He could be part of a pantheon of Czech architectural history, as he is considered the teacher of many successful Czech architects.
He studied with Otto Wagner in Vienna, so like many architects in the Austro-Hungarian monarchy he was influenced by the Vienna Secession. The Viennese architecture around 1900 was also oriented towards technical innovations, such as the increased use of glass and also fewer facings for technical installations, such as steel girders or rivets. Gradually, Kotěra became more and more enthusiastic about all innovations in architecture, especially after his visit to the USA, where he was primarily impressed by the work of Frank L. Wright. At the Prague Academy of Fine Arts (Akademie výtvarných umění v Praze) he taught at the specially established School of Architecture from 1910. With him, for example, studied Bohuslav Fuchs, František L. Gahura and also Josef Gočár, who were among the most outstanding Czech architects of classical modernism.
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