Prof. Ing. Arch. Jaroslav Drápal, CSc. has passed away.

On Monday, December 4th, renowned educator at the Faculty of Architecture at the Brno University of Technology, Doc. Ing. Arch. Jaroslav Drápal, CSc., passed away at the age of 89. He worked at the Brno Faculty of Architecture for an incredible 62 years and was actively involved in teaching up until the last days of his life. His inventive pedagogical approach and exemplary life principles influenced and guided a number of outstanding Czech architects.

Jaroslav Drápal was born in Moravská Huzová, from where his family had to move to Olomouc after the annexation of the Sudetenland by Nazi Germany. After studying at the Brno University of Technology under Bohuslav Fuchs, Bedřich Rozehnal, and Miloslav Kopřiva, he received a job placement at the Olomouc Stavoprojekt in 1959. In 1961, he applied for an assistant position in the Department of Architectural Development and Monument Reconstruction, led by Prof. Antonín Kurial, and returned to the Brno University of Technology. He based his teaching method on the insights of Prof. Curt Siegel from Stuttgart, who dealt with teaching the principles of load-bearing structures and published the book "Strukturformen der modernen Architektur" in 1960. Drápal further developed Siegel's method and adapted it to the conditions and set-up of Brno architecture, and in 1967 he published it with students in the prestigious journal L'architecture d'aujourd'hui.

Alongside his academic career, Jaroslav Drápal was a practicing architect and realized several buildings, which he designed mainly in collaboration with his wife, Olga Drápalová. Their buildings were created in the context of European architecture and maintained a comparability with what was developed to the west of Czechoslovak borders. This is evidenced by the residential building on Pellicova Street in Brno (1976–1979) or the department store in Tišnov (1982–1983). From 1977 to 1980, he collaborated on the Brno-Slatina housing project. He designed a complex of buildings for the postal and customs office in Královo Pole and collaborated on a number of extensions or renovations of historical and sacred structures. After 1989, he and his wife Olga founded their own architectural office, AADD.

Jaroslav Drápal earned the respect of his colleagues and affection from students not only as a teacher and architect but also as a morally strong individual, as he refused to express agreement with the occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1968 during normalization vetting and, despite the omnipresent pressure, never joined the Communist Party. This aspect of his professional life was also a reason for awarding him the City of Brno Prize for Lifetime Artistic and Pedagogical Achievement, which was presented to Jaroslav Drápal by the Mayor of the city in 2006.

Jaroslav Drápal is among the most significant educators who ever worked at the Brno Faculty of Architecture, and his expertise, life story, passion, and enthusiasm continue to inspire future generations of teachers and their students.

> https://www.pametnaroda.cz/cs/drapal-jaroslav-1934