Architectural Education - František Sedláček

Prof. Dipl. - Ing. František Sedláček (1943)
Studied at the Czech Technical University in Prague and at the Academy of Fine Arts with Prof. Cubr. After emigrating in 1969, he enrolled in the Royal College of Art in London. He worked in several offices in Italy, Belgium, England, the USA, and Germany. In 1974, he opened his own office in Munich and later in Cologne. Since 1986, he has served as a professor at the University of Applied Sciences in Cologne.

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Two architectures in one school: duplicity in the Czech Republic

František Sedláček: I want to remind that due to the duplication of education, a certain misunderstanding on the international stage is at risk because students can simply find themselves in a school in Barcelona where they may not be accepted because the name of the school they graduated from in the Czech Republic does not include the word "architecture." They read that they have a bachelor's degree in civil engineering, a related field in Germany that is highly specialized in road construction and pressure water foundations. However, I see the problem of higher education in the Czech Republic entirely differently. The issue is that their social prestige is not high. This is, of course, due to the relationship to education. For example, in Germany, society has already recognized that the era of manual labor is over and that the era of intellectual work has begun. The transfer of production outside Germany increases the demand for education because anyone who wants a job must be smarter; they must go to school and learn. The social prestige of universities, professors, and students is also on a different level because of this. There, the slogan is that the only gold we have is in our heads. When we look at our situation, we see that we rejoice at every automobile plant that builds a production hall here and at every heavy industry that arrives. The social status of universities is poor; universities have no lobby, and most professors and students are lazy, deciding to take long vacations. And when it comes to gold in the head, it means only fillings. However, if I may add something about Czech architectural schools, I dare say that here, instead of teaching the architecture of tomorrow, they teach the architecture of today, and this is done in schools with a structure of yesterday and with professors from the day before yesterday. I taught here for a while, and I can say that it doesn't matter what the school is called, because everywhere the faculty staff has close ties to the residents of geriatric institutions. There is no evaluation in schools, which is possible only if the schools maintain their autonomy. That is not the case. I would not even complain about the bloated bureaucracy because I increasingly encounter teachers who argue, "That's how it is. It's nonsense, but that's how it's done, and there's no other way." For me, the most important thing in a school is the constant search for the content of teaching, and that is not possible without constant discussion among colleagues. That does not exist, also for the reason that there are no common places for teachers to meet at schools - there are no staff rooms. When I wanted to chat with someone in the hallway, I found out the person couldn't because they were running somewhere. Teachers in the Czech Republic are always running somewhere… Architecture schools need to eliminate certain subjects that merely burden the budget. I cannot understand, for example, why universities have language departments. A child who wants to go abroad and not stay in the region must learn languages on their own. I was a professor in Germany for twenty years, and local students commonly spoke three to five languages, and there was no language department at the school. They simply wanted to go to America. When I read that the Academy of Fine Arts has a department of physical education, I broke out in hives.

How many architectural schools do we need?

František Sedláček: The need for architectural schools is directly proportional to the need for architects in society, nothing more, nothing less. Even without precise data and short-term or long-term forecasts, one can easily calculate how many registered architects handle what amounts of financial resources directed toward construction and how much they earn from it. This gives me a very unsentimental analysis, according to which I can determine how many architects this society still needs. Not how many individuals can study architecture. I believe that an unemployed or underpaid academic or a graduated architect working somewhere as an advisor at Ikea is not only a failure of society and a moral shame but also wasted capital.

František Sedláček: The erroneous opinion is already that we should seek the ideal school. Emil, however, claimed that those who want to find their way will find it. I would like to remind you of what Socrates said, that every society can be divided into 30% bad, 30% average, 30% good, and 10% genius. When we apply this perspective to, say, sports clubs, political parties, or schools, we find that it works excellently. If a future Aldo Rossi studies at a school, you will quickly discover that they don’t need you at all. But it’s about those good and average ones. When I taught, I was most interested in those in the middle because they could be pulled up. The bad ones were bad because they were either lazy or didn’t belong there.

Craft or creativity?

František Sedláček: A Swiss architect from Brno, Jura Oplatek, has a daughter Blanka, who graduated from ETH. It’s a pity that she is not sitting here with us because she would tell you that she has never experienced greater barracks and is amazed that around ETH there arose a chimera about how wonderful a school it is.

Like teacher, like student?

František Sedláček: If you are talking about Czech students, I have one note: I think Czech students cannot be any different than Czech architects, and they cannot be different from Czech architecture, which to be honest is not experimental, is not aggressive, does not seek conflicts, does not seek discussion, does not seek tension. The buildings here are relatively clean, presenting more of a craft. Peter Cook, when he retired 35 years ago, said that there are only six countries in the world where progressive architecture is made: the USA, England, Japan, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Austria. Where are Czech constructivists today, what is happening here that someone would want to comment on abroad? Czech students imitate their Czech role models, successful architects who build solid buildings.

František Sedláček: I would like to point out one more thing: for an average professorial position in Germany, there are 60 to 80 applicants in the competition, all of whom have the qualifications to get that position. So, I see something strange in the fact that after 17 years, we complain about incompetent and elderly professors.

Educator and system

František Sedláček: If there is a 105% demand for architecture graduates, it means that they do not have to prove any special quality. And if we look abroad, we will find out from official statistics that there are 1,200,000 Poles working abroad, many other nationalities, and at the very bottom are Czechs, of whom there are 30,000 outside. This implies that Czechs are not interested at all in what is happening in the world.

František Sedláček: Discuss - but with whom? Did you see the Prague Technical University at three in the afternoon? It looks evacuated! Where are those discussing students?

The Future

František Sedláček: I remain hopeful because the Earth is round, and I assume that those who want to learn something will go after professors to Germany, from Germany to England, from England to America, and from America to Japan, and soon there will be Americans as professors here. I would also like to read two nice quotes related to this. One is from Michael Kingman: "There is nothing else for a person but to create their future from the material they have available." The second is from Karel Čapek, who said: "Our reality is in Bohemia."