The subject of the article is the phenomenon of creating new sacral buildings of the Lutheran Church in Finland, despite the increasing secularization of the society. The goal was to understand the reasons of the issue through the prism of the function and role these architecture play for local communities. The narrative research method was used to analyse selected examples of sacral architecture. The method allowed to capture the pragmatic aspects of architecture, such as the structure of the object and the form in the cultural context embedded in the appropriate place and time. The issue is presented in a religious and social context, discovering the causes and ways of adjusting sacral objects to the contemporary, diverse needs of the community. Continuation of the tradition of creating high-quality architecture combined with the vernacular building tradition is present in contemporary sacral architecture. Their function and scale are adjusted to the purpose they are to serve not only in the community, but often in the entire district as meeting places for residents.

Changes in consumer behaviour have led to the phenomenon of certain social groups closing off and the emergence of private spaces where community members spend their leisure time and pursue their recreational behaviour. The main objective of this article is to identify possible solutions for the design of an enclosed recreational space. It considers cohousing, defined as a bottom-up, non-institutional residential model in which a sustainable causality-community model of social perception applies. The author poses the question: what are the possible solutions for shaping the closed space of cohousing? The method used was that of a desk-based data analysis, which included publications, reports and studies on the problem addressed. The websites of individual cohousing communities were also an important source. The spatial scope of the research included the countries where cohousing is most popular (Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands). Entities characterised by different architectural forms were used for empirical illustration. Based on the results of the research, possible solutions for the design of a closed cohousing recreational space were identified, allowing recreational activities to be undertaken with selected and/or all members of the community. The research additionally showed, that the characteristics of the place (the architectural form of cohousing) do not necessarily imply restrictions on the enclosed common spaces. Their design is mainly influenced by the users themselves, their needs, but also the recreational activity skills they will be able to share with other users. Appropriate criteria for the selection of residents that determine a certain type of cohousing are therefore of importance. This article only emphasises the problem of closed recreational spaces; in the author's opinion, it can serve as a kind of introduction to the debate and in-depth research on this issue, also with regard to the negative consequences resulting from the closedness of the spaces in question.

In this article, we will show the diversity of architectonic solutions that include water in the permanent structure of the object, which offers its prominent material and symbolic role. The method used for this research is the inquiry and the analysis of contemporary sacral things in which water plays the role of prima materiel. The research will use the author's narrative method to analysed the architecture of meaning. This study of the architectonic piece will be led through five deliberate and narrative aspects, exploring the author's intention – location, creation date, and narration, among others -project ideas. After a previous search, the project was selected as an example of meaningful objects. The objects are divided into four groups of signifiers: artificial landscape, ecological stream, memory space, and axiomatic medium. The research aimed to show that water as crematoria in meaningful objects does not only have a functional role, it also has a symbolic meaning. The current state of knowledge indicates that, at present, there are no scientific publications that analyse 'water' as an element of parametria. The water in architecture usually is analysed in practical and technical aspects; the semantic part of the project is generally excluded. The question will be studied using projects or finished objects in contemporary sacral architecture.

Senior citizens face numerous health problems, and their health deteriorates as they age. As a result, a significant proportion of older people's budgets are spent on medication. Therefore, the authors of the study focused on the relationship between the influx of senior citizens to the city and the accessibility of one of the selected medical services, i.e., pharmacies. They established the place of residence of the migrating seniors using the obtained database. The distribution of 317 pharmacies located in the city of Krakow was also recorded. Thanks to these databases, it was possible to determine the housing environment of seniors after migration. The study revealed a favourable location of pharmacies. As far as it is concerned, they are concentrated mainly in the central districts of Krakow, as are the whereabouts where seniors settle after migration. As fa as the supplies are concerned, the study also aimed to identify new locations for pharmacies

