Hanns Günther Schnell was born in 1949 in Stuttgart.He studied Architecture at the University of Stuttgart and the Architectural Association, London and also spent time in the Faculty of Anthropology and Ethnology at the Université Paris VII. In 1975, he worked with Misha Black at DRU Design Research Unit, London, working on Tent for British Petroleum Inauguration, Dyce, Scotland in collaboration with Frei Otto. From 1976 – 1981 he worked with Rolf Gutbrod and Frei Otto, Stuttgart and was project architect for King Abdulaziz Sports Complex, Saudi Arabia. In 1981 he joined Pentagram and Nicholas Grimshaw and had a Project Partnership with Nicholas Grimshaw from 1987 – 1990. Significant projects included a Chair Manufacturing Plant for Vitra in Weil am Rhein, Waterloo Station Channel Tunnel Terminal, Sainsbury Store in Camden, London and Heathrow Terminal One. Since 1991 he has been in partnership with Siegfried Schnell jun. Projects of note have included a mixed-use development in Curitiba, Brasil, housing and workshop developments in Stuttgart. From 1991-2004 he was Assistant Professor at University of Stuttgart and has been a lecturer since 2005. From 2008-2014 he was head of special structures with SL-Rasch, Stuttgart, with overall responsibility for Royal Clock Tower, Mecca, the second tallest building in the world. Since 2015, he has been undertaken project development in West Africa and the Middle East with Bodo Rasch Consulting.