Courses
Courses offered in the winter semester 2025/26:
Lectures
- History of Western Building before 1800 - 1st semester Architecture
(Prof. Dr. habil. Sonja Hnilica)K1501-AD150
Start: 16.10.2025 I 14.50 I HSZ/04/H
Thursdays 5.DS, 14.50 - 16.20, HSZ/04/H - History of Western Building after 1800 - 3rd semester Architecture
(Prof. Dr. habil. Sonja Hnilica)K1501-AD370
Start: Wednesday, 15.10.2025 I 16.40 I HSZ/04/H
Wednesdays 6.DS, 16.40 - 18.10, HSZ/04/H
The four-semester lecture on the history of building provides an overview of the history of architecture and urban planning from antiquity to the present day. Examples from all eras will be discussed, from ancient temples to modern housing estates. The focus is on building in the western world. The lecture is attended jointly by students of architecture, landscape architecture and art history (architectural science).
Lecture and exercise in the architecture science preparatory course
(Prof. Dr. habil. Sonja Hnilica, Dipl.-Ing. Tina Kresse, Joel Rodriguez Richardson M.Sc.)K1501-AD1401
The propaedeutic course is a compulsory course for the 1st and 2nd semester. The lecture dates are valid for all students. The exercises take place in groups (according to the SELMA schedule).
In the winter semester, an approach to the teaching field of architectural history and monument preservation is developed as a convolute. The different approaches of both subjects are presented in individual lectures. The exercises following the respective lectures will focus on a building on the TU Dresden campus as an example. In the building history exercise, the structural and spatial structure of the building is recorded in a building description and in the monument preservation exercise, the traces of time and use are documented and evaluated.
The methodological spectrum of building analysis and description is then completed in the summer semester by a project work, the building survey practical (on another object).
The first introductory lecture by Prof. Hnilica will take place for all students on 15.10.2025 at 9.20 a.m. in Fritz-Förster-Bau lecture hall 244 (FOE/244).
Scientific work
- Introductory week scientific work
(Prof. Dr. habil. Sonja Hnilica, Dipl.-Ing. Kerstin Zaschke)
K1500-AD610
Start: Tuesday, 07.10.2025 l 09.20 a.m. l Room
During the intensive week, the meetings will take place daily from 07. to 10.10.2025. A detailed schedule will be uploaded to SELMA promptly or issued on 07.10.2025.
The documents from the introductory week are a prerequisite for completing the module: WissArbeit. -
WissArbeit:
Progress through education: School construction in Saxony in the 19th century
(Prof. Dr. habil. Sonja Hnilica, Dipl.-Ing. Kerstin Zaschke)
K1500-AD610
Start: Thursday, 16.10.2025 / 09.20 a.m. / BZW B 5052 block dates for introduction: 23.10. and 30.10.2025
3 block dates for presentations: 13.11., 18.12.2025 and 05.02.2026
Consultations by arrangement
Achievements:The module examination consists of a written seminar paper, 3 presentations and participation in the discussions. Scope of work: 300 hours.
The British architect Edward R. Robson praised the Germans as pioneers in education in his widely read book "School Architecture" in 1874. Robson had particular admiration for the Prussian "school barracks" (he meant this as praise!), but he was also impressed by Saxony's traditional educational landscape.In the course of industrialization and the formation of nation states, the nations of Europe built up a state school system. This led to a considerable amount of founding and building activity in the 19th century. Within a few decades, a comprehensive, multi-level educational infrastructure was established by the public sector. The prestigious, historicist façades of the new buildings belied the modern interiors, which were rationally planned and technically optimized. Thanks to the durable solid brick construction, many buildings are still used for educational purposes today.
We approach the phenomenon using selected case studies. The Kingdom of Saxony introduced compulsory eight-year schooling in 1835 and, to this end, built over 2,000 public elementary schools for the rapidly growing population by 1900. In addition, there were numerous grammar schools, secondary schools, girls' secondary schools and teacher training colleges. Last but not least, investments were made in new universities, such as the Forestry Academy in Tharand (1811) and the Royal Polytechnic in Dresden (1875). Through a combination of site visits, literature research and archive work, we want to research and document the legacy of Saxon educational progress from the 19th century. This will give us the opportunity to discuss past and present demands on learning spaces.
