Cities are developing extremely rapidly, and they already use 75% of the Earth’s resources. Their area is increasing at a slower rate than the population density, which means that an increasingly smaller area is inhabited by an increasingly growing number of people who do not produce but need food. In response to the potential crisis situations and the necessity of ensur- ing food safety to the inhabitants, some of the largest metropolitan areas of the world are developing food strategies that take into consideration food production in the city. A lot of countries are implementing solutions that enable putting into effect the idea of energetic and food self-sufficiency of cities. Vertical city farms are being established. Also, theoretical designs of self-sufficient smart cities are being developed to meet the conditions defined by the modern-day vertical farms. They as- sume the form of compact structures, single farms: smart eco-cities and smart eco-cities made up of several vertical farms.

We can currently observe a significant increase in the importance of technology in almost every aspect of life. This development is necessary and brings with it many beneficial changes, including those concerning the functioning of the modern city, which, according to contemporary trends, is to become a “SMART CITY”.

The dictionary definition of the word “smart”1 points to its meaning as “intelligent, clever”, which means that a “smart city” is not only intelligent thanks to information technology-related solutions which support its day-to-day functioning, but also smart thanks to the wisdom of employing previous experiences and answering the non-technological needs of city residents.

Treating contemporary technologies as a sort of “plug-in” for the existing or designed urban tissue, we must remember that newly designed areas should also be “smart” through their structure , as well as a programme that creates a high-quality foundation for the future city.

Building management systems are a part of the subject of smart homes, which are automated buildings based on a combina­tion of three types of components: sensors, controlling devices and computation units. Artificial intelligence algorithms will be able to predict our needs based on our behaviours coupled with information gathered from sensors and determine the actions needed to satisfy them by themselves.

It is a manifestation of artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence algorithms that are being developed on an increasingly large scale in areas associated with the prediction of needs and behaviours indicate a similar path of development for BMS as well. This will also be aided by the ability to verbally communicate with building automation systems, which is going to be a natural manner of communicating with the user. The observations listed above can be transferred to the field of studying human behaviours. The commercial application of artificial intelligence is predicted to be positively received. The consequences of evolution understood in this manner is speculation concerning the point in which abstract thinking will find itself within reach of artificial intelligence.

In the face of globalisation there exists a constant necessity to search for new approaches to shaping cities while taking into consideration socio-economic changes. Cities should constantly focus their attention on projects oriented towards improv- ing the quality of urban space, as well as increasing its attractiveness. Attractive cities promote a better quality of life for their residents and create a positive image of the city, with these qualities possibly becoming the motors of their development. They also increase the speed of the inflow of contemporary development factors: human capital, innovation, creative people and technologies. Introducing new creative functions into urban space causes not only the increase of its quality, but also an increase of values, which affect man—the user of this space. Places become attractive and unique through increasing their utilitarian qualities, as well as social, cultural and economic ones. One example of such a place is Millennium Park in Chicago.

The author believes that the urban form plays a key role in the adaptation of existing cities towards Smart City, as well as in the crea- tion of new smart urban tissue. The article aims to present the relationship between the urban form and the idea of Smart City on the example of two European cities from different regions: Oslo (Northern Europe) and Vienna (Central Europe). The aim of the paper is to prove that the Smart City concept should be treated holistically in both urban and architectural contexts and go beyond typically European approach towards Smart City which is based on promoting an environment-friendly sollutions for architecture and urban planning (mainly based on sustainable transport and investment in self-sufficiency in energy). The factor that should be emphasized while transforming a city into the Smart City is the crucial role of urban planning, planning methods and master planners.This paper is the final report of the research program ‘The analysis of the relationship between the idea of Smart City and the urban form on the example of Oslo and Vienna’.

