GOOD ARCHITECTURE kommt aus Pilsen Teachers and Students of the German Polytechnic in Pilsen 1876–1928

2026 will mark 150 years since the establishment of one of Bohemia’s first polytechnic schools, which played a pivotal role in the region’s engineering and construction sector development. For over fifty years, the school was a meeting place for exceptional individuals who were part of the teaching staff. Until 1913, it was the only institution of its kind offering construction education in western and southern Bohemia. Its graduates included renowned architects such as Jan Kotěra, František Krásný and Kamil Hilbert.

The project focuses on professors who were architects. Many of them were significant figures in their field, but have since been largely forgotten. In addition, the project aims to commemorate the circumstances surrounding the founding of the school, including its structure, development, activities and locations. Graduates who devoted themselves to architectural design and, in some cases, the construction business will also be mentioned. This is the first attempt to commemorate an important institution that has been virtually forgotten and erased from history since the interwar period, when it was relocated from Pilsen.

The exhibition will feature reproductions and originals of historical plans and photographs of buildings, a newly acquired architectural model, and various period publications and artefacts. Information gathered during the exhibition will also be used in a publication of the same name, which aims to shed light on an important period in regional history that had national and international implications for neighbouring German-speaking countries.