Architecture & Design

Part I - Lectures

The lectures take place over a period of 3 weeks.

The lectures are taught in classrooms, but we will go outside on occasions where the city itself becomes the classroom. The lectures follow a business-oriented curriculum and revolve around career-oriented topics such as the architectural design of commercial buildings from a business perspective, the planning and management of cities’ growth, working with clients, leadership or cooperation between architects, land developers and real estate consultants. We will touch on land development processes and discuss how various market trends impact the design and development process.

On several occasions, we will leave the classroom and visit historical or modern architecture sites and a project under construction. We will make several excursions out of Prague; specifically to Dresden, Kutna Hora and, on a voluntary basis,

Courses are taught by leading local and international architects and planners, professionals in land development, IT specialists and representatives from real estate firms. We select lecturers with real experience in order to make sure that they can give students a true impression of their field.

After the three weeks of lectures, students will take part in internships in prominent local and international architectural and development firms based in Prague or neighbouring countries. Students will have an opportunity to apply and improve the knowledge gained during the lectures.

Part III – Design Assignment (6 weeks)

Students will also have a design assignment to work on over the duration of the program. It will be assigned on the first day of lectures, and will be related to the curriculum of the year.  The design project will be led by two senior practicing Czech architects with extensive design and teaching experience. Other architects, selected developers and real estate consultants will be invited to participate as critics during the presentations.

Here are some of the lecturers for the Architecture & Design program and their lectures:

- Barbora Markechova, Director at Ian Bogle Architects, London, Prague, Hong Kong; Designing Green Buildings

- Ondřej Chybík, Founder, Chybik+Kristof Architects & Urban Designers, Prague, Brno, Bratislava; Career Development

- Vendula Hnídková, Ph.D., Professor at the Institute of History of Art and Architecture, Prague: History of 19th and 20th Century Architecture in Prague

- Sean Clifton, RIBA, Architect, Director at Prague office of Jestico+Whiles; Hotel and Residential Design for Commercial Success

- Filip Pokorny, Ing.Arch, Ph.D., Director at Chapman Taylor Architects, Prague: Mall Design in the Time of Online Shopping

- Michal Kovářík, Ing.Arch, Czech Technical University: Digital Fabrication & Robotics, New Paradigm in Architecture

- Tu Nguyen, B.Sc., Valuer at Cushman&Wakefield: Valuations, to what extent can Valuations influence value of RE?

- David Friday, MBA, Journalist; Dictionary: Business of Architecture, Land Development and Real Estate

- Jan Holna, Ing. Arch., CEO & Partner at DAM architekti; Design Assignment Leader Architect 

- Henry Achten, Faculty of Architecture at Czech Technical University in Prague; Global Digitalization and its Impact on the Required Software Skills for Architects

- Colin Glover, Chartered Sruveyor; Managing Director of Construction Company SIS; Constration Site Visit 

- Dávid Fogad, Executive Manager at Fond Českého Bydlení SICAV (Fund of Czech Living); Presentation skills & Public speaking

Learn more about our lecturers.

Find out about the program's schedule.

ECCEDU internships offer a unique chance to acquire beneficial work experience and interact with some of the best architecture and development companies in Prague and abroad. 4 weeks of internship at a local architecture or real estate development company. The students will be matched with architecture studios based on their experience and skills and the studios' demands. Several offices available for internships will be in other European countries.

Internships are always under the close supervision and guidance of senior company representatives, who look after students, coach them and help them grow - for this reason each company doesn’t take on more than 1 or 2 of our students.

During their internships, students get assigned personalized tasks, designed to fit their personal and professional interests. Their internship work also typically includes office-based work related to the practice of architecture and design, such as research, working with various software programs, attending meetings, or visiting construction sites.

Students can choose internships in several international ECCEDU partners located mostly in Prague, but also in other European cities; internship opportunities range from the largest international companies to smaller firms with a focused area of expertise. In the past, these have included Jestico+ Whiles Architecture, Urbanlogic Ltd., Chapman Taylor Architects, Aukett Swanke, Ian Bryan Architects, D.A.M. architekti, Chybik+Kristof Architects, and AED Project, among others.

Learn more about ECCEDU's partners.

Traditionally, our Global Career Summer Programs open with a welcome gala evening for ECCEDU students.

This event provides an opportunity to meet the inspiring people who contribute to the ECCEDU community and meet the other ECCEDU students from the Law and International Business programs. In 2020 our Grand Reception will take place mid-July.

The Grand Reception also serves as an annual meeting place for top-level representatives from Czech and foreign companies, as well as politicians, diplomats, and academics.

Read more about our Grand Reception.

ECCEDU provides its attendees with a Graduation Certificate. Following the end of the lectures session, we hold an informal certificate awarding ceremony.

ECCEDU partner companies will also be issuing reference letters for their students upon successful completion of the internship.