The purpose of the article is to define the range of academic-didactic subject practiced in The Chair of Elementary Architecture of WAPK, known as Elementary Architecture – Between Rationalism and Poetic of Form. The wide academic range, as well as the aim of the research, allow only to present several aspects of  defining contemporary architectural space. They aim to establish the origins, sources of architectural ideas in broad reference to structural rationalism and resulting from it poetic of form.

The publication presents the social, economic, spatial and construction-related problems that are being faced by the commune of Zwierzyniec. It discusses the effects of the cooperation of the commune with the Faculty of Architecture of the Cracow University of Technology. These effects, expressed in the form of diploma engineer's design theses of the students of the Faculty of Architecture, are to promote Zwierzyniec and its activation during all of the seasons of the year. One of the important, identified problems of the area of Roztocze in question is that all activity “freezes” there during the autumn and winter seasons.

This article concerns the origins and the history of spatial development of Rabka-Zdrój during the medieval period. It discusses the literature of the subject as well as research methods thanks to which it was possible to prepare prolegomena to the research on the history of Rabka within the given period. During the medieval period, Rabka was a small village owned by the Cistercian monastery in Szczyrzyc. The impulsefor the development of settlement in this area must have been provided by salt deposits, known since the 12th century, which were primarily used by the monastery. Only with time they started to be explored by subsequent owners of the village. The spatial layout of Rabka developed basing on the local and longdistance routes existing in the Middle Ages, which ran through the village. The article addresses the issue of the development of the village, which suddenly transformed in the 19th century, becoming one of the most important Polish health resorts.

The article presents selected issues related to the role of cultural and geographic parameters in architectural and urban design. The author defines the groups of parameters and analyses a relationship between them and its influence on design process. The relationship between the groups of parameters is presented at the example of evolutionary algorithm that searches for proper location for Roman military camp. Presented algorithm is an example of possible usage of the relationship between the groups of parameters in modern algorithmic design where cultural factors are used for evaluation of geographic parameters.

Although the issues of social involvement in the landscaping design process are essential for creating a peoplefriendly environment, in Poland, it is still insufficiently identified. The purpose of the article is to present selected examples of various levels and methods of public involvement in the landscaping design process in comparison to the theoretical principles of public participation in the architectural design. The analysed examples were selected in terms of differences in public participation levels, social dialogue tools used and communication with the designer, as well as due to a different functional program. Social involvement should not end at the stage of pre-design consultations. It is necessary to aim at its maintenance and strengthening also at the design stage, and, above all, during implementation and further use of the space.
 

In the common consciousness, the heritage of architecture and urban planning from the period of the People’s Republic of Poland is perceived as a legacy of the totalitarian political system, and consequently underestimated and unprotected. One of the interesting buildings coming from this period, the beginnings of which reach back to the 1960s, is the Children’s University Hospital in Cracow. In the process of its construction innovative – at the time – architectural and material-related solutions were adopted. The spatial and aesthetic values of the hospital have been preserved to this day, despite its degradation, which has been progressing for some time now and which is to be stopped by renovation and modernisation works undertaken in the hospital. It testifies to its timeless cultural value, both in terms of its formal solutions and materials used, and in terms of its conceptual contents, which are the output of and testimony to the ‘difficult’ epoch when the hospital was erected.

The paper presents a literature survey of research on the biodeterioration and biodegradation of paint
coatings, as well as study findings on the biodegradation of varnish coatings and agents used for their removal.
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The purpose of this study was to obtain polyamide 6 nanocomposites with different organically modified clays and to study the biotic degradation behaviour vs mechanical properties of the obtained materials. Thermal stability of pure organoclays was investigated using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The prepared nanocomposites were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and infrared spectroscopy (IR). The evolution of mechanical properties was also studied. The obtained results confirm good interactions of nanofillers with the polymer, showing the formation of intercalated and/or partially exfoliated structures. The nanocomposites showed higher thermal stability compared to pure polymer, and advantageous mechanical properties. Finally, a discussion related to the effects of biotic degradation on mechanical properties of PA6/MMT nanocomposites is presented.

In the work, different approaches to projecting concrete elements have been considered, taking into account concrete deformation under tension in a casing around the crushing area at different levels of loading. The purpose of the investigations was the detection of the principal factors, which discern the taken empirical approaches to the computing models from the experimental character of tension strain distribution and concrete deterioration around the loading area. There have been determined, through an experiment, the lateral strains of the concrete tension along the perimeter of the side cube faces with the size of cube edges that equal to 300 mm with the formation of the cracks and up to the deterioration. The approach to calculations of the effect made by the samples of the above-mentioned type on local vertical loading with the reducing coefficient of their working conditions should be considered in the regulatory documents.

This paper presents a calibration and validation procedure for microsimulation models, which used metrics (mean, variance, and mean absolute percentage error) with statistical tests (t-test, Shapiro-Wilk, Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Wilcoxon), to compare empirical and simulated data. A genetic algorithm was used to identify calibration parameters set. The paper justifies the approach using VISSIM microsimulations to analyze two safety countermeasures: Advance Detection System and Advance Warning System, which can be applied at signalized intersection. The end result was a calibrated and validated model, which could be used to compare different safety countermeasures at rural signalized intersections in the state of Nebraska (USA). The proposed approach could be utilized in similar studies.

