Autonomy of Architecture

This department was established in Lviv in 1871 — as the Department of Engineering was divided into separate specializations. This reform of the Polytechnic, in turn, became possible due to the autonomy granted to Galicia within the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

At that time, the Polytechnic in Lviv was the only Polish-language technical higher educational institution; therefore, it attracted students from the three divided parts of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. From that time on, its own stable professional milieu, including architects was formed in the city. Vienna's decisive influence on Lviv's architecture began to wane.

This text is an attempt to account the main trends at the department: particularly through changes in the team and key ideas that determined architectural education in Lviv in 1871-1914.

In the first half of the nineteenth century, architecture in Lviv was taught at the  Franciscan University . The course was taught at the Department of Philosophy by Ignaz Chambrez, a native of Moravia. In 1844, when the Technical Academy was founded, architecture was transferred to the Department of Engineering there. The subject had a rather introductory character. During the 1840s-1860s, it was alternately taught by three temporarily invited professors — Jerzy (Georg) Beskiba, Adolf Gabriely, and Edmund Stix. The curricullum was based on Viennese models, was taught in German and cannot be considered a full-fledged architectural education.

The word "architecture" appeared in the name of the department only in the time of the Second Polish Republic, in 1921, that is, half a century after the department was founded. This happened at the same time as the whole institution was renamed — from Higher Technical School to Lviv Polytechnic. All through the Habsburg period, the department's name sounded as budownictwo łądowe, i.e. civil construction. The term came from the German Hochbau, which was used to denote the construction of houses as opposed to the construction of roads, bridges and other engineering structures (Niederbau). The terms could be alternatively translated as "higher" and "lower" construction. On the other hand, the word architecture was used to call the department informally. The official name emphasized architecture as a technical specialty that emerged from engineering, not from the arts. Due to the changes in the curriculum of the department in Lviv after 1871 we can trace how architecture first contained mainly general technical, introductory courses and how it was filled with more specialized subjects over time and was, to some extent, becoming more artistic.

This trend of specialization, prevailing in the second half of the nineteenth century, was characteristic not only for architecture, but to other subjects as well. As the human knowledge was developing rapidly in that time, it became impossible for a single person to grasp all its branches as previously. The impossibility became perhaps the most important argument for the reform of the Polytechnic, conceived in the late 1860s and implemented in 1870–1877 (Strzelecki, 1872). The separation of architecture and engineering was perceived as revolutionary, but very soon it became accepted as a completely natural and obvious fact (e.g. Bratro, 1934).

From 1871, the establishment of the Department of Architecture in Lviv was associated with Julian Zachariewicz, who headed it from that year till his death in 1898. In that period, the department's development was considerably focused on stylistic search, at being a kind of laboratory of architectural style for Galicia. At the turn of the twentieth century, due to the global shift away from the ideas of historicism, the department in Lviv began to focus on the adaptation to modernity, technology, and planning issues more than on the representative function of architecture. Since then, there has never been a single person at the department who would play such a decisive role as Julian Zachariewicz. The modernization wave reached its peak in 1910–1911 in response to calls for reforms in architectural education, which were voiced by the milieu of architects and students (through gatherings, memorials, publications). Changes began to be introduced thanks to grassroots initiatives; so a trend towards democratization can be seen there.

After the department was established in 1871, architectural education transitioned from being purely practical to becoming rather theoretical. This change reflected the polytechnics' attempt at the time to overcome the pressing problem of academic inequality with universities, which largely stemmed from social inequality. So the history of polytechnics in the nineteenth century (and until 1917 in the case of the Habsburg Empire) is a history of emancipation. Part of it was the introduction of exams and academic degrees, the development of polytechnics from institutions in which education was only disseminated to institutions in which new knowledge was created, scientific research was carried out and inventions were made. This development allowed graduates (in those days, however, only men) to change their social position through obtaining an education. In the case of architecture, these circumstances contributed to emphasizing theory, sharpened discussions about abandoning the application of old canons or the adaptation of traditional architectural models, as well as about the need to invent radically new solutions to the problems of the contemporary world.

In comparison with other departments at the Polytechnic in Lviv, the architectural department was the least attended during that period. However, this fact in itself is insufficient to interpret architecture as the most elitist or the least demanded profession in society. About 10–12% of the total number of students studied at this department (from about 25 in the 1870s to over 200 in the 1910s). The department of chemistry had approximately the same popularity. Instead, the engineering one was the most popular at that time (almost half of all students), while the second place was always held by the machinery-building department (about a quarter).

In the nineteenth century, there were no uniform curricula; the Ministry of Education did not provide clear instructions from above on how teaching should take place, and there were no textbooks either. Thus, the responsibility rested primarily on the professors, and the method and subject of teaching depended on the personal qualities and qualifications of each of them. After 1848, the main governing body of the Polytechnic in Lviv was the College of Professors (pl., Kollegium Profesorów or Grono). The collective chose candidates for positions, while Vienna had only to approve them. If a new professor had to be appointed, the case was considered by the emperor himself. In the case of associate professors or when a professor was elected rector or dean, an approval from the minister of education was enough. This was a usual practice and not for polytechnics only since, in particular, the political acceptability of candidates was assessed as they were to be accepted for public service.

