Where we come from…
The “official” history of the TU Darmstadt begins in the year 1836 with the foundation of the Höhere Gewerbeschule und der damit verbundenen Realschule (Higher Vocational School and the Associated Secondary School). Join us here on a journey that takes us back to the origins of our Faculty of Architecture and leads us right up to today’s events.
Where we want to go…
The changing content and focus in architectural education are not only a reflection of the different development trends in building, but also a response to the interaction between tradition and the personal backgrounds of the teaching staff and to changing political and social conditions – since its foundation, the Faculty of Architecture has focused its training of architects on current trends and needs in architecture.
The members of the Faculty’s teaching staff, who are generally appointed from a background of architectural practice, forge this link between professional activity and academic instruction.
Where we teach and study…
The spatial structure of the Faculty of Architecture building on the Lichtwiese makes an important contribution to the special atmosphere there. It was designed from the mid-1960s by the young architects of the University Building Authority with future generations of students in mind, and incorporates the response of these young architects to their own experiences as students and the deficits they encountered.
The basis for this impressive, lucid spatial structure is formed by the juxtaposition on ground-floor level of the artistic-creative area of the studios and workshops with the library, lecture theatres and intermediary meeting places in the Café-Kuhle and forecourt – all against the backdrop of the expansive landscape of the Lichtwiese. The close proximity of the student work rooms, which are managed by the students themselves, to the faculty’s various departments in the “quadrants” of each of the upper floors also reflects this coherent spatial structure. The design and organisation of the building has met with the broad approval of teachers and students alike up to the present day and promotes social bonding.