Studying at university is not just about lectures in auditoriums and exercises in classrooms. It is important to create an inspiring environment and atmosphere that leads young people to develop. After some time of reflection and inspired by other architecture schools, the students of the Department of Architecture at the Faculty of Civil Engineering VŠB-TUO decided to establish an association that would allow them to come together and contribute to the aforementioned environment and atmosphere at their school. Thus, ARCHOS, or the Architectural Community of Students, was born. The association aims to direct its activities both within the school's environment and outward, toward the public space. The activities were launched with two events. On April 13, 2015, the first lecture in a series presenting the department's faculty took place at the café Stará Aréna. The honorary opportunity to "kick off" was taken by architect Josef Kiszka, who spoke not only about his work but also emphasized the importance of student activities "from the bottom up." On the same day, the exhibition Students Beyond School was inaugurated. It presented projects by students of the department that were not created in classrooms but were competitive or other projects developed from their own desire to engage in architecture. Hence the name Students Beyond School. In the exhibition, MgA. Vendula Šafářová, Ph.D. collaborated with the members of ARCHOS. It may become a tradition to hold a Reading Club, where students this time discussed the book Urban Mash by architect Pavel Hnilička. The first activities of the ARCHOS association, which took place at the end of the summer semester, were complemented by a lecture by Professor Petr Hrůša, who also presented several lesser-known projects from his work. We know that we are several years behind, but we believe that our activities will one day reach the same scale as, for example, the Architecture Listener's Association at the FA CTU. In the following year, we are preparing a colorful portfolio of events that will offer architectural content not only to students but also to the wider public.
