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41/2022

Contemporary Housing Architecture in City Space

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Publication date: 2023

Licence: CC BY-NC-ND  licence icon

Editorial team

Editor-in-Chief Orcid Wacław Seruga

Issue content

Wacław Seruga

Housing Environment, 41/2022, 2022, pp. 3 - 3

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Krystian Kwieciński

Housing Environment, 41/2022, 2022, pp. 4 - 14

https://doi.org/10.4467/25438700SM.22.026.17149

Without effective treatments for the infectious disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, governments were forced to apply non-pharmaceutical preventive measures, including lockdowns and quarantines, which exposed residential spaces to extreme conditions. The aim of this research was to verify how COVID-19 quarantines have changed functioning of living spaces and their readiness to accept such changes. The literature review provided an overview of the major weaknesses of home during quarantine identified by research studies: insufficient sanitary protection, insufficient house size, overcrowded houses, insufficient daylight, improper air quality, thermal discomfort, poor acoustics, lack of ergonomics, excessive consumption of resources, nature disconnection, digital disconnection and violated privacy. Identified weaknesses exposed socio-economic stratification of households. Quarantine posed the most significant challenge for vulnerable households occupying low-quality homes. It showed how privileged are access to daylight, nature, or the Internet during lockdowns.

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Bohdan Cherkes, Switlana Linda

Housing Environment, 41/2022, 2022, pp. 15 - 26

https://doi.org/10.4467/25438700SM.22.027.17150

Ukraine’s independence in 1991 changed the direction of society’s development, the most important of which was the revival of the spirituality of the Ukrainian nation, which is connected with thousands of years of religious traditions. The purpose of the article is to demonstrate the development of sacred construction in the environment of modern Ukranian cities as an important factor of reviving the nation and building a new national identity. The article analyzes selected realized objects in the residential environment, systematizes architectural prototypes, which architects turn to nowadays in search of a modern image of a sacred building. Based on the methods of comparative, synchronic and semiotic analysis, the significance of new sacred objects for the formation of the image of the city was revealed, and their social and symbolic meanings was also clarified.

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Shigeru Ban, Jerzy F. Łątka , Hubert Trammer, Yasunori Harano, Artur Jörgen, Daria Pawłosik, Weronika Abramczyk

Housing Environment, 41/2022, 2022, pp. 27 - 38

https://doi.org/10.4467/25438700SM.22.028.17151

The escalation of war run by the Russian Federation against Ukraine has caused one of the largest housing crises in the world. As a result of the hostilities, more than 14 million Ukrainians have become refugees and internally displaced persons. This paper aims to develop guidelines for the selection of an implementation strategy for aid architecture in the context of the armed conflict in Ukraine. The scope of the work includes: research, including materials research; design, including adaptation of designs to Polish market and climatic conditions; prototyping and implementation of two types of housing aid architecture: emergency shelters and temporary housing. The projects presented in the article by arch. Shigeru Ban: Paper Partition System and Styrofoam Housing System were developed and executed between March and September 2022.

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Natalia Kuropka

Housing Environment, 41/2022, 2022, pp. 39 - 49

https://doi.org/10.4467/25438700SM.22.029.17152

In the face of successive waves of the pandemic caused by the Sars-CoV-2 virus, the boundaries between work and home are blurred. Innovative workspaces seem to be a new direction, both in office architecture and in residential architecture. The article concerns the issue of coworking spaces in the residential environment of newly built housing estates. Nowa Letnica in Gdansk and 33 Bond St. at 300 Livingston Street in Brooklyn. As a research method, a comparative method was used using survey tools in the form of diagrams and bar and pie charts. The research results are a response to the needs of employees who work remotely and are a hint for modern construction when designing co-working zones in housing estates in the post-pandemic period. The aim of this article is to fill the research gap in the field of arranging coworking spaces that do not meet the needs of users.

