Iš architektų rengimo XX amžiaus Lietuvoje istorijos

Abstract

In 1997 seventy five years had passed since in Lithuanian University the Department of Architecture was established under the guidance of Prof. Mykolas Songaila. The greatest architectural school of Lithuania developed from this Department. It worked in Vytautas Magnus University until 1950, later in Kaunas Polytechnic Institute, and from 1971 in Vilnius Gediminas Technical University. The development of the Lithuanian school of architecture is revealed in the article. It is based on archival material and previous publications of different authors. Different architectural courses were given to civil engineers before the war, and only from 1939 engineers-architecs started to be trained at Architecture Department of Building Faculty. 31 engineer-architect graduated from the Department until 1942. The diploma works of these graduates were on architectural themes. Part of the graduates practised as architects, and their engineer-architect qualification was recognized The staff of the Department increased from 2 persons in 1922 up to 8 in 1939. The graduates of the Department and of different foreign schools worked there. Education of architects after the war in the Soviet period was based on the so-called teaching plans of the Soviet Union. Students achieved engineer-architect qualification after 6 years of study until 1967, and from 1968 an architectural qualification was provided after 5 years of study. Three departments of architectural disciplines (Architectural Composition, Urban Design, Drawing and Graphic Works) were established even in 1944. They retained the character of their teaching and research activity despite the changes of their titles and developed into the contemporary departments of Architecture, Urban Planning and Architectural Graphics (Art Department until 1997). The departments of architectural disciplines were moved to Vilnius Civil Engineering Institute (now VGTU) in 1971 and continued education of architects there. Better. Better conditions for the teaching process were created on establishing the Architecture Faculty in the same year. Educational programs were developed, a new program of composition for 6 semesters was introduced. Contacts with design firms were strengthened, methods of complex design and abstract solutions were introduced. Radical changes were realized in 1993-1994 when the model of three-level study (bachelor, master, doctor) was introduced at the University. New study programs were developed according to European traditions and our experience and peculiarities. More than 2000 architects graduated from the Departments of Architecture and Urban Planning during 75 years. Comprehensive data about anual numbers of graduates, their qualification degrees as well as an index of the teachers of the departments in 1922-1997 are presented. The year 1922 must be considered as the beginning of architectural education in Lithuania when the Department of Architecture was established. The Lithuanian school of architecture was formed in a rather short time under very complicated political and economic circumstances. Rational and clear architectural decisions, a good knowledge of engineering, tolerance of different attitudes are its main principles. That is why an image of a unified and creative school was consolidated.