申克尔出生在诺伊鲁平，勃兰登堡Margraviate。当他6岁时，他的父亲在去世灾难性诺伊鲁平火的1787年，他成为建筑师的学生弗里德里希·基利（1772年至1800年）（这两个成了亲密的朋友）和他的父亲，大卫·基利，在柏林。在1805年他第一次到意大利回到柏林后，他开始赚取自己的生活作为一个画家。工作了他在1816年创造了在“KöniginDER NACHT”的外观星闪烁的背景舞台莫扎特的歌剧魔笛，这是即使在这片常年现代作品引用。当他看到卡斯帕·大卫·弗里德里希的绘画以上雾的海流浪者在1810年柏林艺术展，他决定，他将永远无法达到的绘画等的掌握和转向结构。拿破仑战败后，辛克尔监督普鲁士建设委员会。在这个位置上，他不仅负责重塑柏林还是比较引人注意的城市变成了普鲁士的代表首都，但在西部还负责在展开的普鲁士领土项目从莱茵到柯尼斯堡在东部地区，如新老城教堂。

从1808年至1817年辛克尔翻修，重建城堡罗西瑙，科堡，在哥特式复兴风格。

辛克尔的风格，在他最旺盛的时期，是由一转希腊，而不是罗马帝国建筑的定义，试图从被联系到最近法国占领者风格转走。（因此，他是一个注意的支持者希腊复兴）。他认为，为了避免不育和有灵魂，建筑物必须包含的诗情画意和对过去的元素，并有话语和他们在一起。

他最著名的现存建筑物和周围柏林找到。这些措施包括新岗哨（1816年至1818年），国家纪念碑为解放战争（1818年至1821年），该戏剧院在（1819年至1821年）的宪兵，它取代了被火在1817年摧毁了早期的剧院和老博物馆在博物馆岛（1823-1830）。他也进行了改进了王储的宫殿和夏洛腾堡宫。辛克尔还负责一些私营柏林住宅的室内装修。虽然自己早已被摧毁从Weydinger楼楼梯间的部分建筑物可以被救出，并内置于Nicolaihaus上Brüderstr。其正式的餐厅到宫是Festungsgraben。

后来，辛克尔搬离古典干脆离开，拥抱新哥特式在他的弗里德里希韦尔德教堂（1824年至1831年）。辛克尔的Bauakademie（1832年至1836年），他最创新的建筑，历史主义回避公约和似乎指向的方式到一个干净的内衬“现代主义”的建筑，将成为在德国只突出对20世纪初。

申克尔，然而，应注意尽可能多为他的理论工作和他的建筑草案作为该被实际执行，以他的设计相对较少的建筑物。他的一些优点在他对雅典的改造计划未执行最好示雅典卫城到新皇宫希腊王国，为Orianda宫在勃起克里米亚。这些和其他的设计可以在他进行研究文汇architektonischerEntwürfe（1820至1837年）和他的Werke公司德höherenBaukunst（1840年至1842年; 1845年至1846年）。他还设计了著名的铁十字普鲁士勋章，后来德国。

然而，已经推测的是，由于困难的政治环境 - 法国占领和普鲁士国王的依赖 - 他的比较早死亡，这使他无法在19世纪下半叶看到了爆炸性的德国产业化，他是不是能够不辜负他的草图显示出的真正潜力。

Kerr was born in Illinois Shen Lu Ping, Land Brandenburg Margraviate. When he was 6 years old, his father died in the disaster of 1787 Pinghuo nnoitora Lu, he become the architect of the student Friedrich Kily (1772 to 1800) (the two became close friends) and his father, David Greig, in Berlin. In 1805, when he first returned to Italy in Berlin, he began to earn his life as a painter. The work he created "K o niginDER NACHT flash in the" star appearance background of Mozart's opera the magic flute in 1816, this is a reference even in this piece of perennial modern works. When he saw Caspar David Friedrich's painting above the fog of the sea Rangers at the 1810 Berlin art show, he decided that he would never be able to reach the mastery of the painting and the steering structure. Napoleon, after the defeat of the Construction Committee of the supervision of the construction of the new Kerr. In this position, he is not only responsible for the remodeling of Berlin is still relatively attractive city becomes the capital of Prussia, but in the west is also responsible for the expansion project in the Prussian territory from Rhine to Konigsberg in the eastern region, such as the old church.
From 1808 to 1817, Xin Kerr renovation, reconstruction of Castle Rossi, Coburg, in the Gothic Revival style.

The style of Kerr, in his most exuberant period, was defined by a turn of the Greek, rather than the definition of the Empire of Rome, in an attempt to move away from being connected to the latest French occupiers. (therefore, he is a noted supporter of Greek Revival). He believes that in order to avoid infertility and have the soul, buildings must contain the elements of the past and of a quality suggestive of poetry or painting, and words with them.
His most famous extant buildings and surrounding Berlin find. These include new posts (1816 to 1818), the National Memorial Chorten for the war of Liberation (1818 to 1821), the theatre (1819 to 1821) in the military police, it was replaced by the fire destroyed the theater early and old on the Museum Island in 1817 (1823-1830). He also improved the prince of the palace and the summer palace Luoteng. Kerr is also responsible for some of the private Berlin residential interior decoration. Although they have already destroyed parts of the building from the Weydinger floor staircase can be saved, and built on Nicolaihaus Br derstr. Its formal restaurant to the palace is Festungsgraben.
Later, Kerr moved from the classical symplectic simply left, embracing the New Gothic in his Friedrich Wilde Church (1824 to 1831). Xin Kerr Bauakademie (1832 to 1836), his most innovative architectural, historical convention and avoidance seems to point to the way to a clean lined "modernism" building, will become the only highlight of the early twentieth Century in germany.
Shen Kerr, however, should pay attention to as much as his theoretical work and his draft of the building as the actual implementation of the building in order to his relatively few buildings. Some of the advantages of Athens in his plans did not perform the best in Athens to the new Acropolis palace as palace in the kingdom of Greece, Orianda Crimea erection. These and other design in his research architektonischerEntw RFE Wenhui (1820 to 1837) and his company Werke de h o herenBaukunst (1840 to 1842; 1845 to 1846). He also designed the famous iron cross Prussian medal, and later germany.
However, have speculated that due to the difficult political environment - the occupation of France and king of Prussia - his early death, so that he could not see the explosion of German industry in the second half of nineteenth Century, he is not able to live up to the true potential of his sketch shows.