History

The university community honors the contributions of its predecessors — those who laid the foundations of construction sciences in Ukraine.

The art of construction and the principles of architecture were first taught in Ukraine as part of mathematics courses at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in the second half of the 18th century. At that time, however, craft schools and private workshops played the primary role in training builders and architects.

In 1901, the mechanical department of Kyiv Polytechnic Institute (KPI, today the National Technical University of Ukraine “Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute”) established a separate engineering division specializing in construction. This division later developed into a dedicated school of civil engineering, laying the groundwork for specialized universities, including KNUCA. The first class of civil engineers graduated from KPI in 1903.

On April 17, 1930, the Kyiv Civil Engineering Institute was founded, uniting the factory and municipal construction departments of KPI with the architectural faculty of the Kyiv Art Institute.

In its first year, the Institute enrolled 860 students. Eight specializations were initially offered, and within a few years, two faculties were established: the Faculty of Civil Engineering and the Faculty of Architecture.

In 1939, the Institute was renamed Kyiv Engineering and Construction Institute (KECI).

In 1948, the Kyiv Institute of Civil Engineers was merged into KECI.

In October 1963, the first phase of KNUCA’s modern main building was opened at 31 Povitryanykh Syl Avenue.

In 1993, the Institute was transformed into a university and was named Kyiv State Technical University of Construction and Architecture (KSTUCA).

In 1999, by decree of the President of Ukraine, the university was granted national status and became Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture (KNUCA).

In 2006, Mykolaiv Construction College joined KNUCA as a separate structural unit.

Between 2013 and 2021, four additional separate units joined KNUCA: the Institute of Innovative Education (2013), Kyiv Industrial College (2015), Zhytomyr Technological College (2015), and Vinnytsia College of Construction and Architecture (2021).

Notable Faculty and Alumni

Yosyp Karakis (1902–1988) – Renowned Ukrainian architect and urban planner, internationally recognized as a master of the Ukrainian Constructivist era. Influenced by the French modernist architect and theorist Le Corbusier (Charles-Edouard Jeanneret-Gris), Karakis taught in the Department of Architectural Design at KNUCA (then Kyiv Institute of Civil Engineering). His major projects include the Central Officers’ House of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Museum of History of Ukraine, the Dynamo Restaurant, and the Ukraine Hotel in Luhansk. Over 4,500 schools were built based on his standard and individual designs. After World War II, he faced repression from Soviet authorities for alleged “nationalism” and “cosmopolitanism.” Among his students were many prominent architects, including Anatolii Dobrovolskyi, Anatolii Ihnashchenko, Valentyn Yezhov, Avraam Miletskyi, and Yurii Paskevych.

Vasyl Krychevskyi (1873–1952) – Ukrainian artist, architect, and graphic designer, founder of professional architectural and artistic education in Ukrainian universities, and lecturer at KNUCA. He is the author of the trident sketch that became the State Emblem of Ukraine. In 1918, the trident was officially adopted as the emblem of the Ukrainian People’s Republic, the first Ukrainian state of the 20th century, based on the trident of Prince Volodymyr of Kievan Rus’.

Krychevskyi also created a new architectural style, Ukrainian Architectural Modern, inspired by the traditional five-part Ukrainian house. His first project in this style was the Poltava Provincial Zemstvo building. The style became popular beyond Ukraine; for instance, the Ukrainian community in Harbin, China, built a People’s House following this design.

Avraam Miletskyi (1918–2004) – Architect and modernist, student of Yosyp Karakis and KNUCA graduate (1941). He was co-author of several notable buildings and monuments in Kyiv, including the Park of Eternal Glory, the Kyiv Palace of Children and Youth, and the Salut Hotel. Miletskyi also developed the conceptual reconstruction project of Andriyivskyi Descent and played a key role in the post-World War II redevelopment of Kyiv’s main street, Khreshchatyk.

Oleh Shumytskyi (1916–?) – KNUCA graduate (1940) and co-designer of the Kyiv TV Tower, completed in 1973. At 385 meters, it was the world’s first fully welded TV tower and remains the tallest free-standing lattice structure globally, as well as the tallest building in Ukraine. The tower ranks second among European TV towers and eleventh worldwide, and is listed as an architectural and cultural heritage site.

Borys Zhezherin (1912–2006) – Honored Architect of Ukraine and KNUCA graduate (1934). He designed the main pavilion of the National Complex Expocenter of Ukraine (VDNG), featuring a colonnade and prominent rotunda, now an architectural landmark and symbol of Kyiv. Together with his son, Vadym Zhezherin, he co-designed the Zoloti Vorota Metro Station.

Vadym Hopkalo (1917–1995) – Honored Architect of Ukraine and KNUCA graduate (1940). He designed the main KNUCA building and the Ukrainian House on European Square in Kyiv.

Anatolii Dobrovolskyi (1910–1988) – Architect and KNUCA graduate (1934). In 1944, he led the team that developed and implemented the reconstruction of Kyiv’s central street, Khreshchatyk, after World War II – regarded as the first large-scale “Build Back Better” project in the city’s history.