The authors analyzed the numerous limitations accompanying Le Corbusier in his professional work and their impact on the final shape of residential buildings constructed in Paris. At the same time, they point to the sources of this architecture and discuss various conditions that caused changes in the architect’s decisions. The text will include the authors’ observations resulting from visits to the facilities designed by Le Corbusier, the relationship with investors during the design of residential houses will be presented, their current condition and the transformations that have taken place over the twentieth century will be presented. The text was created as a result of the analysis of source materials, a query at Fondation Le Corbusier, research conducted in situ and interviews with users.

The paper aims to analyze the phenomenon of building an identity of a place using functions that have so far been taboo – caused fear of death, impurity and decay. These include cemeteries, hospitals, morgues, landfills, but also food production facilities such as municipal slaughterhouses and livestock farms. So far, the succession of functions that followed technical development meant that they were located more and more away from downtown areas, and their place replaced those considered to better meet the condition of „urbanity”. This trend is currently being reversed. The example of the Global Abattoir housing estate illustrates the general trend in which there is a departure from the biological sphere of life towards an attempt to build identity without masking the historical role of the place. The analyzed case, however, shows a series of complicated relationships that must occur in order to balance the profane element, reaching out to the subconscious fears of a human being.

This article presents the issue of possible directions of evolution of the concepts of creation of conditions of perception of architecture. The paper asks the question about the directions of changes in the perception of the residential environment of the future in the context of decreasing participation of the architect in the design process in favor of automated digital processes. The study of this topic was carried out using a qualitative analytical method and a bibliographic research method. A conceptual apparatus borrowed from the psychology of characters in architecture was used to analyze the projects and their broad context. It allows indicating the similarities and differences in design based on the designer’s decision, parametric, and generated by artificial intelligence on the basis of the resulting figuration. So far, no detailed analysis of digital tools for design support has been performed in the literature in the context of the perceptual aspect of the viewer.

The article presents chosen technological solutions that affect the energy efficiency of multi-family zero-energy buildings – MFZEB. Based on detailed analyzes of 15 buildings built in a climate zone similar to Polish zone, strategies that have direct application in the integrated design process were selected. Both elements and features that can be considered as trends as well as specific cases of MFZEB were indicated. Authors hope that the described problems will contribute to changes in the design of multi-family housing for the 21st century in Poland.

Temporary use of space is a strategy of activating the space of abandoned buildings or urban wasteland areas via a variety of bottom-up and top-down initiatives proposed by local communities, municipal authorities and developers. Implemented as a preliminary stage of a target investment project, temporary use of space is intended to spark the interest of the inhabitants and create an attractive image for potential clients. In the area of Poznan, it is a pioneering strategy, that has yet not been thoroughly studied in the Polish context. The strategy entails both positive and negative phenomena. It is the intention of this article to critically analyse  a case study of Koszary Kultury [Arts & Culture Baraques] in comparison to a similar initiative in Vienna, i.e. CREAU project.

Comparative analysis, combined with a bibliographic query of literature and a site visit, has enabled us to identify opportunities and threats of temporary use of space and to work up recommendations how to create friendly and inclusive residential housing via revitalisation activities.

Architectural and urban design of a small, multi-family housing estate in a medium-size city seems not to be too complicated. However, in some cases of projects commissioned by developers, the architects proposal of a concept and functional and spatial programme becomes the subject of a relentless discourse on priorities in architectural and urban architecture during the entire process – from initial design to implementation. The architectural design undergoes a multi-phase process of development optimization, aimed at obtaining a greater profit on the sale of apartments and reducing the construction costs incurred by the developer at the cost of lowering the standards of the architectural and urban space being implemented. The only weapon in the hands of an architect in the fight to maintain the quality of the project is his creative invention that allows him to find economical, but qualitatively equivalent replacement solutions. The presented example of the living estate Centrum in Stargard illustrates the process of optimizing the development of an architectural and urban design in the context of its multiphase implementation. Although the significant design changes and replacement solutions introduced by the designer reduced the investment costs, but made it possible to maintain the basic architectural, functional and spatial values of the designed housing estate. The designer introduced significant design changes and solutions, errors lowering investment costs, technical solutions, developed by the designer of the value and technical-design functions with the designed values.

The sacred in the habitation space depicts respect for the unseen. The people underlined their fear and hope for safety, comfort, and well-being in the sanctuaries inside their homes or roadside crosses and chapels. But contemporary shrines are different; architectural and urban means and solutions differ from those from previous ages. At the same time, they refer to or even use the same elements to express the holy. An expanded analysis of theoretical works and design examples based on longtime research and observations of the described phenomenon allows the author to formulate a thesis about a strongly changing paradigm in what one can describe as the sacred in a housing environment.

The influence of global lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted the lives of many people. Once performed elsewhere, many activities had to be moved to private spaces of individual homes, influencing how people use their residential space, modifying their living and working conditions. The purpose of this study was to research the changes in the use of residential space through questionnaires addressed to respondents in five age groups (up to 25, 26–35, 36–50, 51–65, and over 65), and living or studying in the Milan area (Lombardy)—an area affected severely by COVID-19 in the period March–May 2020. The obtained questionnaire results allowed the authors to create a set of guidelines for apartment design, intended to improve their spatial performance. The observations made when creating the case study projects led to two main conclusions: First, at the level of the house plan, the arrangement of the plan should be free and adaptable, al-lowing for fast alteration by the user. Second, the project should be tailor-made, highly specialized, and purposefully designed at the level of home office design, including appropriate furnishings, technical appliances, and lighting systems.