Julian Zachariewicz, the architect who was invited to create the department in 1871, had previously worked for the railway. This was common as the railways were developing actively at the time, and they employed most of the polytechnic graduates. Being 34, Zachariewicz was extremely young for a professor at that time, and furthermore had no teaching experience. But his practical experience was an advantage. He had taken part in the construction of railway stations and in the reconstruction of Gothic churches. The fact that he was a Polish-speaking native of Lviv, was another asset. The specialization of the Polytechnic in Lviv was closely related to the fact that Galicia was being reorganized into an autonomous region of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and this also meant that local languages were to become languages of instruction. Therefore, German-speaking teachers had to leave their positions, and local replacements were sought for them. Also, the fact that Zachariewicz was immediately appointed to a high and prestigious position testified to great trust and hope in him or to powerful patronage in the highest circles.

In the first years of the department, in 1872/1873 and 1873/1874, he was the only teacher of architectural disciplines. The subjects were typical: Ornamental Drawings, Construction — lectures and practical classes on design (divided into two parts: the first one for the third year, the second one for the fourth year), Study of Architectural Forms, as well as Building Mmechanics (Program, 1872). As early as the second semester, Zachariewicz involved Gustaw Bisanz (then still a student) in teaching. This assistantship was a paid position and meant helping with practical classes.

In 1874, two more lecturers joined the department.  Leonard Marconi , a native of Warsaw, moved to Lviv and began to teach drawing and sculpture as an extraordinary professor. He stayed in Lviv for the rest of his life and collaborated with Zachariewicz in many projects. At the same time, Ludwik Wierzbicki, a colleague of Zachariewicz from his school days and a railway engineer, joined as a lecturer temporarily. He taught Building Constructions and Construction part one for three years, until these subjects were taken over by Gustaw Bisanz (who was appointed an extraordinary professor in 1879). Later, the first part and the second part of Construction were made separate chairs within the department, headed, respectively, by Bisanz and Zachariewicz.

Along with these subjects, Julian Zachariewicz also delegated Building Mechanics, which was from that time on taught at the Engineering Department, first by Józef Rychter and Bruno Abakanowicz. Later, in a slightly different form, Building Statics was taken up by Maksymilian Thullie. The introductory course Encyclopaedia of Architecture for students of other specializations at the Polytechnic was initially entrusted to Gustaw Bisanz and later to the privatdozent Józef Kajetan Janowski.

The delegation of his subjects allowed Zachariewicz to introduce additional ones: History of Architecture and Architectural Composition, which he taught himself, as well as Railway Architecture (dedicated to the specifics of stations and station complexes). The need to teach history became more acute as state exams were introduced at the Polytechnic in 1878, and an exam in history was compulsory for architecture students. This introduction was sought by the technicians in order to become able to receive academic degrees at polytechnics in the same way as university students could. The exams became one of the steps on the way to the academic equality of the two types of educational institutions, which fully took place in the Austro-Hungarian Empire only in 1917.

In the following years, of all subjects, Zachariewicz paid most attention to teaching history and theory of architecture. This trend is typical of the era of historicism in architecture, which actually lasted in the Western world. In the 1880s and 1890s, Zachariewicz involved three teachers as privatdozents: Michał Kowalczuk (1887), Kazimierz Kleczkowski (1888) and Franciszek Skowron (1893).

Starting with Gustaw Bisanz in 1872, we know about a considerable number of assistants at the chair of architecture. Beginning from 1878, nearly every year one of the graduates became Zachariewicz's assistant, typically for a year’s time. Among them are the names of those who later became practicing architects well-known in Lviv: Władysław Halicki (1878–1879), Jan Tomasz Kudelski (1889), Tadeusz Münnich (1891) and even the son of Julian Zachariewicz himself, Alfred (1896–1898). Similar to the old university tradition, each chair at the Polytechnic had its own museum. Usually these consisted of a room where collections were exhibited; at the architecture department, these were drawings, models of buildings, books. Assistants were involved in work in the museums. In addition to practitioners, among Zachariewicz's assistants there were also several people who became researchers, teachers of history and theory of architecture; we will talk about them later.

In 1877/1878 and later in 1881/1882, the College of Professors of the Polytechnic elected Julian Zachariewicz as the rector of the institution. The ritual of the academic year inauguration required the rector (who was elected for one year term) to deliver a speech. These speeches often had a programmatic character, highlighting visions for the institution in general and for the speaker’s own subject in particular. Zachariewicz's first speech in 1877 was quite general in nature. As the opening ceremony of the Polytechnic building also took place at that time, his speech was based on an explanation of the motto Litteris et Artibus, its dedication, which he, as the architect of the building, chose to place on the attic. This speech emphasized the interrelationship of architecture with technology and art. Zachariewicz's speech, in 1881, when he was voted rector for the second time, had a more specialized focus. Entitled "On national art" (Pl., O sztuce narodowej), it contained the architect's reflections on how to bring architecture closer to people, its users. In his opinion, architecture should express their aspirations and emotional needs. He saw the solution to this problem in the creation of a style, a national style, and in the Polytechnic becoming a center for its creation. Zachariewicz did not feel competent in the study of the people and their characteristics, apparently considering it a field of research in other disciplines. As an architect, he suggested focusing on the study of architecture of past periods.

