Department : Theory and History of Architecture

The Department of Theory and History of Architecture trains students of the specialty "Architecture" at the initial stage (1, 2 courses) in architectural design, as well as in the main historical and theoretical courses ("History of Art", "History of Architecture and Urban Planning", "Restoration monuments of architecture”, “Architectural composition”, “Architectural graphics”, “Architectural drawing”), supervises the specialization “Restoration of architectural monuments”, conducts pre-university training in architectural composition within the framework of the BNTU lyceum, supervises diploma design on topics related to restoration and using the historical and architectural heritage, conducts measurement and familiarization practices.

The main scientific direction of the department is the study of the architectural heritage of Belarus, where the department occupies a leading position in the republic.

The main goal of the department is to form the foundations of professional activity among future specialists-architects by studying the achievements of domestic and world architecture.

The creation of the Department of Theory and History of Architecture in 1969 was caused by an increase in the number of students, the need to conduct classes at a higher methodological and scientific level, and the use of national architectural heritage in the educational process. Since the beginning of its existence, the department has combined two special areas of pedagogical and scientific activity - conducting historical and theoretical disciplines and practical classes on the basics of architectural design. This turned out to be very fruitful, as it made it possible to get away from excessive theorizing when reading lecture courses, to deepen the professional assessment of works of architecture by data from the experience of design activities, and, in addition, to give practical exercises in architectural design historical depth and greater thoroughness.

In organizing educational and methodological work, teachers focused on using the experience of the largest and oldest architectural schools in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kyiv, Lvov, Warsaw, improving and adapting it to local conditions. The focus of attention in the organization of the educational process was the consideration of historical and architectural problems, a deep analysis of the genesis and development of architecture, the study of the history of Belarusian architecture and the issues of conservation and use of architectural monuments.

The main scientific direction of the department's activity was the study of Belarusian architecture, which was caused by the relatively poor study of the architectural heritage of Belarus and the need for its restoration and use in connection with the reconstruction of historically developed settlements. The main attention was paid to the study of the morphology of buildings and obtaining brief information about the history of their creation and architectural and artistic features. To this end, on behalf of the Department of Architecture of the BSSR, Gosstroy, the Ministry of Culture, the Belarusian Society for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments, the staff of the department and students of the Faculty of Architecture under the guidance of Professor Chanturia V.A. carried out measurements and photographic fixation of architectural monuments, a survey of the historically developed settlements of Belarus in order to identify the cultural heritage and include it in the design and scientific activities, as well as in the educational process of the Faculty of Architecture. As a result, a large amount of material was accumulated, which later became the basis for the creation of many educational, methodological and scientific publications.

Professor Chanturia V.A. first published a textbook on the history of architecture in Belarus, which was then reprinted twice and was awarded the State Prize of the BSSR. The significance of this publication has gone far beyond the educational process, as it was the first to summarize and systematize extensive material relating to the development of the architecture of Belarus from ancient times to the beginning of the 20th century. Articles by V.A.Chanturiya laid the foundation for the inclusion of information about architectural monuments in the encyclopedic publications of Belarus, five Ph.D. dissertations on the problems of the history of Belarusian architecture were prepared under his leadership.

Since the end of the 70s, a new stage in the development of the department begins, due to a significant increase in the number of students of the faculty, the creative activity of the teachers of the department and the introduction of specialization in the preparation of students-architects. It is characterized by a more in-depth, differentiated approach to the conduct of academic disciplines and a significant expansion of the scope of scientific research on the problems of the theory and history of architecture.

As a result of many years of measurements and field surveys of architectural monuments by the staff of the department under the guidance of Professor Chanturia V.A. two volumes of the textbook "Atlas of architectural monuments and memorial complexes of Belarus" were prepared (1983, 1987), the first of which was awarded the Diploma and medal of the World Biennale of Architecture in Sofia in 1985.