Water has been accompanying architecture since the dawn of time. It was one of the fundamental conditions enabling to build settlements, and subsequently towns. It secured survival; it enabled the development of civilisations; it constituted one of defence lines against enemies. In time, besides utilitarian functions it started to fulfil symbolic, decorative, and compositional ones. In the Catalan tradition the most prestigious public spaces where not necessarily squares, but rather las ramblas. These are longitudinal tree-lined promenades, typologically characteristic for the local urban culture, designed along rivers and streams, around which towns would develop. These watercourses, once fulfilling utilitarian functions, in time becoming more and more polluted, were subsequently hidden underneath the ground. Over the ages also other, more decorative ways of making use of water reached Catalonia from other parts of Europe. Parks, squares, and piazzas equipped with decorative water features are characteristic places in the downtown landscape of Barcelona and other cities. This paper presents several projects from the years 1899–2015.

Adaptation is a process by which an object transform itself to suit the changes in the external environment. Living organisms to survive adapt themselves through evolution – so is the case with residence architecture. Adaptable buildings are intended to respond on changing of external factors, it’s rather transformable than static. Although the idea of adaptation may seem innovative, it is not. The ability to adapt by means of building’s technology and materials has been known to man for a very long time. It evolved along with technology and changes in economy and sociological fields. This article focuses on explore of the contemporary adaptable houses in relation to external factors, the presentation of prototypes and the discussion of selected building components that supports building’s adaptation.

In 2010, the municipality of Shanghai started the “Huangpu River Comprehensive Development Plan”, a large regeneration initiative including the Expo site, targeted to revitalize the river banks and generally the urban environment, making Xuhui waterfront one of the six key construction areas of the 12th Five-Year Plan in Shanghai. Formerly one of the largest industrial districts, the so-called West Bund area has experienced a process of substantial transformation, currently still ongoing. Particular attention has been paid to the rehabilitation of the riverside, as a source of landscape enhancement, providing a system of open spaces and public facilities able to meet the dweller’s demands and to attract touristic fluxes. For this reason, the West Bund Project represents one of the most relevant regeneration initiative currently taking place in Shanghai. This paper aims to investigate, starting from this specific case-study, the role of water in the definition of cultural and natural elements, revealing new perspectives for the revitalization of the urban environment.

The article introduces a study methodology of the architectural periodization of Algerian mosques based on the systematic structural analysis. The specificity of the Islamic architectural school of Algeria is the simultaneous combination of the traditions of many cultures, imported from other countries, and local, different within certain regions. In the cities of Algeria, mosques with different spatial organization have survived: the so-called Arabian column type, the Maghreb type, the Khari­jites type and the Ottoman type. As in the Islamic world in general, a special role in the mosques of Algeria is devoted to ritual ablution.

Greenery in the traditional croft, as in any other environment, served three basic groups of functions, i.e. protective and technical, utilitarian as well as social and cultural. It did serve but since the late 20th century we have been observing the decline of croft as a spatial solution characterising the rural development and thus the decline of the specific functions of its accompanying greenery. Due to its utilitarian, isolating, regulating and biological properties, greenery in the croft has a considerable effect on people’s and animals’ living conditions. It primarily served the utilitarian function, which included production and protection. One must not, however, fail to take into consideration its social and cultural role, above all ornamental but also symbolic. The individual features of plants utilised at crofts found appropriate application in the right place, function and role. They had a specific symbolic meaning, which usually stemmed from rational sources and which is more or less consciously perceived even today.

The establishment and maintenance of neighbourly ties has been a challenge for sociologists and urban planners for years. The separation of public spaces from private ones and the clear demarcation of their borders is an important element of the residents’ functioning relative to one another in their housing environment. Residential areas, such as the Viennese Mote Laa or the Gdańsk district of Garnizon are examples which show the significant role of greenery in the shaping of neighbourly spaces and the activation of local social contacts – which are often initiated by said greenery. This article is meant to illustrate the involvement of greenery in the creation and segregation of space, as it can become a natural barrier delineating given zones, make the actions of residents more dynamic, influencing the formation of neighbourly ties and ensure a better wellbeing of its users.

Among the measures for sustainable development, ecology and energy saving, it is important to create a pro-ecological architecture. One of the trends in contemporary architecture is the use of traditional technologies. A practical example of such action is the construction of an experimental building erected with the use of raw earth technology (rammed earth in formwork, earth pressed blocks and straw-clay blocks), located in the Ecological Park in Pasłęk.