Art must in all its works be an expression of the spirit and feelings of the people; it must thus be subject to the daily mood of these people. [...] I would like to outline the concept of art as national in a few words. We hear this phrase so often today. At the same time, I would like to express my opinion about the way in which we could take part in such a development.

— Julian Zachariewicz, "O sztuce narodowej", Gazeta Lwowska, 1881, Nr. 235-236

In 1880, Franciszek Skowron became Julian Zachariewicz's assistant. The architect was a Polish native and a graduate of the Vienna Polytechnic. Skowron took up the study of ancient Greek architecture under the guidance of Zachariewicz. He prepared a ‘habilitation thesis’ (for obtaining the position of associate professor) entitled "Polychromy of the Greek Shrine", the text of which was published in Krakow in 1881. We can only assume why he went to Lviv. At that time, technical education did not provide an opportunity to become an academic researcher of architecture; for this it was necessary to graduate from university. Even so, in Austria-Hungary as of 1880, there was a single department of art history at the Department of Philosophy of the University of Vienna. Therefore, the assistantship at the Polytechnic, despite an extremely modest salary, provided virtually the only opportunity available to a technician to work in research. Besides, it was obviously easier to enter an institution in Lviv rather than in Vienna.

"Polychromy of the Greek Shrine" was a compilation work, not a study of original sources. Skowron wrote it under the clear influence of the works of Gottfried Semper, one of the most celebrated architects of the second half of the nineteenth century. Since the eighteenth century, and following the ideas of Johann Winckelmann, who is regarded the founder of Art History as a discipline, researchers had considered ancient Greek temples to be buildings that had always been white. Gottfried Semper, however, managed to overturn this idea and to convince skeptics that the temples were polychrome, i.e. painted in colors. Semper's figure was important for technicians also due to the fact that he was among the first architectural theorists who came from an architectural, technical profession, and not from a university and philosophical environment. Later, in 1893–1897, Skowron's work allowed him to teach in Lviv, where he stayed due to some other jobs. The subject was called "Propaedeutics of architecture", it was recommended (optional) for first-year students.

Zachariewicz's second assistant, who took up research work, was his student Michał Kowalczuk, who was of mixed Polish-Ukrainian origin, from Stanislawów (now Ivano-Frankivsk). Kowalczuk was an assistant longer than anyone else (1884–1888). Involved in the work of the Circle of Conservators in Lviv, he closely cooperated with other researchers, in particular with Władysław Łoziński, whose books he illustrated with measuring drawings and sketches of local architectural monuments. He wrote his ‘habilitation thesis’ "Architecture in Ancient Rome" during his assistantship in Lviv and on a scholarship in Rome itself; a book based on it was published in 1891 and intended as a textbook for students. Kowalczuk was appointed to teach the history of architecture in 1887, even before the official presentation of his thesis. He worked as a privatdozent till 1913.

Kazimierz Kleczkowski of Warsaw was the third who started to teach a related subject in Lviv. An architect, a graduate of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, he was the author of "Analysis of Architectural Forms", a book whose first volume was published in 1885. In his work, Kleczkowski considered architecture from the point of view of psychology, a science that was being born at that time; he referred to contemporary medical and philosophical research, trying to describe how architecture was perceived by its viewers (mostly visually). He apparently wrote the second volume of the work (published in 1892) in Lviv, where he taught the theory and aesthetics of architecture in 1888–1893. The position of a privatdozent provided a modest income, so the architect wrote for various art publications in Polish and was also one of the first in Lviv to attempt architectural criticism, for example, in the professional magazine  Czasopismo technicze . In his writings, Kleczkowski paid considerable attention to Gothic architecture and its analysis.

Therefore, the collaboration with three research architects who specialized in the study of architecture of certain historical periods can be regarded as part of a larger process initiated by Julian Zachariewicz — which he indicated in his inaugural speech in 1881 — the process of seeking for a style that would suit the local society.

After the untimely deaths of Julian Zachariewicz in December 1898 and Leonard Marconi in the spring of 1899, the department was left with one ordinary professor, Gustaw Bisanz. It was during that period, in the 1898/1899 academic year, that the latter held the position of rector. Back in the autumn of 1898, in his speech, he, in particular, regretted the fact that architects had not yet managed to find a way to harmoniously combine modern materials (in particular, iron) with new aesthetics. According to him, hiding iron structures behind stone façades which was common at the time, "contradicted the basic principle of architecture". However, he saw the way out of this situation in the approaches practiced by Otto Wagner in Vienna, particularly in the construction of station buildings for the city railway.

