Summary of approved PhD theses

Urban planning in 20th century in Slovakia: Case study Bratislava
Ing. arch. Peter Horák, PhD.

The dissertation thesis covers two aspects in the development of the city of Bratislava. Zoning, regulatory and directional plans represent the element of the vision. Urban visions drive the development of the city, stimulate and regulate the growth, concept and localization of urban fabric, bring new impulses that change over time. The development of the urban fabric is an element of reality, where some visions of spatial plans were applied in the development of the city, while some were not. So, two primary factors are compared here, the city as a vision of spatial plans and the city as an existing structure. For the sake of clarity, 10-year intervals were chosen to compare the city’s development, which helps to show not only the development of the urban fabric, but also to describe changes in spatial planning, changes in the management of waterways and water areas, changes in road infrastructure and changes in railway infrastructure. The 10-year comparisons are based on historical mappings of the territory. To better understand the development of the city and its planning, it is also useful to know the economic, social, political, natural, technical and historical influences. Therefore, the dissertation describes not only the general conditions that affected both the beginning of the 20th century and its progress, but also the individual 10-year stages, which enables a closer look into the economic and political conditions, geopolitical situation, spatial planning, development of the urban fabric of the city, implementation of the visions concerning the zoning and planning and examples of specific works created in a particular stage. Readers thus receive concise information about the factors influencing the development of the urban fabric and the formation of spatial planning ideas. In its conclusion, the thesis provides a generalization of spatial planning principles throughout the 20th century and analyzes individual elements included in the plans. A spreadsheet offers a summary of identical visions or groups of characteristic elements in spatial planning, which appeared in various spatial plans in particular decades. The spreadsheet also includes information on the implementation of the elements, some of which have never been realized, some only partially, while others have been realized in their entirety. Certain territory-related concepts changed over time and have been transformed, while some plans and objectives appeared and then disappeared for several decades until they were revived again. Some elements related to the planning have been under consideration over the centuries, but their implementation has yet to come. The last part of the paper describes these elements from the time perspective, assesses ideas in planning, finding common features and provides conclusions on the implementation of the construction plans. The thesis also presents author’s opinions based on the findings and conclusions of the research, which focus on the possibilities of transformation and improvement of the current state of the city, looking into new possibilities for effective spatial planning documentation and application of new elements in planning.

Intensification of mass housing estates
Ing. arch. Pavlína Kolcunová, PhD.

The dissertation presents the concept of mass housing intensification, based on the complex analysis of spatial aspects of housing density. The purpose of the thesis was to develop a density parameter integrating both quantitative and qualitative factors. The theoretical part of the thesis analyses the spatial aspects of density in the context of a particular historical era. The practical part consists of a case study that compares spatial qualities within two diametrically different housing environments. Derived spatial indicators confirmed usefulness of expanding the density index through phenomenological and socio-spatial aspects.

Keywords: doctoral study, PhD thesis, FA STU, PhD students, research, PhD study, urban design