CAMPUS OF JAN KOCHANOWSKI UNIVERSITY, CAMPUS OF KIELCE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY – CREATION OF ACADEMIC PUBLIC SPACE IN KIELCE. PART 1

JANUSZ PACHOWSKI

Educational system development, and especially university development is inseparably connected with city centers. Intellectual activity of Medieval Europe was mainly connected with flow of new scientific information from Byzantine schools and with Arab translations of ancient works written by scientists, for example by Aristotle or Plato. First universities of Western Europe began to raise. They were located in Bologna, Paris, Oxford, Modena and Cambridge. Huge civilization and economic growth related to 17th century scientific revolution initiated the new era of higher education and thereby starting new urban trends connected with form and location of these centers. Each self-respecting modern city wanted to have an university within its boundaries. Its presence was not only significant for the city position but it also raised the city prestige and gave the possibility of better development. 
Initially universities arose inside the city walls, embankments or other natural boundaries. They were located in the centers of cities so that students were near the church, market or city square. It was enforced by safety reasons but also by possibility of direct influence of the church on the university activity. Universities more and more often started to be located outside the close downtowns together with the development of city institutions and population flow. It also involved education development, extension of teaching programmes and educational proposition and thereby resulting in the necessity of scientific didactic supply base development. Constantly enriched programme and new public cultural functions of these institutions were the reason why the universities began to be transformed into academic housing estates – campuses. University suburban institutions often generated economic and infrastructural development in the neighborhood becoming rivals for city centers.
After the Second World War the idea of university campuses separation appeared creating self-contained, closed institutions outside the city boundaries. However many students and academic teachers who became in a certain way excluded from city life and city attractions not necessarily liked this solution. Open space of suburbs gave possibility of direct interacting with nature, provided suitable conditions for learning and almost unlimited possibilities of academic campus development. However such location involved city-campus communicational problems, feeling of cultural public isolation and often higher costs for technical infrastructure. It could also intensify the process of suburbanization. In uncontrolled process of city expansion suburban multifunctional institutions began to compete with historical city centers. Campus Twente in Holland or EPFL in Lausanne became such autonomic units. Both campuses are located at a considerable distance from the city centers forming separate, self-sufficient, full of conveniences and functions institutions.
Ideal solution is location of a campus outside the city center but at the same time in the city structure. It is optimal to cover this distance on foot or when there are available suitable means of transport to the areas remote from the city centers.

Keywords: campus, academic campus, Kielce