The professorships in architecture remained vacant for almost two years. A replacement for the two extraordinary personalities was not easy to find. In these circumstances, a new period began for the  architecture department. There was no longer a single trend of development that could be held by one person. The subsequent professors had different views and did not enjoy an undisputed authority of the kind Julian Zachariewicz had had.

Edgar Kováts became his actual successor in 1901, taking over such subjects as Architectural Design and Composition, as well as Study of Architectural Forms. Born in Bukowina in a mixed Polish-Hungarian family, he temporarily studied at the Technical Academy in Lviv in 1867–1868, even before Zachariewicz. However, he completed his education in Zürich and then made a career in Vienna. In the empire's capital city, he was a member of local art circles and was also involved in some landmark projects, including the construction of the Art History Museum on Ringstrasse. In 1895, he headed the Wood Industry School in Zakopane. He was chosen to create the pavilion to represent Galicia at the World Exhibition in Paris (1900); this project was started by Zachariewicz still earlier. It was due to this work, which was soon exhibited in Lviv as well, and his subsequent publication entitled "On the Zakopane Method" (Pl., Sposób Zakopański) that Kováts acquired a rather controversial reputation: he was both harshly criticized and greatly praised. What is significant is that a person who was undertaking to reinterpret and stylize historical models, was hired as a professor. In his inaugural lecture at the Polytechnic, Edgar Kováts affirmed his intentions to develop modern architecture within the institution; he mostly referred to Otto Wagner, shedding light on his views, and on the artists of the Vienna Secession (Czasopismo techniczne, 1901). Thus, it can be assumed that the era of Zachariewicz and his historicist architecture at the Polytechnic would have come to an end. However, a question still remains whether Edgar Kováts, together with his colleagues in Lviv, managed to significantly develop and change the way in which architecture had been taught in the previous thirty years.

"The sign that we live at a turning point is that we often retreat from the trodden paths..." Wagner believes that art will always have enough power to reflect the humanity's ideals, and the changes in these ideals will result in a revolution in art so radical, that there will be no longer a question of reviving a style; a new style will emerge from these aspirations. [...] The modern style [...] will undoubtedly outline a narrower framework for feelings in art and will bring romanticism to almost complete end, while our works will express the prevailing influence of reason.

— Edgar Kováts, "O zasadach architektury nowoczesnej", Architekt, 1902, Nr. 4, 41-46

After Kováts, two more new professors were appointed in 1902, as extraordinary ones at first: Ivan Levynskyi (Jan Lewiński) and Teodor Talowski. Both were students of the late Zachariewicz, in the early 1870s and in 1877–1880, respectively, but their approaches were fundamentally different. Talowski was considered the most famous contemporary Polish architect; he worked mainly in his native Krakow and was deemed an artist, who created original stylish works. He began to teach drawing instead of Marconi, as well as a new course dedicated to the medieval architecture that included lectures and practical classes. For him, historical styles remained defining. Whereas Levynskyi, a practical engineer and an enterpreneur, took up teaching design. His subject was called Utilitarian Architecture, a chair of the same name was founded for him. According to Levynskyi's explanations, he focused on the issues of rational and economical building layouts, i.e. on purely technical and calculable aspects of architecture and not on those sensuous or artistic. Moreover, he took over Railway Architecture subject, previously taught by Zachariewicz. Utilitarian Architecture became a significant subject in the 4th and 5th years to which many academic hours were dedicated; it was soon expanded by a separate section on building hygiene in the 3rd year.

In 1902, teaching sculpture was taken over by Antoni Popiel (as an associate professor), a famous Lviv sculptor and the late Marconi’s son-in-law.

In 1905, the department introduced the teaching of construction with the use of iron structures, and in 1909, construction with the use of reinforced concrete. These subjects were taught by lecturers from the Engineering Department — Dr. Jan Bogucki and Dr. Marceli Marcichowski.

The changes introduced in the teaching staff and curriculum in the early years of the twentieth century were not considered sufficient. In 1906–1910, students of architecture in Lviv met six times (three in 1908 with an interval of one month) to express their dissatisfaction with the current curriculum to the College of Professors (Architekt, 1910, Nr. 11, 166). The students claimed that insufficient attention was paid to the current problems of education not only by the College but also by the wider community of architects.

In 1908, the Circle of Polish Architects section was formed within the  Lviv Polytechnic Society , becoming the first specialized institutional platform for professional architectural discussion in Galicia. The section stated that promoting the reform of architectural education at the Polytechnic was one of their top priorities. In 1908–1910, there were publications in which the obsolescence of the educational program, insufficient funding of the institution and the department in particular, as well as proposals for changes were cited. The  Czasopismo techniczne  published the Memorial of the Society (1909, Nr. 6, 66–68; Nr. 7, 73–75), while the Architekt (Krakow) published articles by students (1908, z. 9, 89–91; 1910, Nr. 11, 166 –169) in this regard.