The general substance of Polish housing construction in cities is largely represented by buildings made in prefabricated, large panel technology. Traditional construction methods, with the use of earlier craftsmanship technologies, turned out to be too inefficient to meet the growing demand for apartments, and therefore in the 1920s, when the so-called "International style” was introduced, new materials and technologies paved the way for their use in the construction industry, i.e. slabs, steel, reinforced concrete and industrial methods of manufacturing elements. As a result, after 1945 in Europe, and from the end of the 1950s also in Poland, prefabricated large panel construction caught on. Compared to buildings made in other technologies, the analysed large panel buildings offer a number of advantages but are also marred with many drawbacks, nonetheless, this construction technology will still be in use in the nearest future. The conducted studies and research of the field specific literature concern prospects of modern large panel construction, in this prospects of technical assumptions and directions of development of this specific concrete prefabricated construction technology. The aim of the conducted research and analyses is to show how modern architectural and technological solutions as well as functional and utility solutions can be adapted for the needs of multi-family residential buildings in order to ensure spacious rooms and full accessibility for people with reduced mobility. The article presents design analyses and options offered by modern large-size concrete elements in building technologies.

In recent decades, mass cultural tourism has imposed itself on European historic centres’ various economies without planning or a clear direction. Today, it is evident that this specific development within tourism is not sustainable and has generated a series of problems. Public space is a mirror of these transformations – congested, dirtied, polluted and impoverished of its traditional richness of co-presences and plurality of uses, it clearly demonstrates the limitations and problems that plague tourist cities. Following the temporary cessation of travel due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, tourism is now among the economic sectors undergoing a major recovery. This paper first broadly outlines a theoretical framework of overtourism. Then, it presents a case study of Florence, Italy, exploring the possible ways in which to mitigate the impact of tourist flows in the historic centre by designing public space in a sustainable manner that caters to the needs of both tourists and inhabitants.

This paper presents the results of an interdisciplinary study conducted in 2018–2019 by a team of researchers from the CUT FA in collaboration with specialists in environmental psychology. The aim of the research was to discern the boundary values of the dimensions of a selected urban interior model in a multifamily housing environment in terms of the statistical user preferences. A research experiment was used in which a series of 18 virtual urban interiors were developed, which were observed and evaluated by respondents, who were administered a pre-prepared semantic differential questionnaire. The observation was performed in a VR environment for maximum research environment parameter control.

The contemporary housing environment in Europe is changing dynamically, influenced by factors related to the struggle against climate change and adverse demographic phenomena. The pace of change has also increased in response to the challenges posed by the pandemic, conflicts and the energy crisis. These reasons have started a process of change in the approach to the design of residential areas, directing the attention of designers towards meeting the needs linked to creating housing architecture that implements the postulates of connection to nature, inclusivity in response to cultural diversity, and sustainable design by extending the residential space to include rooms or facilities with a different use. The aim of the research presented in this paper was to diagnose the factors that influence the creation of an interior space that is conducive to intergenerational and intercultural integration. The study was carried out under the FRSE, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway grants programme (EOG/21/K4/W/0048W/0175). By assessing the elements of an interior’s composition, the factors that exclude as well as activate its space were examined, as were the spatial conditions that affect building its place-based identity and which influence its activation. The study’s conclusions are illustrated using projects prepared by second-year, first-cycle students at the Faculty of Architecture of the Cracow University of Technology, enrolled in Architecture and Architecture in English programmes.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The article deals with the issues of the formation and functioning of monumental postmodern churches as strong forms in the space of housing estates from the 1970s and 1980s. The aim of the research presented in the article is to diagnose the needs of local communities regarding the presence of the church in the context of its form, in the living environment. The research was carried out on the basis of formal and spatial experiments representative of the Polish religious architecture of those years. Among the research methods, the comparative analysis of examples dominates, next to the literature query and in situ research. Three sites were analyzed: in Warsaw, Wadowice and Wrocław.

The article discusses the coexistence of the sacred and the profane in the public space of a residential environment – in the light of research on public life and urban composition. The research problem concerns the existence of the need for a sacred space in the traditional form of an urban square in large housing estates. The study regarded the relationship between sacrum and profanum and its impact on the living conditions in the housing estate, exemplified by the square in front of the Church of the Ascension in North Ursynów district in Warsaw. The research subject included the genesis of the form of the square, the local legal background, participatory practices, and activity in the space of the square based on the on-site observations made in the years 2004-2022. The study results show the need for public urban space, not addressed in current urban and participatory practices.

