Institutes and professorships

Institute for Architectural Design, Art and Theory
EKUT

Architectures are processes. By taking the university seriously as a space for experimentation, we at the Institute for Design, Art and Theory (ekut) want to explore, transcend and question its boundaries. What can architecture achieve? What must and can architecture still afford? We take the medial translation of speculative spaces in word, image, drawing, model or sculpture just as seriously. What is shown - and what is seen? What (or who) has been thought of - and what has been left out or overlooked? How can the complexity of an initial situation and its intended change be represented?

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We are interested in precision in speculation and expect intentionality in approach. What do we want from a concept? What about a project? What change do we seek with an intervention, what statement do we make by omitting it? Through constant trial and error, moments of surprise in everyday life and conventions in the new are examined and questioned; visions of the future as well as myths of origin are rigorously reflected upon, analysed and reformulated. The Institute's investigations are based on a careful handling of a variety of references, methods and contexts, because we do not understand architectural processes as isolated phenomena, but as negotiations with and in the public sphere. As an interdisciplinary institute, we offer a wide range of tools and strategies for the elaboration of such spatially relevant questions, in order to better fail in the search for answers.

Institute for Building Design and Technology
IEB

Designing and constructing is a process that is difficult to grasp. This is reflected in the almost unimaginable number and complexity of the fields and areas of knowledge involved, as well as in the intermingling of rational and intuitive decision-making processes. The study of architecture at KIT is based on the principle of project-oriented teaching. In this context, several lines of action always overlap from different levels of consideration. On the one hand, operational and utilization aspects, on the other hand, the technical-constructive perspective. The different points of view appear again and again in the course of the design and interpenetrate each other with different weightings.

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In the Institute of Design and Building Technology (IEB), all aspects are represented by the eight specialist areas listed below. Thus, the institute's professional setup stands for the complex interrelationships in civil engineering. The planning components, which are represented by the individual specialist and teaching areas, are networked to form an integrated unit, corresponding to a construction project. The focus is on the holistic consideration of architecture with a strong reference to the real building process.

When designing architecture, concrete formal and functional requirements must be met and placed in a spatial context. The question of whether this is done in an appropriate manner, i.e. whether it stands up to criteria of overall economy in the broadest sense, is an essential part of the architectural debate. This approach requires the conscious handling of the ecological conditions, the necessary resources and thus the room climate and the room lighting, the energy balance as well as the building materials and products. The contents always include the static-constructive examination as well as the consideration of planning, construction and utilization processes that ensure a sustainable system life cycle. Last but not least, building in existing contexts raises the question of the value of the existing building fabric, its reinterpretation and appropriateness.

Teaching at the Institute of Design and Building Technology combines intuition and rationality in the architectural design process.

Institute for Urban and Landscape Design
IESL

The examination of the urban context and its design are part of the architectural education in Karlsruhe. This is dealt with both in urban development projects and in building construction designs. Building in an existing urban environment will become more and more important for architects in the future.

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The bachelor's program focuses for one semester on the design of cities and landscapes. Here, the basic technical knowledge and design tools are taught in lectures, seminars and drafts. In the master's program, the study of urban design is also important for all students. In addition, the possibility of an urban design specialization is offered. This is understood as a specific extension of architectural education, which combines spatial thinking and design with conceptual urban and regional planning as well as technical, legal, economic and organizational skills. This creates the prerequisites for strategic thinking and design as well as for dealing with complex urban spaces.

An outstanding feature of the Karlsruhe education is its international networking. On the one hand, the training deals with topics from Baden-Württemberg and Germany, and on the other hand it looks beyond the borders: to the neighboring countries along the Rhine, especially to France, Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands, to the USA, Australia, Latin America, Africa and Asia. The Institute's collaborations offer insight into current issues of international urbanization. Guest lectures, stays abroad, workshops and research projects broaden the professional horizon.

Institute for History of Art and Architecture
IKB

Current Guest Professorships

  • Dr. Michael Rottmann
    Visiting Professor Art History
  • Hanna Maria Schlösser und Lorenz Kirchner
    Visiting Professorship of the Wüstenrot Foundation
  • Kerstin Müller
    Visiting Professorship Circular Construction

Current professors

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