The project was developed by a team of authors from the Faculty of Architecture at the Warsaw University of Technology. The building was commissioned in 2012.

The aim of erecting of this building was to demonstrate the construction methods of raw earth and then to enable research and observation on the behavior of the structure during operation. The building was designed as an energy-saving building with the possibility of obtaining solar energy using the passive method. A roof covered with extensive greenery was also used.

The article presents the design assumptions, the description of the implementation and the results of site inspections during the operation.

In the times of increasing urban development, harmonious incorporation of new buildings into the existing surroundings and taking into consideration environmental and climate conditions of the region plays a major role. Creating modern and innovative architecture closely connected to local culture and tradition is clearly visible in global trends. Designing sustainable architecture related to the idea of critical regionalism gains more and more popularity. One of the presumptions of this concept is direct, dialectic contact of the building and nature. According to Kenneth Frampton, the fundamental characteristic of critical regionalism is “place-form”, i.e. creating architecture closely connected to the place and terrain it occupies, taking into account lighting, topography, and climate. In this paper, I will analyse selected contemporary European wineries as examples of architecture closely connected with green areas due to their function. I will try to answer the question whether these buildings, created for people respecting and enjoying the nature, can be considered exemplary solutions for designs aiming at maintaining environmental values.

The article analyses the form of Dani Karavan’s sculptures in the context of urban space in which greenery and water are present. In the spatial compositions of the Israeli sculptor – large-scale interventions into the public space – water and greenery are used as constituent elements. In addition to aesthetic values, they – along with sculptural forms and other elements of the landscape – carry symbolic values: commemoration of historical events, or values such as environmental protection, tolerance and human rights. Elementary architectural forms, greenery and water, create a coherent narrative system in Karavan’s works that increases the value of their surroundings and creates the genius loci.

This article presents the results of the author’s many years of research on the importance of rivers and watercourses for the quality of living in modern cities on the example of Lodz, Vienna and Mainz. The research projects along with concept designs covered the validity of programmes, possibilities of of restoring open near river public areas while shaping a balanced city climate through integrating riverbeds into its structure. The appeal of the Lodz region landscape emerges from the contrast between watercourses and urban structure of the 19th century industrial center. Waterbeds (along with satellite towns) added a certain character – the urban area intertwines with planned park areas as well as a number of watercourses, creating the shape of a circle with open green areas radiantly extending form the center.

This article introduces the problem of landscape arrangement in historic manorial construction. Both water and vegetation are important elements shaping the character of the space around the building. These factors in the context of historic buildings constitute a vast subject matter that can be divided into two groups. The first is form, the second function. Both the form - free and decorated, as well as, the function - representative, recreational and functional, can be considered in the historical context (creation of a given complex) and contemporary arrangements. Using three selected objects, located in Krakow, as examples of historical manorial complexes have been illustrated, taking into account the aforementioned division.

The article deals with the peculiarities of application, along with traditional, new building materials and products in the landscape design of the urban environment. The techniques and perspectives of their use in contemporary landscape design and compositions are highlighted and examples are given.

The article discusses the role of natural space elements in formation of attractiveness of the urban environment of small towns. Meaningful use of natural elements is necessary for development of a strategy of formation of the urban space attractiveness and can become an important source of it. Natural surrounding also impacts the urban development structure itself, characteristics of architectural objects and spacial visual communication of a small town and its suburbs. Using available natural characteristics, as well as purposeful introduction of elements of wildlife and inanimate nature into the urban space has an essential impact on the increase of the number of visitors and tourists in the town and dissemination of information about it.

Karol Borowiecki, Maks Baum and Moryc Welt - a Pole, a German and a Jew - the heroes of “The Promised Land” - embody the layering of cultures that have been forming Łódź already since the eighteenth century. The city is currently facing subjects of restoring the memory of its past inhabitants. The yearly Łódź of Four Cultures Festival, the revitalisation of sites of genocide or the establishment of new memorial sites like Survivors’ Park and Grey Ranks Park are but a few of the efforts that initiate dialogue with the past and that activate contemporary space. In the landscape of Bałuty, one of the districts of Łódź, we can see a combination of the unrealised dream of an urban planning revolution and glimpses of the past identity of the city of Litzmannstadt, which gives a chance for green areas to become their binding element. The author studied the dependency between memorial sites and green spaces in the landscape of Bałuty in terms of composition as a narrative tool within space.

