Langhans and David Gilly (to become friends as well as colleagues) moved to Berlin within a year of one another, persuaded by the Prussian king following successful careers elsewhere. Together they were responsible for initiating a distinct Prussian school of architecture, founded in neo-classicism, though unafraid later to embrace gothic influences. David Gilly’s son Friedrich was one of the students at the academy that Langhans and he set up: Langhans also joined the younger Gilly and others, including Schinkel and Gentz, in a dynamic group who met to discuss and advance their architectural ideas.