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Mateusz Piegza, Jan Rabiej

Housing Environment, 41/2022, 2022, pp. 50 - 64

https://doi.org/10.4467/25438700SM.22.030.17153

The subject matter of this article is the conversion of post-industrial architecture for residential usage. Lofts (or loft apartments) are typical of such conversions. Definitions of this type of architectural building determine their specificity. The aim of the research was to answer the question Do modern-day adaptations of post-industrial buildings for residential usage in Poland meet the criteria of the definition of lofts? The first section of the article introduces the origins of the loft and the evolution of its definition from the 1950s to the beginning of the 21st century, taking into account international context and considerations in Poland. The fields of objective research determine the criteria for buildings that qualify and meet the definition of lofts. The second part of the article presents the findings of analyses of four examples of conversions of post-industrial buildings, completed in Poland between 2008 and 2020, and which have been designated as lofts/loft apartments. The case studies focus on the following areas of research: general information about the building, the range of conversion, the typology of the apartments, functional layouts and affordability of the apartments. The findings of the analyses are summarised with conclusions. In the final section of the article the findings of the analyses are set against the qualification criteria, allowing for the formulation of an answer to the research question. The entire study is then summarised and the authors’ recommendations presented.

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Lucjan W. Kamionka

Housing Environment, 41/2022, 2022, pp. 65 - 77

https://doi.org/10.4467/25438700SM.22.031.17154

The paper presents the problem of sustainable design in terms of multi-criteria evaluation methods focusing on the selection and use of building materials in the design. Based on the guidelines and procedures of such assessment methods as LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), BREAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method), and others, environmentally friendly building materials were selected for the design of specific building structures was made. For the construction of low-rise single-family homes, products made from waste were used. For the construction of a multipurpose, highrise building, the material chosen was cross-laminated timber (CLT), which is characterized by good environmental performance. The design of a multipurpose urban complex used environmentally friendly concrete, the manufacturing process of which has a dramatically reduced carbon footprint. An analysis of the properties of the building materials, their selection in terms of sustainability, and their use in designs provide tangible benefits in terms of the quality of formation of the built environment.

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Jacek Wesołowski

Housing Environment, 41/2022, 2022, pp. 78 - 92

https://doi.org/10.4467/25438700SM.22.032.17155

The renovation and opening of tram lines in Polish cities in recent years provoke comparisons with similar practice and long tradition abroad. The subject of this article is the spatial relationship between multi-family residential complexes and a tram line. Of course, the solutions adopted differ from each other, but there is a clear trend in the West to bring both elements closer to each other, despite the environmental costs that rail lines cause. In the model approach, there are numerous cases of planning the route through the "centre of structures", which creates conditions for symbiosis in terms of "transit oriented development" (TOD). Sometimes it appears in the classic form of intensive building up provoked by the earlier construction of the tram, and sometimes in a reversed form - with retrofitting tram into previously existing structures. Sometimes there are mixed cases, with structural infills next to tram corridors – not always just residential, but often with service facilities, complementing the program of housing estates and districts aimed to capitalise on the economic potential which results from the presence of tram users. Infilling the tram line strips fosters the creation of a friendly urban environment and shortens the access routes. How space overscaling and overly dominant traffic are avoided is decisive for a good solution to the problem. Numerous examples could serve as a model for Polish cities.

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Magdalena Jagiełło-Kowalczyk, Łukasz Tokarski

Housing Environment, 41/2022, 2022, pp. 93 - 112

https://doi.org/10.4467/25438700SM.22.033.17156

A housing environment that is attractive to users must be functional, beautiful, and induce a sense of safety. The housing environment of the twenty-first century must also meet challenges specified in the idea of social inclusion. The objective of the study presented in this paper was to determine the impact of natural and cultural heritage on the design of interiors used for social integration within the housing environment. The study was conducted as a part of the FRSE Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway Grants. The study investigated the heritage aspects considered during interior design in Norway, where the idea of social inclusion plays a leading role in the country’s development. The findings were compared to the situation in Poland. Conclusions were used as a starting point for defining directions for architectural interior designs based on natural and cultural heritage, illustrated with interior arrangements designed by first-year students of the Faculty of Architecture of the Cracow University of Technology. The designs, inspired by nature and art, were prepared with consideration for social inclusion.

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