A skillfully and computer-based administered urban space builds the contemporary idea of a smart city. The so called ‘intel- ligent technologies’ facilitate the life of the inhabitants but at the same time marginalize large groups of society – taking jobs and income sources away; creating communities living in parallel worlds without mutual communication; limiting the access to some services and activities for those who from various reasons are not able to follow the progress. Thus the urban space becomes easier to govern and more closed in a social sense. The article is an attempt to size up the technology, which con- trasts with, or perhaps only replenishes the activities of local communities which aim for the creation of community values and more human living spaces.

Thanks to the numerous benefits gained from the implementation of the latest information technologies in architecture and construction, BIM is unavoidably becoming the standard of modern design. BIM Technology also applies to the stage of surveying a building.

The sequence of work when surveying a building in the BIM standard on the basis of laser scanning is as follows: The first task to be performed is tachymetric measurement. Afterwards, as a result of laser scanning, we obtain so-called point clouds, from which so-called orthophotoplans are generated. Based on these plans, a virtual model of a building is generated. After applying dimensions and annotation from the 3D (4D+5D) model, we can generate floor plans, cross-sections and eleva­tions, as well as various types of schedules.

Romanticism and fascination with the mountains opened Zakopane to tourism. Its culture, folk art vernacular architecture became symbols of the region, making Zakopane highly popular and impacted its urban development. The most important heritage street – Krupówki, in the past fashionable boardwalk, was until recently the victim of its own popularity – building facades covered with advertisements that disfigured the streetscape. Billboards, posters, information boards, hand-to-hand sales, unlicensed street shows, and street – displayed goods were besieging the space and were in most cases not related to the regional culture. After the critique and nationwide media discussion local authorities in July 2016 initiated Culture Park, mainly to protect regional values and to better the overall image of the street.

The aim of this paper is to identify and classify typical forms of regional elements of Krupówki street to formulate and prepare guidelines for the preservation of regional heritage. The paper will also present the transitions of the streetscape caused by Culture Park.

Ski jumping hills are costly structures meant for a small group, whose struggles are being watched by thousands of spectators. Towards the end of the twentieth century it was observed that ski jumping hills had been dominated by their function. The first structure that broke away from this convention was the Bergisel ski jumping hill. A completely new aesthetic, introducing spectators to the top of the ski jumping hill outside of competitions so that they could feel like the ski jumpers themselves, as well as a variety of accompanying functions, made this example a model solution for successive projects. As these structures are being adapted to the changing security and safety needs imposed by the FIS, as well as the increasing distances that ski jumpers can travel in the air, additional ski jumping hills were being remodelled. Some of the later, extraordinarily successful solutions include the Olympic ski jumping hill in GarmischPartenkirchen and Holmenkollenbakken in Oslo. In both cases modernisations were selected on the basis of architectural competitions. Have ski jumping hills become safe for jumpers? How have technological solutions changed and how friendly are they to the environment? In what manner have smart solutions been introduced into the use of these structures? How has the aesthetic of these structures changed? By analysing three of the aforementioned examples of sports facilities, the author searches for the answer to the questions above.

The article pertains to the subject of the functioning of modern metropolises, such as Smart Dubai, as a consequence of civilisa­tional progress that is currently happening on the basis of the latest technical solutions aided by electronics and software. The author presented innovative ideas of using digital cryptography—blockchain—which increases the efficiency of interactions that take place within the structures of modern cities or their fragments, between their users, in financial operations, public participation and administration and broadly understood services that use new digital media. Most of the presented examples refer to developing ideas that are in their testing phases and that we will soon be able to use as the most optimal ones.

In this paper new possibilities of using tools for parametric design in architectural education, as well as in design creativity on the example of an arrangement of building facades are provided. In this study the issue of the parametric creation of building facades in the BIM environment using the ArchiCAD and the Grasshopper programs is analysed. Knowledge of the potential of the tools presented in the paper may evoke a straightforward effect on the method and the quality of parame-tric architectural design. To substantiate this claim the exemplary cycle of an educational and design procedure as part of laboratory exercises is presented. The exercises took place during the courses: BIM Techniques in Design (1st degree, 1st year, 2nd semester) and Parametric BIM Design (2nd cycle degree, 1st year, 2nd semester, optional course) carried out by the Department of Descriptive Geometry, Technical Drawing and Engineering Graphics at the Faculty of Architecture Cracow University of Technology.