The paper's objective is to shed light on the issue of sacralisation and desacralisation of space in cities with Kraków and Lviv as examples. The cities had been part of Poland for hundreds of years. They jointly suffered from the Partitions of Poland and were separated politically after the Second World War. Lviv joined the USSR and Kraków remained a Polish city. After 1990, Lviv became a major city of independent Ukraine. Several decades of Soviet (Lviv) socialism and Polish communist (Kraków) socialism have left a profound impression on their ‘sacred’ spaces, including the creation of new and the devastation of existing ones. The historical analysis of Kraków's and Lviv's urban spaces exhibited a continuous process of sacralisation, desacralisation, and sacralisation of some areas according to the current prevailing ideology or sociopolitical or religious doctrine. At the same time, a city, Kraków for example, can have certain ‘holy’ places that have remained unaffected by times of turmoil. To demonstrate what an urban sacred space is, the authors attempted to propose a scientific methodology for identifying such places.

Architectural and urban, functional and spatial solutions for living space are based on actions focused on human needs. In addition to many other aspects, sacred space or locus sacer (its function, form and conceptual contents) as a publicly dedicated place of worship in which one can contact the sacrum is particularly important in human living and functioning space. The article presents sacrum from the cultural perspective, on the materialized and symbolical plane with some references to the contemporary architectural practice, with an analysis of the innovative approach and metaphors while building new forms of the changing Catholic Church of the 21st century. Thanks to their characteristic structure, they play the role of a significant spatial and functional determinant supporting the identification, integration and the sense of belonging to the community of places and constitute special space perceived as an asylum promoting a good relation and appropriate organisation of the housing environment. In this context, the research was focused on developments located in completely different housing areas: a hybrid megalopolis (the city-state Singapore) and, as a sign of another topic and analyses supplementing the comprehensive presentation, a new housing district of a small European city (Freiburg, Germany).

Everyone functions within the area of the sacrum and the profanum, the material and non-material reality, having many meanings and interpretations and constituting an inherent field of human activity. While analysing a complicated network of relations and dependencies between the sacrum and the profanum, the intentionality of the location of locus sacer and its special demarcation in the architectural and urban area of the living environment of the 21st century was observed. It was demonstrated that designing a church in the contemporary commercialized world is not easy because its modern functionality requires the designer not only to consider the ideology, the vision of the church, tradition and biblical motives but also to highlight new methods of worship and state-of-the-art technological achievements. For that reason, contemporary sacrum significantly deviates from the traditional model of a shrine as presented in the analyses included in this article. The special and functional concept covered with the research shows this diversity and design methods highlight the architectural values and the dimension of locus sacer. This article supplements the research focused in this paper on analyses of the sacrum created in a new housing district in Freiburg, Germany.

Revolutionary changes after Second Vatican Council – in particular the renewal of the liturgy – resulted in a variety of forms and spatial solutions in sacred architecture. In contemporary urban layouts, they do not play a dominant role. Authors analyze selected sacred spaces regarding their composition in urban structures, focusing on their universalism, legibility in a symbolic dimension, as well as spatial expression combining elements of tradition and modernity. As a case study, authors present selected examples of European churches built after 2000.

The presence of sacred objects in the city structure is usually clearly visible. Temples and chapels complete public spaces, making them unique. Apart from the representation of the spiritual dimension and religiosity, all sacred buildings which are functioning as intended belong to the group of public buildings, therefore they should be characterized by good access and logical distribution in the city structure. Currently, research on the availability of service facilities in Krakow is fragmentary and does not create a comprehensive picture. The aim of this study is to fill the existing research gap by explaining the accessibility of religious objects in relation to the housing environment in Krakow. The research method is based on the concept of buffer zones which allow to identify areas with varying degrees of accessibility to the studied objects. The results of the analysis show the current distribution of religious and sacred objects in the city. In addition, the results of the research made it possible to identify residential areas with very good, good and acceptable accessibility, as well as those outside the designated buffers.

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.