Students and practicing architects voiced generally unanimous positions: the curriculum had changed little since the nineteenth century and did not meet the needs of modern culture. The studies at the department were too theoretical, overloaded with introductory courses in engineering, chemistry and mechanical engineering, there was a lack of art-related subjects, and Architectural Design itself was started only in the last years. The aspiration was discussed that the drawing classes should cease to be based on copying samples from books, but should include drawings from nature, since students needed to be able to stylize and not to reproduce, to study the beauty of nature and the human body, and not to learn dogmas. At the same time, the desire to further expand the study of history and architecture of various periods was announced. Instead, technical disciplines had to be adapted to the needs of the architectural department and narrower sections of engineering had to be studied, such as plumbing or ventilation, which were directly related to architectural design. Current professors (Gustaw Bisanz and Jan Bogucki) participated in the development of proposals.

The expressed criticism had another aspect — as a number of its authors saw a way out of the situation in the establishment of a new Department of Architecture within the Academy of Arts in Krakow. Such a position reflected the long-standing rivalry between the two Galician cities, which had been manifested at all levels since Krakow was annexed to the Habsburg empire. The construction of a discourse about "artistic" Krakow and "non-artistic" Lviv also included a part about architecture according to which Lviv supposedly had no significant historical monuments and was a city of uninspiring Habsburg architecture, where a student could "learn nothing", while Krakow, the city of the Polish kings, with its rich medieval heritage, was its complete opposite. Such a position, in particular, was advocated by Wacław Krzyżanowski in the Architekt magazine; he was a native of Krakow who studied in Lviv and presided over a student meeting regarding desired reforms. However, not everyone, even Krakow citizens, supported views of this kind. Jan Sas-Zubrzycki, who lived and worked in Krakow for over a decade, saw the main problem outside the polytechnics, in the legislation and the lack of public understanding of who technicians were, while education itself, in his opinion, was only a small aspect of a more complex problem (Sas-Zubrzycki, 1911). Accordingly, it was emphasized that this problem was broader than architecture and inherent in the entire technical sphere and really did not depend on the relations between Lviv and Krakow. In the period before the First World War, the problem remained unresolved. Finally, however, calls for reforms were heard.

1910 was a year of numerous changes as the oldest professor of architecture, Gustaw Bisanz, who had never left the Polytechnic since his student days, retired, as well as Edgar Kováts, due to illness. At the same time, professor Teodor Talowski and associate professor Antoni Popiel died prematurely. Bisanz’s immediate successor became Tadeusz Obmiński, who had worked at the department as a constructor for several years and conducted some practical classes, such as technical drawing. In 1908, he defended his thesis at the Polytechnic and became a doctor of technical sciences; in 1910, he was immediately promoted to ordinary professor. The opportunity to develop and defend scientific researches at the Polytechnic was introduced in Lviv in 1901, which brought the institution closer to academic equality with universities. Jan Sas-Zubrzycki was the first architect to use the opportunity here, defending his work entitled "Krakow Architectural School of the Fourteenth Century" in 1902, which earned him membership in the Krakow Academy of Sciences.

From the 1911/1912 academic year, a more thorough implementation of the demands stated in the calls for reforms began. Władysław Sadłowski, an architect who had already excelled due to the artistic side of the Lviv Central Railway Station project (1904) and taught architecture at the Industrial School, joined as an extraordinary professor. He taught not just drawing but also stylization, as well as interior design ("Decoration of interiors").

Jan Nalborczyk taught Plastic Anatomy and Nude Drawing, as well as sculpture as an associate professor. The composition was taken over from Kováts by his assistant, Marian Osiński, a recent graduate and later an architectural historian and a conservator of monuments. He also temporarily taught "The Study of Architectural Forms".

In 1911, Jan Sas-Zubrzycki received the position of lecturer in Architectural History, which he had been waiting for since 1895, when he defended his ‘habilitation thesis’ entitled "Development of Gothicism in Poland". After two years as a privatdozent, he became a professor in 1913, when his old rival Michał Kowalczuk left teaching. He began to teach the history of early Christian and Gothic architecture in a more detailed manner, developing a similar subject of Teodor Talowski. An innovation was the introduction of a seminar on the history of architecture, that is, practical classes that had never been held before.

A noticeable change was the appointment in 1912 of professor Adolf Szyszko-Bohusz as the head of the newly created Department of Modern Architecture. The youngest of all professors at the department in all times (28 years old), a graduate of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts (1909) and an architect in Krakow, he became, together with Obmiński and Levynskyi, a teacher of architectural design. He voiced his views in the inaugural lecture entitled "The tasks of modern Polish architecture", in which he called the nineteenth century "the century without art" and condemned the excessive fascination with history and the "dead languages" of historical styles and the futility of the Secession; he called for a freedom from them, for embracing progress and creating something completely new instead. In this way, Szyszko-Bohusz expressed views that were consistent with the ideas of such theorists of architecture of the early twentieth century as, for example, Hermann Muthesius, considered a forerunner of modernism. Furthermore, Szyszko-Bohusz began to deliver a lecture course "Conservation of buildings". His teaching was short-lived, though: after participating in the First World War, he returned to architecture in 1916 not in Lviv, but in Krakow. There, as an architect, he first worked on the Wawel Castle complex. Since then, his name has been known in connection with the architecture of the revived Polish Republic.