River as one of basic elements of the landscape pattern has been currently subjected to an intensive process of transformations. These transformations are largely determined by burdens resulting from climatic changes that affect our globe. Rapid climate warming and the sea level rise it entails, as well as the intensification of threats on the part of rainwater, pose new challenges before policies relating to river catchment areas. Can these new transformations be referred to as a positive metamorphosis, creating completely new spatial and functional values of the contemporary city?
The paper presents selected aspects governing the relationship between the river and the structure of the contemporary city upon the example of Berlin.
 

We live in times of constant changes and pursuits which affect people and architecture in various ways. The basis for these changes are innovations in the field of new technologies. Man’s expectations concerning his place of residence, architecture and lifestyle also change. Architecture is under increasing pressure from changing human needs, sometimes being shaped under the influence of human success in the pursuit of standing out. Where is the place for man in this pursuit of power, ambition and attachment to material goods? Instead of living life to the fullest we are fated to live lives full of frustration and fear. The constantly changing world is constantly escaping our control, and man—burdened by his duties—desperately fights to achieve happiness.

The search for good design solutions that lead to harmony between the work of man and the work of nature is a goal that is important in and of itself. Through being with nature during every moment of leisure we learn and can continuously develop. Nature fills man with the pure joy of life, something that we can obtain only thanks to communing with flowers and birds, by living for the moment, within the eternally lasting present.

Tadao Ando is a Japanese artist usually associated with concrete architecture. His ascetic minimalist works include examples that successfully incorporate the elements of nature into the geometry of the architecture he creates. Water constitutes one of the key elements of nature that Ando uses both to shape the main architectural idea of the building and to compose the form of the structure or its immediate surroundings. The analysis of the artist’s architectural achievements allows one to consider Ando one of the most consistent contemporary architects who introduces water element to his numerous projects in such a variety of ways. Presenting Tadao Ando’s achievements, the author attempts to indicate the possibilities of the aesthetic use of water in contemporary architecture, which finds application both in shaping the main architectural idea of the building and, as a means of composition, in creating a refined and subtle form of the structure and its immediate surroundings.

The space of nature may be understood in a dichotomous way. Traditionally, it was interpreted as an “external” space both in relation to the human being, and city space. As a specific type of “internal space”, during the period of the Enlightenment, the space of nature became an instrument of social integration and a levelling force of social inequalities. The process of internalization of nature is reflected in the projects of utopian cities.

The devastation of the natural environment which took place in the 20th century, contributed to an increase of interest in the problems of nature. On the other hand, it also contributed to the creation of a specific type of defensive attitude, resulting from the need to conduct a current struggle with ecological threats. One could observe a lack of great ideas and narrations concern­ing green spaces and nature. What turned out to be a great breakthrough point was the development of the conception of biodiversity. The latter conception arose as a counter-reaction to the processes of ever increasing extinction of certain species of plants and animals. The postulate of broadening the spectrum of biological diversity may find its reflection in the postulate of broadening the diversity of architectural forms. In this way, there arises architecture which is co-shared with nature.

Hippodrome is one of the oldest forms of a sports facility, intended for organizing horse shows and races. The tradition of constructing such objects dates back to the times of Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire. Today, these are extensive facilities, occupying area of even several dozen of hectares, often located in the central zones of big cities. They are used not only for shows and competitions, but also for everyday horse riding and EAT (Equestrian Assisted Therapy). Modern development of hippodromes with accompanying buildings and infrastructure as so-called “equestrian parks”, combining sports and recreational elements, while maintaining the basic function of horse racing, allows them to be transformed into multifunctional, green spaces of high social and landscape values. As a result, they take on significance not only in the cities, but entire regions and enjoys increasing popularity as places of everyday leisure. The article presents and analyzes selected examples of hippodromes from Poland and Europe, in terms of their importance in sustainable urban development.

The article has been devoted to the role of greenery and water in the shaping of contemporary urban spaces. The presented designs of green and water-based contemporary architectural and urban complexes contain feature mutual relations and links between the users of a space and the place in which they reside. Greenery and water play a significant role in the shaping of the architecture and composition of urban spaces. They create a warm atmosphere for initiating human contact and have a significant influence on the perception of the space of the place that they shape.

Greenery and water possess extraordinary qualities in architectural water-based and green designs of urban spaces associated with their visual side and the expression of architectural forms reflected in water, and especially the beauty of the surroundings of man’s place of residence. They constitute leading elements of nature in the shaping of a healthy, friendly and sustainable housing environment.