We propose a new method for a point cloud based viewshed generation. We start with a brief summary
of existing methods for viewshed generation and then present ours based on point clouds. The method is implemented in AutoCAD Civil 3D. Moreover, we present an idea of how to deal with huge point clouds using AutoCAD Civil 3D and how to automatize this process.

The paper discusses the method for modelling linear analogue systems of the second order in the time domain. As a result of such modelling, the parameters of the model and the associated uncertainties are obtained. Procedures for determining the absolute error and the integral-square error are presented. These procedures make it possible to determine precisely such an input sig-nal with one constraint that maximizes an error at the output of the system. Values of the parameters of an example model are determined and the propagation of the uncertainties of modelling results is assessed by the procedures for determining the maximum dynamic errors. The results of calculations presented in the paper were carried out in MathCad15.

Solar drying has become a popular method of sewage sludge processing in Poland over recent years. This is due to the possibility of using a renewable source of energy and the fact that solar dried sludges can be used for energy purposes. Over the last ten years in Poland, almost thirty solar or hybrid greenhouses of sewage sludge have been built. The aim of this work is to present the advantages and disadvantages of the solar drying method of processing sewage sludge. The advantage of using solar greenhouses are the use of renewable energy sources for sludge drying, their low operational costs, the reduced sludge volume, their preparation for thermal utylisation, simple construction and easy operation. The disadvantages are that drying efficiency depends on climatic conditions and season, the need to use additional heat sources, the fact that facilities occupy a large area and the possibility of odors emission released during drying of the sludge.

Data obtained through the monitoring of the water environment often includes a number of indicators, and is frequently collected from a large area or over a long period of time. Analysis of such data can be problematic. The division of elements which have a certain degree of similarity into subgroups may facilitate data analysis and provide indications as to the direction of the analysis. One tool for the separation of such groups of similar elements is cluster analysis. This paper describes the two most commonly used cluster analysis algorithms and summarises the results of several applications of cluster analysis in water monitoring.

This article presents the design of a refrigeration system with an energy-efficient chiller for a fruit storage chamber. This is a direct evaporating refrigeration system with an energy-efficient, multi-compressor chiller with an air-cooled condenser. Refrigeration systems with multi-compressor chillers, adjustable efficiency and system components that enable efficient and stable operation will reduce electricity consumption and increase reliability of the system during operation.

In the article, the impact of monitoring systems on the possibility of lowering costs and improving the flow of information in the transport chain has been analysed. For the analysed transport chain, tree variants have been taken into consideration: variant I – without using systems for monitoring location, variant II – container transportation with using systems for monitoring location, variant III – container transportation with using location monitoring and cargo parameters. The conducted tests made it possible to confirm the benefits of implementing this type of system, especially for high-value goods. In the article, a simulation for 50,000 cases of container transportation was done. The simulation and cost analysis has shown that it is possible to reduce the cost of risk significantly.

This paper presents a concept of a vision system which can simplify the way in which some basic functions of CNC machines can be controlled. The proposed system enables the operator to control a machine tool using gestures. The developed solution is based on Microsoft Kinect for a Windows v2 sensor with a time-offlight camera. A gesture recognition module was implemented in the VC 760 milling machine with an open control system (O.C.E.A.N.). To conduct tests of the proposed interface, a set of gestures used to control a CNC machine was developed. Furthermore, the concept, the structure of the system and the test results are discussed. In summary, the advantages and potential problems of the proposed control system and plans for future development are discussed.

Electrodischarge machining (EDM) can be used as an alternative machining method compared to conventional ones, especially while very good surface integrity and high machining accuracy during machining of difficult-to-cut materials is needed. In EDM, the dielectric liquid has a crucial influence on the technological material surface integrity since it ensures the occurrence of controlled electrical discharges between the tool and the workpiece, cooling and solidification of gaseous EDM debris, removing erosion products and also dispersing heat generated during the process. In the paper, the influence of a carbonbased and a water-based dielectric liquid on the selected structural and morphological characteristics of 304 stainless steel after EDM sinking was investigated. The surface roughness, micro hardness and quality as well as the chemical changes after the corrosion test of machined surfaces were analysed.

Aortic valve diseases such as aortic stenosis and aortic regurgitation, are the most frequent valvular heart diseases. The lesions in the valves affect circulation in the whole arterial system. We study the effects with the use of a 1-D model in which an arterial segment transmits a single mode of pulse waves. The appropriate reflection coefficient and the form of the stroke pressure are devised to simulate the function of the healthy and morbid aortic valve. The time dependence of the arterial pressure is predicted at the most important locations of the arterial tree. A remarkable result is that little variations of the reflection coefficient of the vale due to the modelled diseases cause significant changes of the pressure profiles, especially at the ascending aorta, the left brachial artery and in the anterior communicating artery