In 1912, Ignacy Drexler also began to teach, introducing the subject Building Cities (Budowa Miast), which was also among the demands of the reformers. At that time, Drexler was already known as the developer of the first general plan of Krakow; later he took part in the development of a similar plan for Lviv.

The activity of Ivan Levynskyi's department deserves special attention, since during that period it was this department that had many assistants — Władysław Derdacki, Witold Minkiewicz, Eugeniusz Czerwiński — who later became prominent Lviv modernist architects.

Tadeusz Obmiński, whose doctoral thesis was dedicated to vernacular wooden architecture, began to teach Wooden Structures, while Ivan Levynskyi taught Rural Architecture, which included the design of modern folwarks and various farm buildings.

Many newly introduced subjects were not compulsory but only recommended for students. However, the number of compulsory subjects offered has also changed dramatically, especially compared to what it was in the 1870s. In this way, new opportunities were opened for students. Yet only three academic years had passed before the First World War, and the results of the reforms had not been fully felt.

Criticism expressed in 1908–1910 calls for reforms about the "excessive theoreticality" of architectural education was the reverse of the trend typical of the second half of the nineteenth century. At that time, technical subjects did not have an academic status. They were considered to be copying and reproducing and merely applying the results of research by university scholars. Therefore, in order to prove that technology is also the creation of knowledge, is a result of their creative, intellectual work, technicians even wanted their subjects to be perceived as pronouncedly theoretical. This is indicated by numerous contemporary publications. A striking example is Egon Zöller, a German architect and author of the first ever history of polytechnics (Zöller, 1891). In his texts, he emphasized that technicians’ knowledge is acquired not through mechanical reproduction, as in the case of artisans who acquire skills, but through studium (Zöller, 1883). So, accordingly, the fact that technology becomes possible through the application of theoretical thinking makes it equal to the sciences, and therefore polytechnics are in no way inferior to universities. And it was this issue of equality (ge. Ebenbürtigkeit) between them that had broad social and political significance in general, while the history of polytechnics was the history of emancipation.

This also was significant for architecture in particular. In its case, theoreticality acquired special importance, since architecture, located at the intersection of technology and art, could never claim the status of an exact science. Therefore, the theorization of architectural education in the times of Julian Zachariewicz was only a logical step in its development, although his successors could perceive this trend as excessive and detached from real life and real human needs.

It was precisely bridging the "chasm", which had formed between the academic approach to architecture and the practical problems needing to be solved, that the reform movement called for. With his subjects, Ivan Levynskyi drew close attention to layout problems. However, since the technologies of water supply and disposal, ventilation, artificial lighting and heating developed every year, these engineering things had to be included in the architecture, because they significantly changed the approach to the entire designing. So architects, instead of generalized introductory lectures on technical subjects, demanded more narrow ones, related to the needs of architecture. The impact of this was felt at the designing levels of both individual dwellings and entire cities, thus requiring the emergence of a sphere that could coordinate the work of various specialists; such a sphere called Building Cities was introduced in Lviv in 1912.

The Department of Architecture was initially located in the building of the Technical Academy at the corner of vul. Virmenska and vul. Teatralna. With the institution's move to new buildings on vul. Nowy Świat (now vul. Bandery), the architecture "settled" on the second floor there. The sculptural workshops were located in the basement.

Before the First World War, the Department of Architecture in Lviv was not static. There was no single approach or trend. Students who studied at it at different times took different courses and had very different numbers of them, they found the Polytechnic at different stages and professors with different understanding of architecture, who sometimes taught all at once.

Beginning from 1772, the architecture of Lviv was decisively influenced by Vienna. This was manifested both in the state regulation of the field and in the fact that it was Viennese architects who developed all the major local projects. After 1871 the permanent presence of local, mostly Polish-speaking architects in Lviv gave impetus to local discussions about what architecture should be like in the city and autonomous Galicia. This happened thanks to the Polytechnic.

The Habsburg period of the Polytechnic was important for the formation of Lviv’s modernist milieu and relevant approaches in the interwar period. The spread of the institution's influence can also be traced in new polytechnics that appeared in other cities of the Second Polish Republic, as well as in the Polish People's Republic after the Second World War as a result of the forced resettlement of the Polish community of the city and region of which Lviv professors were a part.

The list of the Department's deans

• 1871/1872–1876/1877 Julian Zachariewicz  
• 1877/1878–1878/1879 Feliks Strzelecki, professor of physics
• 1880/1881 Julian Zachariewicz
• 1881/1882–1882/1883 Leonard Marconi
• 1883/1884–1884/1885 Gustaw Bisanz
• 1885/1886–1886/1887 Leonard Marconi 
• 1887/1888–1888/1889 Gustaw Bisanz 
• 1889/1890–1894/1895 Mieczysław Łazarski, professor of descriptive geometry
• 1895/1896–1896/1897 Gustaw Bisanz
• 1898/1899–1899/1900 Seweryn Widt, professor of geodesy
• 1900/1901– ?
• 1901/1902–1902/1903 Gustaw Bisanz 
• 1903/1904–1905/1906 Edgar Kováts
• 1906/1907–1907/1908 Teodor Talowski 
• 1908/1909–1911/1912 Jan Bogucki, professor of iron constructions
• 1912/1913–1913/1914 Ivan Levynskyi

