The history of the department dates back to the founding of the University of Karlsruhe in 1825. The tradition of the Karlsruhe Department of Architecture can be traced through numerous well-known names: from Friedrich Weinbrenner and Johann Gottfried Tulla to Heinrich Hübsch and personalities such as Egon Eiermann, Fritz Haller and Dieter Kienast. Today, our professors and a wide-ranging teaching staff guarantee practice-oriented and contemporary teaching for the approximately 1,000 students. The professorships are organised in four institutes: Design, Art and Theory, Design and Building Technology, Design of City and Landscape , and History of Art and Building. They offer a broadly based teaching with the possibility of setting one's own focal points. International guest professorships expands the teaching offer each semester.

The courses offered include a Bachelor's and a consecutive Master's programme in architecture as well as a Bachelor's and a consecutive Master's programme in art history. A special feature is the German-French double Master's programme "Planning and Building in an international context" in cooperation with the École Nationale Supérieure de l'Architecture de Strasbourg (ENSAS). 

During their studies, students also benefit from the facilities and equipment of the KIT Department of Architecture. The Southwest German Archive for Architecture and Civil Engineering (SAAI), one of the most important archives of its kind in Germany, should be mentioned here. The extensive department-owned library of architecture is available to students for research and work. Five well-equipped study workshops support the implementation of design ideas, as do the computer and plot pools, which are accessible around the clock. Each student in the Bachelor's programme in architecture has his or her own workspace in spacious and bright studio rooms. A contingent of workstations is also available for Master's students.

The KIT Department of Architecture is well networked, both in Karlsruhe and the surrounding area and on a national and international level. There are cooperations with numerous local and national cultural and art institutions such as the ZKM, the HfG Karlsruhe and the Erich-Schelling-Stiftung, as well as with more than 50 international partner universities in Europe and overseas.

Another characteristic is the diverse department life: During the semester, thematic lecture series, exhibitions, lectures, symposia and events take place - the annual exhibition "Reinschauen" provides insights into the department's teaching and research. An active student council takes care of the students' concerns. Moreover, KIT is a campus university. All facilities can be reached quickly on foot. The KIT library in a central location is accessible around the clock. The city center is in the immediate vicinity. The café house in the architecture building and the architecture bar run by the student council after events, along with the architecture library, form the communicative center of the department.

The KIT Department of Architecture publishes a yearbook with current projects and discourses , which, together with the many publications of the departments and teaching areas, provides a good overview of the teaching and research at the four institutes.

(Status: Summer 2022)