Seminars on history and theory
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From the workshop to the IT campus - built working environments in the 20th and 21st centuries
Century.
(Dipl.-Ing. Tina Kresse, Joel Rodriguez Richardson M.Sc.)
Start: Tuesday, 14.10.2025 I 13.00 I BZW B505
Tuesdays 4th DS, 13.00 - 14.30, BZW B505Since the beginning of the 20th century, working environments have changed at an ever faster pace.
ever faster - technologically, organizationally and culturally. The technical
progress, particularly in industrial production, enabled the transition from an industrial to a service society. Economic upturn and
and rising prosperity among broad sections of the population not only changed the
production methods, but also the demands on architecture and urban planning in the
commercial context.
Some of the most striking buildings of the 20th century are commercial buildings that were built in
design of which respond to contemporary trends, stylistic and technological
innovations. Different economic systems and political ideologies
led to diverse and sometimes contrasting responses to comparable
comparable challenges. Architects were faced with the task,
to design new working environments that are functional, efficient and user-friendly and
user-friendly, while at the same time reflecting the values of a wide range of companies and organizations.
and organizations.
Dresden, too, has always had highly specialized production facilities and
and company headquarters that reflected the spirit of the times in architecture and urban planning.
reflect the spirit of the times. In this seminar, we will use selected examples from
different epochs and geographical contexts, we will examine how the built environment
working environments have developed. In the discussion of striking case studies and
case studies and contemporary theoretical discourses, we aim to identify central lines of development
from the sites of industrial production to those of industrialization.
service society to current trends and visions of built environments.
working environments in the 21st century. In doing so, we look at technical and
artistic aspects of architecture as well as urban integration,
ideological messages, marketing strategies and the organization of workplaces
from the individual to the open-plan office, from the factory floor to the
service center.
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Monastery, castle and town house - forms of housing through the ages
(Dipl.-Ing. Kerstin Zaschke)
Start: Monday, 20.10.2025 I 13.00 I BZW B505
Mondays 4.DS, 13.00 - 14.30, BZW B505
Housing is one of people's basic needs. The way we live depends on the time, the location, the materials and our position in society and in the community.
But how did people live at different times? How did people live in a Roman villa, a monastery, a castle or a palace? How did people live in a tenement house in ancient Rome, the Middle Ages or the Renaissance? Like in a palace, like in tiny apartments?
How big were the dwellings, how were they furnished? How did people cook? What was the hygiene like? The floor plans, views and even the design of the interiors are well documented and known. But what do they tell us about how they were used? How were these dwellings used, how did people live in them? How did men, women and children live, how did servants live? How did monks and nuns live in monasteries in the Middle Ages? How did people live in a castle, a town house or a baroque palace? Who was part of the household? What was a typical daily routine like?
Building on the basic lectures in architectural history, various forms of living over 2000 years are examined in highlight form, using different types of sources such as biographies, letters, paintings and, in more recent times, films. The joy of reading is very helpful here. -
On the road to modernity - architectural trends in the 18th and early 19th centuries
(PD Dr. Mathias Haenchen)
Start: Monday, 20.10.2025 I 16.40 I BZW B505
Mondays 6.DS, 16.40 - 18.10, BZW B505
More than a century after the beginning of the return to the architecture of Roman antiquity, the strict regularity of architectural order associated with this "Renaissance" increasingly dissolved in the 16th century. Michelangelo in particular was a pioneer of the period in European architectural history that is subsumed under the term "Baroque". Architectural rules became less and less important in the 18th century, leaving room for the most diverse aspects of architecture. Aspects of architectural expression in particular came to the fore: the historicity of Roman architecture, clearly visible in its decay, but also its embedding in a heterogeneous built or natural environment and finally the "arrangement" of set pieces of ancient ruins into new architectural creations can be observed in Giovanni Battista Piranesi's engravings, for example. At the end of the century, however, the first attempts were made to reorganize architectural design as such - J.N.L. Durand's grid system is particularly noteworthy here. At the same time, scientific research into buildings from the Middle Ages and antiquity began, which also influenced contemporary architectural design.