Professors

• 1871–1898 Julian Zachariewicz
• 1874–1899 Leonard Marconi, extraordinary in 1874–1893, ordinary in 1893–1899
• 1879–1910 Gustaw Bisanz, extraordinary in 1879–1884, ordinary in 1884–1910
• 1901–1910 Edgar Kováts
• 1902–1918 Jan Lewiński, extraordinary in 1902–1909, ordinary in 1909–
• 1902–1910 Teodor Talowski, extraordinary in 1902–1909, ordinary in 1909–1910
• 1910– Tadeusz Obmiński
• 1911– Władysław Sadłowski, extraordinary
• 1912– Adolf Szyszko-Bohusz, extraordinary
• 1913– Jan Sas-Zubrzycki, extraordinary

Privatdozenten

• 1887–1913 Michał Kowalczuk
• 1893–1897 Franciszek Skowron
• 1888–1893 Kazimierz Kleczkowski
• 1889–1902 Józef Kajetan Janowski
• 1901–1910 Antoni Popiel
• 1910– Władysław Derdacki
• 1910– Marian Osiński
• 1911– Stefan Bryła
• 1913– Ignacy Drexler

Assistants at the Chair of Architecture ("Construction ІІ")  (Julian Zachariewicz /

• 1878–1879 Władysław Halicki
• 1880 Franciszek Skowron
• 1881 Marceli Pilecki
• 1884–1888 Michał Kowalczuk
• 1889 Jan Tomasz Kudelski
• 1890 Łucyan Baecker
• 1891 Tadeusz Wacław Münnich
• 1892 Tadeusz Mostowski
• 1893–1894 Michał Łużecki
• 1895 Kazimierz Piekarski
• 1896–1898 Alfred Zachariewicz
• 1899–1901 Tadeusz Obmiński
• 1901 Ignacy Kędzierski
• 1903–1904 Kazimierz Rzeczycki
• 1905 Władysław Derdacki
• 1905–1906 Karol Dobrzycki
• 1908–1909 Marian Osiński
• 1912–1913 Antoni Marzewski
• 1912–1913 Józef Seredyński

Assistants at the Chair of Construction (Gustaw Bisanz/ Tadeuz Obmiński)

• 1883–1884 Juliusz Cybulski
• 1886–1887 Adolf Weiss
• 1888 Adolf Topolnicki
• 1893–1894 Jan Bogucki
• 1895 Jakób Kuraś
• 1896 Józef Sosnowski
• 1897 Tadeusz Obmiński
• 1898 Kazimierz Świerczyński
• 1900 Józef Krolikowski
• 1905–1907 Feliks Kropf
• 1908 Franciszek Link
• 1909–1910 Eugeniusz Czerwiński
• 1911–1912 Ludwik Sokołowski

Assistants at the Chair of Utilitarian Architecture (Ivan Levynskyi)

• 1907–1909 Władysław Derdacki
• 1910 Witold Minkiewicz
• 1912–1913 Eugeniusz Czerwiński

