Faculty of Architecture Mission Statement

The members of the Faculty of Architecture at TU Graz understand architecture as a discipline whose effects on the quality of the environment we live in are deep, extensive and lasting – one that is embedded in contemporary societal, cultural, artistic and technical developments. We aim to take a holistic approach that recognizes and responds to the totality of spatial and dynamic characteristics, social and aesthetic effects, and the development potential of landscapes, cities and buildings. In view of sociopolitical change and the increasing importance of sustainability, the Faculty of Architecture has a special responsibility to apply its competences to the development of innovative, holistic solutions. Graz as a city of architecture, the region of Styria and its proximity to southeastern Europe, together with the faculty’s many international contacts, all contribute to a diverse and creative environment with abundant potential.

The Faculty of Architecture competes internationally in research and teaching and has set itself the goal of establishing a leading position in Europe. As a foundation of its activity, the faculty insists on the closest possible relationship between research, teaching and professional practice. Major topics in the faculty include interdisciplinary working methods and design processes, which belong to the core skillset of teachers and students, as well as innovation in building technology and building performance, application of the latest developments in information technology, art and cultural studies, and the investigation and guidance of ongoing changes in urban structures.

The education in architecture offered at TU Graz is characterized by a commitment to developing general skills and involves contributions by prominent architects, researchers, artists and theorists. Thanks to the close coupling of theory and practice and the specialist qualifications of the teaching staff, the faculty's teaching is rated as above average by the students. Our students learn to coordinate and combine knowledge from different fields in their designs and to work autonomously.

The centerpiece of our education - architectural design - means developing the ability to organize projects that achieve a successful synthesis of many different constraints and ambitions. In contrast to other areas of engineering, in architecture this synthesis cannot be reached by rational considerations alone. Designing is an activity that draws on experience and intuition and, not least, exists as an artistic discipline.

These characteristics of design work are the reason why the Faculty of Architecture at TU Graz, like other architecture faculties, is determined to have as many experienced and prominent design practitioners as possible among its professors – people who can teach this core discipline with high competence and at an internationally-recognized level. The research activity of the faculty includes both established forms of research in the institutes and the architecture-specific research inherent in the design process.