Architectural Institute In Prague (ARCHIP) is a private international school of architecture in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

, established in 2010. The school offers instruction only in English and has an emphasis on international students and faculty. ARCHIP has recently moved to the

CIEE The Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) is a non-profit organization promoting international education and exchange. It was founded in 1947 and is based in the United States. The organization is headquartered in Portland, Maine. ...

building in the historic fort of

Vyšehrad Vyšehrad ( Czech for "upper castle") is a historic fort in Prague, Czech Republic, just over 3 km southeast of Prague Castle, on the east bank of the Vltava River. It was probably built in the 10th century. Inside the fort are the Basil ...

in the

Prague 2 Prague 2, formally the Prague 2 Municipal District (''Městská čast Praha 2''), is a second-tier municipality in Prague. It is co-extensive with the national administrative district (''správní obvod'') of the same name. As of the end of 2004 ...

district.

History

The school was conceived in 2005 by architect Martin Roubík (1949–2008) and his wife Regina Loukotová, now rector of the school. Roubík had returned from a period teaching and working in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

, and the couple wanted to establish a school of architecture in the Czech Republic offering a bachelor's degree programme in English. The school received approval to open from the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

in May 2010, and opened its

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

programme. In 2015 the school opened a 2-year

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

programme entitled "Architecture and Urbanism". ARCHIP has moved several times, its first location being the Trade Fair Palace, the largest

National Gallery Prague The National Gallery Prague ( cz, Národní galerie Praha, NGP), formerly the National Gallery in Prague (), is a state-owned art gallery in Prague, which manages the largest collection of art in the Czech Republic and presents masterpieces of Cze ...

site. In 2012, the school relocated to the Kartografie Praha building around the corner. Five years later, ARCHIP moved into a new campus in a renovated factory next to the DOX contemporary art gallery. As a result of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, ARCHIP moved again in 2020 to the

building in Štulcova street, within the walls of the historic

fort in the

district.

Academics

The school has around 50 teachers, about two thirds of whom are Czech, and the rest from abroad. Class sizes are between 20 and 30 students. The school's study programme is based on a vertical studio model where students from different grades work in parallel on a single site and programme. The students also attend lectures, practical seminars, and participate in excursions and workshops. Instruction takes place in Prague and occasionally at architectural projects in other parts of the

, such as in the Bohemian towns of

Líbeznice Líbeznice is a municipality and village in Prague-East District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,200 inhabitants. Etymology The name is derived from the surname Líbezný, meaning "the village of Líbezný's pe ...

and Jenišov (2020) or the Romani Holocaust memorial in Lety (2019). The school has a small exhibition space and a library, and also hosts lectures from local and international architects in cooperation with the Prague-based Center of Architecture and Town Planning (CAMP). The school's credit system and classification scale are compatible with the

European Credit Transfer System The European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) is a standard means for comparing academic credits, i.e., the "volume of learning based on the defined learning outcomes and their associated workload" for higher education across the ...

(ECTS), allowing students to join other European education programmes through the

Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The ''Roterodamus'' w ...

programme. ARCHIP has various international partners, mostly based in

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

but also in other regions of Europe.

External links

Architectural Institute in Prague (ARCHIP) website

References

{{Reflist Educational institutions in Prague Educational institutions established in 2010 2010 establishments in the Czech Republic