The article is devoted to the process of transformation that is experienced by one of the larger of Paris’ train stations, along with its surroundings. It is the largest redevelopment and urban regeneration project in the capital of France since Haussmann’s urban-planning revolution, constituting an example of the creation of a smart city fit for the twenty-first century.

Turin is a city with very strong ancient and medieval roots - a city of churches and palaces. A city of culture, business and sports - one that is monumental, elegant and cool, while at the same time being fascinatingly modest. The capital of Piedmont, located on the Po River, a city of great architects: Juvarra, Guarini and Alfieri, today constitutes one of the best lessons on post-Baroque urban planning. A city of many faces, in which the past mixes itself with a smart future.

One of the greatest threats to cities that are dynamically developing all over the world is air pollution. It causes numerous problems, including the most severe ones, which concern the health of residents. It is estimated that there are around 600 thousand early deaths associated with smog in Europe. This leads to a loss of around 1,6 billion dollars for European economies. These numbers show just how significant the fight against this threat really is. The article below presents solutions that have been introduced by architects in order to aid the residents of cities in their struggle with polluted air over the past several years, in the form of a review. It also presents designs that are in their experimental stages and which show potential for application.

“The idea of ‘smart building’ was taking shape during the last twenty to thirty years of the twentieth century. initially, the concept only referred to the standard of the advancement of the technologies installed within the building. With the development of the information society and new forms of labour, new requirements appeared with respect to [newly constructed] buildings, extending – apart from their technological quality – to the quality of living space and human work.”

High requirements with respect to techn(olog)ical quality of buildings, as coupled with a high standard and quality of the living space, are fulfilled by the Cayan Tower – a building located in the United Arab Emirates, in Dubai’s luxury district of Dubai Marina. The construction and technological solutions applied in this project are mutually correlated, drawing on the principles related to innovative combination of the economical, ecological, flexibility, and aesthetic aspects of contemporary design-making, all in accordance with the smart building approach. Cayan Tower’s dynamic form makes the building look ever-different depending on the angle, and stand out as a characteristic landmark in Dubai’s landscape.

The article deals with topical issues of the development of the theory and practice of modern urban development in Ukraine. The necessity of the newest approaches in the sphere of urban designing is convincedly presented here. The application of dynamic methodology of permanent spatial (urban planning) on the basis of geoinformation technologies is proposed.

The article studies the historical, cultural and artistic interpretation of the element of water, embodied and visualized in the architectural-artistic images of archaic societies. The analysis of evolutionary and transformational processes have been based on a combination of historical and archaeological reconstructions, cultural, and art-study methods.

The article highlights studying the architecture of Polish theatre in Ukraine and in the world. Peculiarities and differences in researching this issue in foreign and domestic works have been demonstrated. Problems of the research, not taking into con­sideration versatility and complexity for a thorough presentation, are partially shown in modern works on a quality new level.

The article is dedicated to similarities, differences, borrowings and authenticity of the “international style” in the researches of modern architects-scientists

The publication presents contemporary methods of the development of cities located near water on the basis of the construction of artificial islands. Such projects are becoming more and more common around the world. They take into consideration the precepts of sustainable development and constitute proposals concerning the use of alternative energy sources. The problems of the city of Melbourne, which are a result of its existing port’s insufficient capacity, can be addressed through the construction of an artificial island on Port Philip Bay. Such a solution has been proposed by the city authorities, however it has not been built thus far. The publication presents a diploma project developed at the Faculty of Architecture of the Cracow University of Technology in which the need to construct an artificial island on Port Philip Bay was justified, in addition to the presentation of an original vision of such an island.