April 20, 2024
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Summary of approved PhD theses

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Development in energy-autonomous building renovations and their impact on architecture
Ing. arch. Holger Hasenritter, PhD.

The presented work explores the developments in energy-autonomous building renovations and their impact on architecture. First of all, this article will look at the current state of science and technology of the building stock and its energy supply. This covers a wide range, from energy resources and supply networks to technical and public standards for buildings and sociological aspects. It can be seen that there is an urgent need for realisable solutions that guarantee independence – also referred to self-sufficiency from fossil and centrally powered networks at affordable costs. In addition, according to EPBD 2010 should in future nearly zero-energy buildings become the standard in Europe. From the analysis of example building renovations, explicit criteria for a special classification matrix can be formulated, as a scientific definition for energy self-sufficiency is still missing. This new rating system enables to determine the respective degree of the achieved energy self-sufficiency of a building or system. Practical, applicable strategies and technologies show how energy self-sufficiency can be achieved for renovations. These include strategies such as factor 10, the idea of Solar City, the passive house concept, as well as various planning tools for sustainability. The proposed technologies include new ideas for energy storage systems, as well as active and passive applications in façade technology. The progressive influence of new technologies on architecture manifests itself in different forms. There are aspects such as building design, building technology, planning and management, and temporary conditions. According to this, the development of a new understanding of the use of buildings, and architecture as a whole will be necessary for the future. My research attempts to contribute to developing sensible construction, possible on a wide scale, resulting in high quality, polite and democratic architecture that moreover strengthens social cohesion and improves the lives of many people. The new approach and the novel methodology of energetic autarchy could, therefore, be seen as a rating system for a new building generation because of its definition and its far-reaching technologies and implementation strategies.

Craft for the 21st century
Mgr. art. Michala Lipková, ArtD.

Craft as a form of small series production is from the traditional point of view based on qualified manual work of a craftsman. The search for the role of crafts in a contemporary context opens new possibilities in the product design process, enabling the participation of users, product personalization and downsizing general production footprint. The goal of this PhD thesis is to (1) reveal analogy between hand-made & CAD/ CAM, crafts & DIY, open-source & traditional sharing of know-how across generations and (2) to explore a new educational model of design as a collective discipline.

Role of public spaces in segregated areas
Ing. arch. Katarína Smatanová, PhD, M.A.

This paper aims to contribute to the search for alternative planning instruments targeting the improvement of the living conditions of segregated and separated Roma settlements in Slovakia. As the study of Roma settlements has been highly concentrated on themes related to housing, the research opens up the issues of the role of public spaces in these areas, for its daily users, as well as a potential tool for urban planning interventions. The aim of this research is to outline a methodology for the design of public spaces in order to improve living conditions in segregated and separated Roma areas in Slovakia. The research is divided into two parts. The first part examines the area of Rankovce, focusing on identification of the role of the public spaces through investigation of the creation, activities and usage of open spaces in the area. The second part identifies the role of public spaces in programmes for improving living conditions in segregated areas in different countries, with a focus on segregated areas of ‘slums’ and ‘ghettos’. The research draws on a desk review and field data collected in 2013 – 2015 in Rankovce. A qualitative methodology was employed; the case study was framed by a grounded theory and multi-method strategy: semi-structured interviews, observation, and mind-mapping. The author of the PhD thesis also tested new research methods of space analysis, useful especially for purposes of architecture and urban planning design, as well as academic purposes. The paper concludes that public spaces in segregated and separated Roma settlements are not ‘additional’ areas in these settlements. On the contrary, they are fundamental, especially for functional everyday use. Employing design of public spaces as a tool for improving living conditions in these areas might therefore potentially bring successful and sustainable results.

Visual communication design of a cultural institution
akad. mal. Pavol Rozložník, ArtD.

The PhD thesis consists of three main sections. The first section deals with the origins of visual communication and the evolution of its tools. The second part describes the creation of a unified visual style in general and its application in the conditions of a cultural institution in particular. This section also describes the Corporate Mandala – a new element of visual communication and corporate identity. The third part discusses the visual communication of Slovak National Theatre designed by the members of IQ DESIGN Studio in the years 1993–1994 and 2006– 2013. More than just mere visuals for individual performances, it includes the redesigned logo of the Slovak National Theatre and its design manual. Comparing the graphic design work from the period of twenty years ago with nowadays, it is evident that in the past personality of the author was of importance while today visual communication is mostly result of teamwork.

Design of workstations in open-space office
Ing. arch. Zuzana Koprnová Humajová, PhD.

The PhD thesis deals with existing workstations in open-space offices and attitudes of users to these workstations. An important part of the thesis is to determine the characteristics of the furniture for a workplace according to the requirements and preferences of the current user. In this work, we have tried to shift the issue of workstations in open-space offices to such a design level that respects except for the functional requirements also redefined requirements resulting from our own research. The main outcome of the thesis is a new design – a workstation in an open-space office, which takes into account the lessons learned from the research and questionnaires, as well as from the individual creative process. The PhD thesis wants to be also a certain impulse to the academic environment to pay more attention to the linkage of architecture, interior design and product design.

Keywords: design, urban design, reserach, dissertation thesis, architecture