ČVUT builds a billion crown building for architecture students

Prague - A new building for architecture students will be constructed on the campus of the Czech Technical University (ČVUT) in Prague's Dejvice. Today, representatives of the university and the Ministry of Education laid the foundation stone on the site between the National Technical Library and the Faculty of Civil Engineering of ČVUT, with classes expected to start in two years. According to the university rector Václav Havlíček, the construction will cost more than one billion crowns, with about 200 million being covered by the university and the rest coming from the state budget.
    The winning architectural design by professor Alena Šrámková features a universally designed building, though the classrooms will be tailored for technical disciplines. "Glass partitions allow for views into classrooms, seminar rooms, studios, as well as into the teachers' offices," university representatives described the future site.
    The new school building will include three lecture halls, the largest of which will accommodate 300 students. The design also includes underground garages. "The new building is the largest construction investment for ČVUT in the last twenty-five years," noted staff from the university rectorate.
    "Architecture students are currently scattered across several unsuitable locations," Havlíček told ČTK. Some architects study at the Faculty of Civil Engineering, while others are even in rented classrooms at the University of Chemistry and Technology.
    The construction duration is planned for a year and a half, with the first students expected to take their seats in the summer semester of 2011. The facility is primarily intended for the education of future architects, but according to the rector, computer specialists from the Faculty of Information Technology will also receive training here.