Housing estates are an important urban element in many Polish cities. These types of complexes, buildings and spaces do not meet the modern human needs arising from the function of an apartment. The question arises ever so often: should we demolish them and create new ones in their place, or should we renovate them? According to the author of the article, the most appropriate course of action is their renovation. Large-panel housing estates have great opportunities to become a place adapted to the needs of their residents through a series of transformations. In contrast, social and public spaces created through renovation can affect the vitality of the entire city. The author of the article, on the basis of selected large-panel estates in the city of Kielce, will assess the large-panel housing estates as a modern place of residence. She will outline their main strengths and indicate the defects that she thinks should be taken into account during any renovation measures.

The influence of colour on the living environment in cities, including the housing environment is huge, but the role of this factor is too little appreciated in shaping the townscape. The article presents the issue of the role of colour in the composition of the newest urban and landscape design solutions in cities.
The main purposes of the research presented in the article are following: 1) indication of the possibility of the use colour in urban composition and 2) indication of contemporary urban and landscape solutions, which are outstanding examples of the use and application of colour in public spaces of contemporary cities.
The research undertaken has been implemented taking into account the existing state of knowledge and the use of research methods appropriate for morphological research of urban space: 1) method of analysis and criticism of sources (planning documents, literature, projects), 2) observation method (used to assess the existing state), 3) comparative method.

Nowadays, furniture items designated for self-assembly constitute a substantial part of residential and public usability interior equipment. Assignment of this value to popular types of wooden seats and stools became possible mainly due to the growing popularity of mechanical connectors. The undertaken actions constitute an attempt to create an alternative type of structure that consists of elements designated for direct connection. The value of such a solution may thus be the simplification of the scaling method as well as reduction of production costs. The elaborated system is adjusted to production with the use of CNC plotter. Prototypes the diversification of which reflects the potential concept universal nature have been realized within this technique.

The subject of the article is the study of works, created by architect Ferdynand Kasler in the interwar period in the city of Lviv/Lwów/Lemberg, Galicia. It depicts the urban and residential development of the city and the role of modern architecture. Using examples of the works built by Kasler and other architects, the author demonstrates, that Ferdynand Kasler was the founder of the direction of “harmonious modernism” in the mainstream style of architecture of modernism. Unfortunately, he was murdered during the holocaust and forgotten as a very important architect of his time.

When thinking about the functional and spatial structure of small towns, we usually have a small town in front of our eyes with a historically shaped market square, surrounded by tenement houses and fine-grained peripheral tissue. There are also small towns, which arose from the 20th century factory workers’ settlements, which in time evolved into a monofunctional urban centre, where the multi-family housing complex functions as a downtown, which builds the specific identity of the place.
The article presents examples of construction and transformation of the urban structure of selected settlement units. The concept of a “house” was identified in two ways: as a building (colloquially called a block of flats) with specific social interactions and use, and as a small town (the title city-estate), which serves as both a neighbourhood unit and an urban organism. When analysing morphological transformations, the author attempts to indicate the features and factors affecting processes that change the anonymous, schematic urban layouts of company estates into a multifunctional “house”, designed in a way that gives the chance of a level of comfort of living typical of traditional city models with historical provenance.

The article highlights the sacred component of architecture of theological-humanitarian Christian educational institutions. It researches the architectural and space-planning decisions of temples and chapels of theological-humanitarian educational institutions.
The objective of the research is to determine the major principles of architecture development common for the sacred core of theological-humanitarian educational institutions.
The research has been conducted by means of analyzing the historical experience of designing and constructing temples and chapels of theological educational institutions in Ukraine, carrying out field observations, systematizing the results of previous scientific researches, as well as analyzing the design decisions and the implemented projects. The methods of typological analysis, experimental design, and questionnaire-based survey have been applied in the course of the research.
The results of the conducted research helped to outline the major principles of architecture development common for the sacred core of theological-humanitarian educational institutions, determine the major factors influencing the architecture of temples and chapels of similar institutions, and offer the suggestions for designing temples and chapels of theological-humanitarian educational institutions in Ukraine.

Santorini is a surprising place. Tourists attracted to the island want to spend their holidays here. But people don’t expect to find here examples of modern architecture. In oposition to many great cities in the world, the history of the island is not based on wars, economic growth or political decisions but on volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. In such dangerous geo-climate, due to the influence of natural conditions and poverty, extraordinary buildings were created. They have become extremely modern and timeless. Author considers the architectural elements of buildings on the island, which lead to the above mentioned conclusions. It is impossible to find here architecture of Modernism but architetecture of simplicity, rationality, modernity and eternity.

This article focuses on the challenges associated with the dynamic development of the district of Ruczaj as a housing neighbourhood of Krakow during the turn of the twenty-first century. These challenges are associated with the insufficient amount of recreational areas that can be used by residents. An analysis of the spatial development potential of green and recreational areas, seen as necessary elements of a sustainable housing environment, has been presented in the article.

Gated communities are emerging all over the world day by day. Besides, the product quality of the gated communities are still questionable in some regions. This research aims to benchmark the product quality at each gated community based on the main determinants of the product quality. To do this,data collected from 623 residents from various gated communities through questionnaire. The obtained data has been processed via structural equations modeling and integrated with VIKOR to benchmark the qualities from top to bottom. The results show that “Sulaimani Heights” were the best product among other alternatives while Goizha II was the worst one.

This article has been devoted to matters associated with rest and recreation in contemporary architectural and urban layouts. Eco-friendly and expressive architectural form, which, in combination with the natural environment, creates an attractive recreational space, plays an essential role in the urban and non-urban spaces that have been presented. The composition of the diversely shaped architectural and urban complexes features references to either the urban or the natural landscape, one in which rest and recreation take centre stage, creating an optimal and highly desirable place for man.