a religious Order ever to be named to the American Institute of Architects.