1. Program c. k. Akademii technicznej lwowskiej na rok naukowy 1872/1873; 1874/1875; 1876/1877; 1877/1878
2. Program ces. król. Szkoły Politechnicznej we Lwowie na rok naukowy 1878/1879 – 1913/1914;
3. "Przemówienie Rektora Gustawa Bisanza na otwarciu roku szkolnego 1898/1899 w Politechnice Lwowskiej", Czasopismo techniczne, 1898, Nr. 21, s. 273–275
4. "Spór o styl I.", Kurjer Lwowski, 1901, Nr. 328, 2–3
5. "Spór o styl II.", Kurjer Lwowski, 1901, Nr. 329, 1–2
6. "Styl Zakopiański", Kurjer Lwowski, 1900, Nr. 49, 1–3
7. "Wystawa prac prof. Kovatsa", Kurjer Lwowski, 1901, Nr. 307, 4–5
8. "Wystawa prac p. Kovatsa", Dziennik Polski, 1901, Nr. 457, 3
9. "Style u narodów czynnych: wykład inauguracyjny prof. Teodora Talowskiego", Czasopismo techniczne, 1902, Nr. 21, 278–280
10.  "Memoryał Towarzystwa Politechnicznego w sprawie reformy studyów na Wydziale Budownictwa lądowego c.k. Szkoły Politechnicznej", Czasopismo techniczne, 1909, Nr. 6, 66–68; Nr. 7, 73–75
11. "Memoryał w sprawie potrzeb Wydziału Budownictwa ląd. na Politechnice we Lwowie", Architekt, 1908, z. 9, 89–91
12. Emil Bratro, "Stosunek inżyniera do architekta", Architektura i budownictwo, 1934, Nr. 4, 128–132
13. Adolf Szyszko-Bohusz,"Zadania polskiej architektury nowoczesnej", Czasopismo techniczne, 1913, Nr. 2, 14–20
14. Władysław Ekielski, "Spór o Zakopiańszczyznę i styl polski", Architekt, 1902, Nr. 6–7, 58–60, 82–84
15. W. Jabłoński, "O stylu Zakopiańskim", Architekt, 1902, Nr. 8–10, 90–91, 98–99, 122–128
16. Feliks Jasieński, "Róg czy sznur?", Dziennik Polski, 1901, Nr. 463, 1
17. Kazimierz Kleczkowski, Analiza kształtów architektury, t. I, (Warszawa, 1885)
18. Edgar Kováts, "O zasadach architektury nowoczesnej", Architekt, 1902, Nr. 4, 41–46
19. Michał Kowalczuk, Architektura w starożytnym Rzymie, t. I, (Lwów, 1891), 95
20. Wacław Krzyżanowski, "O nauce architektury", Architekt, 1908, z. 1, 1–5
21. Jan Lewiński, "O budownictwie utylitarnem", Czasopismo techniczne, 1902, Nr. 3, 38–39; Nr. 4,
22. Jan Lewiński, " Znaczenie rzutu poziomego w budownictwie utylitarnem i w gospodarstwie społecznem", Czasopismo techniczne, 1903, Nr. 23, 320–321; Nr. 24, 332–334
23. Stanisław Eliasz Radzikowski, Styl Zakopiański, (Lwów: Towarzystwo Ludoznawcze, 1900), 22
24. Franciszek Skowron, O polichromii świątyni greckiej, (Kraków, 1881)
25. Jerzy Struszkiewicz, "O nauce architektury na Politechnice Lwowskiej", Architekt, 1910, Nr. 11, 166–169
26. Julian Zachariewicz, Odczyt o architekturze wygłoszony 19. Marca 1877, (Lwów: Nakładem Księgarni Polskiej, 1877), 29
27. Julian Zachariewicz, "O sztuce narodowej", Gazeta Narodowa, 1881, Nr. 235, 4; Nr. 236, 4–5
28. Egon Zöller, Die Universitäten und technischen Hochschulen, (Berlin: Ernst&Sohn, 1891), 212
29. Egon Zöller, "Die Bedeutung der Technik und des technichen Standes in die Kultur", Allgemeine Bauzeitung, 1883, 97–102
30. Jan Sas-Zubrzycki, Matnia. Rzecz o godności stanu architektonicznego, (Kraków: Czas, 1911), 79
31. Jan Sas Zubrzycki, Sposób zakopański w architekturze, (Kraków, 1906), 23
32.  Aneta Borowik, Dzieje, architektura oraz twórcy Zakładu OO. Jezuitów w Chyrowie. Twórczość Antoniego Łuszczkiewicza oraz Edgara Kovátsa na tle epoki, (Katowice: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego, 2012), 294
33. Tadeusz Bystrzak, Teodor Talowski, (Kraków, 2017), 431
34. Jacek Purchla, "Formowanie się środowiska architektów krakowskich w drugiej połowie XIX wieku", Rocznik Krakowski, 1988, t. LIV, 117–136
35. Rafał Solewski, "Matnia. środowiska architektoniczne Krakowa i Lwowa na przełomie XIX i XX wieku", Rocznik Krakowski, 1998, t. LXIV, 75–102
36. Anna Wancław, "Nauczanie architektury w końcu XIX wieku", Przestrzeń i Forma, 2009, Nr. 11, 205–212
37.  Jerzy Wowczak, Jan Sas-Zubrzycki. Architekt, historyk i teoretyk architektury, (Kraków, 2017), 286
38.  Michał Wiśniewski, Adolf Szyszko-Bohusz, (Kraków: Instytut Architektury, 2013), 160
39. Władysław Zajączkowski, Historya Politechniki Lwowskiej, (Lwów, 1894), 169
40. Igor Żuk, "Zakopiańszczyzna – secesja – neoklasycyzm: ewolucja stylowa w twórczości Tadeusza Obmińskiego", Folia Historiae Artium, Seria Nowa, t. 15, 2017
41. Politechnika Lwowska, jej stan obecny i potrzeby, (Lwów, 1932)
42. Юлія Богданова, "'Великий Львів' — фантазія реальності чи здійснена химера?", Вісник Національного університету "Львівська політехніка", Серія "Архітектура", 2004, №505, 166–170.
43.  Олександр Жук, "Розвиток Львівської школи архітектури у період історизму (1870-1900 рр.)", Вісник Національного університету "Львівська політехніка", Серія "Архітектура", №505, 2004, 188–192
44. Юліана Петровська, Взаємозв'язок архітектури і мистецтв в розвитку Львівської архітектурної школи (Автореферат дисертації на здобуття наукового ступеня кандидата архітектури), (Львів, 2013), 23
45. Богдан Черкес, Олександр Жук, "Юліан Захарієвич — основоположник Львівської архітектурної школи", Вісник Національного університету "Львівська політехніка", Серія "Архітектура", №585, 2007, 163–167