Institute of Architectural Design and Theory of Zhejiang University is founded in later 1990s on the basis of Architectural Design and Theory as a secondary discipline. Its origin can be dated back to 1958, when the Architecture Major in Civil Engineering Department of Zhejiang University was established. Nowadays, it is the hosting institution for two secondary disciplines, namely Architectural Design and Theory and Architecture History and Theory.
The institute is the key carrier of the education task for both undergraduate and graduate students in the Department of Architecture of Zhejiang University, contributing to the department’s success in passing the National Architectural Program Education Evaluation in 1996 (4-year term for both undergraduate and graduate education education), and the evaluation in both 2004 and 2011 (7-year term for both undergraduate and graduate education). From 2005 to now, it is the hosting institution for Architectural Design and Theory as one of the Key Disciplines of Zhejiang Province.
With the support of the institute, Zhejiang University was approved by the government to set up Post-professional degree of Architectural Design and Theory in 1993, and the PhD degree of the same discipline was approved later in 2003. In 2004, its eligibility to confer Post-professional degree of Architecture as a primary discipline was approved. In 2010, it further became eligible to confer the PhD degree for Architecture discipline, making Zhejiang University the only one place in Zhejiang Province that has this qualification. In the Discipline Evaluation by Department of Education in 2008 and 2012, the Architecture discipline in Zhejiang University ranked 9 in both evaluations.
The institute is also the primary platform in Zhejiang University that admits foreign students who are prefer to study Architecture.
There are 25 registered teachers in the institute, among which 8 are professors, 11 are associate professors. The institute has diverse research topics including Architectural Design and Theory, Habitat Environment and Regional Architecture, Green Architecture and Energy-saving Technology, Urban Planning and Design, and Architecture History and Theory. In recent three years, the average budget is over 7 million RMB per year. The institute has hundreds of research projects. Among projects which are funded by NSFC(Natural Science Foundation of China), 1 project is Key Project, 4 projects are Normal Projects, and 1 project is Preeminent Youth Funded Project. The institute is also the major academic supporting organizations for the Architectural Design and Research Institute of Zhejiang University, which has led or participated hundreds of projects, among which about 20 projects received national-level grand prize or first prize.
Institute of Architectural Design and Theory always advocates international communication and cooperation. It has long-term collaborations with US, Europe, Japan, Hong Kong, and so on, and thus the institute was rewarded Excellent Teaching Achievement First Prize of Zhejiang Province in 2009.
