RENOWNED PERSONAGES ARE THE FOUNDATION

The work of Josef Zítek, the first dean of the Architecture – Civil Engineering Department, was followed in subsequent years by important architects such as Antonín Balšánek, Josef Fanta and Jan Koula. In 1920, in the newly-independent republic, the polytechnic university changed its name to the Czech Technical University, and the Department of Building Construction became the College of Architecture and Building Construction. In 1976, this then transformed into the independent Faculty of Architecture.

Understandably, 1989 was an important year for the direction of the FA. Gradually, it underwent a reorganization of the curriculum and personnel changes, so that renowned, but previously exiled creators and educators such as Vladimír Šlapeta, Alena Šrámková, Jaroslav Šafer and Miroslav Šik began to function at the school. The school structure was adapted to a more flexible model of vertical design studios and thematically-profiled institutes.

Another turning point came in 2011, when the faculty moved into its newly-built, separate Faculty of Architecture building, accompanied by a gradual transformation of teaching and the opening to the world when Dean Zdeňek Zavřel took the helm. Under his leadership and under the supervision of the current Dean, Professor Ladislav Lábus, the Architecture and Urban Design study program has been gradually innovated over the last decade. The offer of study abroad programs and doctoral studies has been markedly expanded and the faculty has become an influential academic platform for professional discussions and development of the field. The school has thus adopted the role of a modern educational institution that educates new generations of creators and at the same time influences the social climate.