This article presents a new approach to residential space of the seniors who in the nearest future will represent 20% of our society and refers to a concept conceived in the United States, called hospital without walls. A revolutionary at the time idea of transferring certain elements of diagnostics or therapy into the space of a house or apartment has a chance to become an efficient solution for the seniors to enjoy ageing in place. Increased demand for medical services urgently requires a redefinition of the current health care system and the transfer of certain functions to the residential space that has to respond to a wide range of health care needs of the future seniors. Innovative technologies and widely accessible tools can effectively support the process. The fact that the future seniors will have other skills and competencies than those that the seniors have today, especially as it comes to the use of digital devices, cannot be disregarded. The future seniors will also have different needs as regards their housing space. Thus, healing architecture deriving from the hospital without walls concept stands a chance to prove an efficient housing model.

This article focuses on how modern housing environment is shaped via the specifics of construction in extremely challenging weather conditions in the cities of Saudi Arabia. With the overall goal that modern housing must be eco- and human-friendly in mind, the authors have attempted to identify the characteristic features of the Islamic cities and traditional local methods of construction. The article presents typical solutions of local architecture and urban plans, expecting that they might render significant guidelines for the spatial organisation of modern cities. A case study of Jazan city and its neighbourhood has been intended to analyse not only the spatial design of the city but also a recently worked out Masterplan. Both the architecture and the urban planning of Jazan city might serve as a good example of modern interpretation of heritage that underlies high quality housing environment.

Contemporary housing attempts to help people and families meet their aspirations and social needs. A dwelling and housing estate should provide neighbourhood ties, privacy, contact, and cooperation. The housing environment also manifests the values and personality of residents: living style expresses the relationship between humans and culture. The paper aims to 1) describe the most important trends that have emerged in housing architecture in the 21st century and 2) identify factors influencing housing architecture in Poland and indicate which types promote and hamper the implementation of innovative design features. Awareness of the phenomena and processes occurring in housing and design can help better shape the development of housing environments towards sustainability.

The phenomenon of aging societies all over the world is getting significantly bigger in size. This stage of life will affect each of us to a lesser or greater extent, which is why it is so important to undertake large-scale actions that will enable active, peaceful and, above all, safe and dignified experience of old age. Investing in older social groups is, in fact, an action beyond generations, ensuring current younger generations with decent living conditions and a safe environment in the future. This article aims to analyze the forms of housing for older people in the world, taking into account their problems and needs. The most important aspects of the issue, which guided the execution of the assumptions, will be identified. These aspects should be taken into account when creating new senior architectural and urban solutions.

Rem Koolhaas published Delirious New York: A Retroactive Manifesto for Manhattan in 1978. He closes the book with a series of concise speculative projects to illustrate his point. The first of these, „The City of the Captive Globe”, is an ambiguous and constantly re-interpreted metaphor for metropolitanism and the lifestyle associated with it. Interpreted as a synthesis of the „retroactive manifesto”, Captive Globe allows us to grasp the ideological background of the urban design thought of Koolhaas and OMA, his design studio. Between 1995 and 2007 OMA carried out the project for the new City Center of Almere near Amsterdam. Through the three postulates of the City of the Captive Globe, the authors attempt an in-depth understanding of Almere master plan, going beyond the analysis of its formal features.

Increase in building density is one of the key methods of preventing uncontrolled urban sprawl. On the other hand, especially in the case of residential housing, high density entails a number of functional and spatial challenges that the current typologies are not able to fully describe. As a consequence, they transform, mix with each other, and often find new applications, different from their modernist prototypes. Such is the case of applying access decks layouts in contemporary residential buildings in high density downtown areas. This research study, using contemporary French designs as an example, attempts to characterise this type of development against the backdrop of the source modernist typology. The research area encompasses the central districts of Paris due to their extremely high density of development. The analysis of professional literature and available publications was adopted as a research method. In the course of the research, a number of common features in the analysed buildings was noted which may indicate a significant typological distinctiveness. Moreover, it was established that such structures may constitute a valuable supplement to the existing typology of residential buildings, especially if the ground floors feature functions with significant spatial requirements and if plots characterised by unfavourable shape or dimensions are being developed.

