History of the Faculty of Architecture

Founding and Neureuther Renaissance 1868-1882
The ‘New Polytechnic School’, renamed 'Technical College' in 1877, was erected between 1864 and 1868 directly opposite the Old Pinakothek (Art Museum) as a Neo-Renaissance building according to the plans of Gottfried von Neureuther. This was the first time in Bavarian history that architects and engineers were trained separately. The four professors: Gottfried von Neureuther (Higher Architecture), Rudolf Gottgetreu (Construction), Albert Geul (Civil Engineering) and Joseph Mozet (Drawing) along with the sculptor Conrad Knoll and August Thiersch, as the only assistant, taught at the 'Structural Engineering College'. The number of students of Architecture rose from 18 to 161 between 1868 and 1878. The most influential lecturer was Gottfried von Neureuther, who only upheld the language of design of the Italian Renaissance for his architectural concepts. During the 14 years of his tenure, which lasted until 1882, however, no signs of a stylistically definable Neureuther School were forthcoming.

The Thiersch era 1882-1921
The appointment of the 27-year-old Friedrich von Thiersch as adjunct Professor of Architecture and second lecturer alongside Neureuther in 1879 marked the beginning of a continual expansion and enhancement of the Munich-based Department of Architecture. By the outbreak of World War I the number of Chairs for Architectural Design had risen to four. Besides Thiersch, who succeeded Neureuther in 1882 and likewise represented the Renaissance style of architecture, other lecturers included Heinrich von Schmidt, who taught Medieval Architecture from 1883 onwards, Carl Hocheder, who favoured the Munich Baroque style of civil architecture (from 1904) and Theodor Fischer, who specialized in Design and Urban Planning (from 1908 onwards) with a strong orientation towards regional building traditions. Thanks to the enormous success of Thiersch and Theodor Fischer in their capacity as architects and their flair as lecturers, the reputation of Munich's architectural education flourished. When the number of students increased to almost 600, the Munich School of Architecture even overtook the Technische Hochschule in Charlottenburg as the leading university in this field. Acclaimed architects like Max Berg, Ernst May, O.R. Salvisberg or Heinrich Tessenow learned their skills from Thiersch, while many subsequent supporters of Contemporary Architecture, such as Hugo Häring and Erich Mendelsohn, studied under the auspices of Theodor Fischer.

Reaction and departure 1918-1933
Following World War I, the ‘Schools of Style’ were gradually transformed into ‘Schools of Construction’. From 1924 onwards, a 24-month period of practical building experience became compulsory in Munich. The construction side of the training was given a significant boost when Hocheder's ‘Civil Architecture’ was converted into a Chair for ‘Technical and Health-Conscious Civil and Industrial Building Practice', held by Richard Schachner, and the setting-up of a second Chair for Structural Engineering. Tuition at the Faculty of Architecture was largely influenced in the 1920s by the conservative German Bestelmeyer, Friedrich von Thiersch's successor. Studying Architecture in Munich lost its reputation and appeal and the number of students went into decline. It was not until 1930 that the Faculty became receptive to modern architectural concepts due to the appointment of Cologne's Town Planning Director, Adolf Abel, and Robert Vorhölzer, who had made a name for himself with his post-office buildings.

Architectural training during National Socialism 1933-1945
When the National Socialists seized power, this had serious repercussions on the teaching staff and tuition. The most dominant figure at the Faculty of Architecture, German Bestelmeyer, who had been a member of the 'Combat League for German Culture' since 1930, played a decisive role in almost all the changes introduced in the 1930s. The only modernist lecturer, Robert Vorhölzer, was branded a ‘Building Bolshevik' and dismissed as early as 1933; Roderich Fick, a conservative architect who conformed to the political landscape, became his successor in 1936. When Bestelmeyer died in 1942, Julius Schulte-Frohlinde – one of the leading National Socialist architects – was appointed. As opposed to the ‘Stuttgart School’, however, the Faculty of Architecture in Munich did not have any special significance during the Nazi era.

A fresh start between tradition and modernism 1946-1968
The Technical University took up its teaching function again in the summer of 1946. The total number of students of Architecture rose from 680 in 1950 to 850 in 1968. Adolf Abel and Hans Döllgast resumed their lectures, and Vorhölzer returned to his Chair and organized the rebuilding of the university. Martin Elsässer and Hermann Leitenstorfer were appointed for Architectural Design and Franz Hart and Georg Werner for Structural Engineering. The most outstanding figure of the early post-war period was Hans Döllgast, who had united all the graphics and design subjects in his Department since 1941. The teaching of Architectural Design was characterized by headstrong individuals right up to the 1970s: from the mid-Fifties onwards, Gerhard Weber and Gustav Hassenpflug, both reputed stalwarts of the Bauhaus style, supported aspects of modern architecture at the university from the mid-1950s onwards; Josef Wiedemann and Johannes Ludwig stood for a more moderate style of modern architecture.

Munich architectural practice 1968-1993
From 1946 to 1968 the number of Chairs rose from 10 to 17, and the number of Chairs in Architectural Design increased from four to six. There was an increase in the number of students from 850 to 1300 between 1968 and 1993. The theoretical discussions of the 1968 ‘student revolts’ led to a Chair in Introduction to Design being set up. The new replacements for more than half of the Chairs during the Seventies did nothing to change the course of Munich's pragmatic, practice-oriented School of Architecture. The main focus and strength of the Munich School of Architecture is the sound, structurally well-founded Architectural Design qualification program. When the Conditions of Study were revised in 1991, the subject 'Introduction to Design' was dropped in favour of the Concept of a Structural Design as a perspective for the 1990s, instead.

Awakening to Internationalization from 1993 onwards
In the Nineties, the Faculty honed its profile and improved its reputation by appointing several internationally recognized architects to Chairs in Architectural Design. The establishment of a Technology Center and the Museum of Architecture served to reinforce the constructive/technical and the historical focus of the Faculty respectively.

(Summarized according to: Winfried Nerdinger (publisher), Munich School of Architecture, 1968-1993. 125 Jahre Technische Universität München (125th Anniversary of Technische Universität München), Munich 1993)