Architectural Education - Ladislav Lábus

Prof. Ing. arch. Ladislav Lábus (1951)
He is a graduate of the Faculty of Architecture of the Czech Technical University in Prague. From 1971 to 1991, he worked at the Project Institute of the Capital City of Prague. Since 1990, he has been the head of a studio at the Faculty of Architecture of the Czech Technical University in Prague. In 2002, he was appointed professor there. In 1991, he founded his own office, Lábus AA.

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Two Architectures in One School: Duplication across the Czech Republic

Ladislav Lábus: I don't think it is a lot. It depends on how many students each school accepts. If you look at Germany or Austria, you'll find that the number of students in architecture faculties compared to those in civil engineering faculties is in completely different ratios than here. Even if you add to our architecture students the graduates of those three fields: architecture and civil engineering, it is still relatively few compared to graduates of civil engineering faculties.

Rostislav Koryčánek: Does the duplication of architectural education represent any problem for you?

Ladislav Lábus: Duplication exists only in Prague and Brno and it indicates that the university does not operate as a single organization, but that each faculty monitors its own sandbox and everyone looks after their own interests. However, I don't think it is something abnormal.

Craft or Creativity?

Ladislav Lábus: I belong to those who consider the necessary craft to be an essential part of education, but I understand that students and even some teachers would prefer to focus only on the essentials. However, I believe it is important to combine the two. This is actually the eternal desire of architecture. The difference between American and European schools is that in America they do not focus much on the craft and students learn only creativity. However, if they want to practice the architectural craft, they must pass a very strict exam that verifies whether they master the craft.

Yvette Vašourková: Is creativity the added value? For you, is the craft first and then creativity?

Ladislav Lábus: I don't want to draw a distinction between them.

Like Teacher, Like Student?

Ladislav Lábus: It is indisputable that the staffing of our schools is a major problem. I am convinced that it is not only a question of finances and prestige, but also due to the fact that there are relatively few architects here and a lot of work. I think it is definitely not as easy for a young architect in Germany to establish their own office as it is here. I know many students who started right after school and didn't even wait those three years, and they still have more work than they can handle. This situation is, of course, felt not only at the level of professors, but I feel it especially at the level of assistants. When Kohlhoff is a professor at ETH, it does not mean he sits there all day. He has six people who are fully dedicated to the students and work in the studio in the evenings. Here it is the opposite. This also relates to what Yvette Vašourková mentioned, because those who take their teaching profession seriously from their young years are more likely to focus on teaching methodology. Here, it happens so that each teaches as they know.

Educator and System

Ladislav Lábus: When we compare, it is also worth mentioning that when you win a competition in Germany, you are a professor and you do not need to chase credentials and prove how many congresses, lectures, books, or buildings you have produced as we do here. That is simply tied to the position, and it is an entirely unnecessary barrier for one's own work.

Future

Ladislav Lábus: I certainly do not consider the current state as catastrophic and I am optimistic about the future, but at the same time I also feel pessimistic. Architecture within CTU has the advantage that it has no problem attracting students, partly because, given current social needs, it offers a very universal education. I am a pessimist because the fact is that technology is constantly advancing, and as a result architecture will also change. And so I am unsure whether the future role of architects will not be taken over by mechanical engineers, of whom there are currently few at the Technical University and they have nothing to do.