In the current global pandemic situation, more and more people are asking themselves where it is better to live. In a house or in an apartment? Of course, opinions are divided. However facing to be closure in the residential space, more and more people have considered the possibility of buying even a small plot of land giving the opportunity to enjoy the open space and communing with greenery. Foreclosure has resulted that many people now struggling with issues of exclusion and depression. The opportunity to get out and commune with nature can have a positive impact on a person’s mood and perception of their current situation. Large city agglomerations, often deprived of sufficient green areas, are not able to provide adequate living conditions. Architects and urban planners in recent decades have been trying to provide the most convenient solutions to improve the quality of life in large cities. There are numerous green areas in cities or housing estates, often connected with water reservoirs providing better micro climatic conditions. In objects, green walls and roofs are being introduced to increase the comfort of living. It is worth to analyze a contemporary resident approach to the choice of place to live, what is better for him - a house or a flat (apartment)? Is it better to live in a house with a garden or in an apartment with a large balcony overgrown with greenery? Is it better to locate the apartment in the city center or on the suburbs, where there are larger concentrations of greenery? The issues presented in this article relate to research related to life satisfaction in houses or apartments of city dwellers, as well as they complement the research related to the observation of the impact of greenery on the leveling of the Urban Heat Island. Greenery is one of the factors improving micro climatic conditions, it is a stabilizer of temperature and humidity. Residents of selected appartments and houses were asked in what environment they would like to live and what is most important for them in terms of comfort of living. This paper will present the results of surveys and research on UHI in relation to green areas and their introduction into residential buildings. The aim of this paper is to illustrate the how important is relationship between residents’ satisfaction of living place and the biologically active areas in their vicinity.

The paper presents the definition of key terms distinguished and used in the field of vacationing, leisure, and recreation. It explains their similarities and differences. The classification has been developed for holiday centers according to their intended use, forms of activity, and types of services. Key criteria for their classification are provided. It analyzes the experience of designing contemporary recreation centers in Ukraine and all over the world, and identifies key trends in the development of their architecture and infrastructure in general.

Over the past few years, murals have actively and firmly entered into the fabric of the architectural environment as one of the most powerful artistic means of urban art. According to the latest statistics, Ukraine, and Kyiv in particular, tops the list of leaders of the countries with the largest number of murals. Based on the historical context, the murals performed a social and propaganda mission. Already in the XXI century, Ukraine has experienced two revolutions. And they became a powerful impetus for the active manifestation of „street art” on free surfaces. But in contrast to the monumental and decorative compositions of totalitarian art, which still adorn the cities of Ukraine, the artistic and graphic language has changed. Young designers in modern graphic trends, form an updated visual representation of established stylistic solutions. The purpose of the article is an attempt to determine the historical conditions of the murals’ development, the features and principles of their solutions in the city space, as well as modern and promising means of implementation. The article discusses the factors and conditions of the evolution of modern murals, their typology and thematic focus, techniques and means of spatial composition and artistic solutions.

This paper discusses matters related to beauty in the space of the housing environment, determining factors that affect the sensation of beauty in architectural and urban designs. The sense of beauty is a feature of a person’s individual perception, associated with a given period of time, and perceiving beauty and creative are among humanity’s most important characteristics. The mutual harmonious spatial relations between architecture and nature affect human perception and the perception of beauty in the housing environment. These matters have been presented using two cases of selected architectural and urban complexes.

To Europeans, fascination with America is like being charmed by oddity. It manifests itself in a reality that is a postmodern mixture of fragmentary experiences that manifest themselves in the image of both large American cities and roadside architecture. I analyse the horizontally stretched Los Angeles as a lively spectacle of street traffic. Despite newer and newer iconic works of architecture, shapelessness, amorphousness and scattering of this city’s spatial formations does not allow for a proper reading of its structures. My study concludes that it is not buildings or historical sites but street traffic and the highway system that define the character of this city, whose image was enhanced by world-class cinema.

The primary object of this study is the common space of a housing development found in Gruvedalen Valley in Longyearbyen, on the island of Spitsbergen, a part of the Svalbard Archipelago. It is a case of a social space that is atypical of European conditions. It is located in a territory with an extremely cold climate. When analysing the architecture and urban layouts of Spitsbergen, as well as its residents, I noted the role and significance of social spaces in their lives, and provided their general overview, which includes the positives, negatives and manner of use by various social groups, in addition to its quality and functional solutions. The research methods used in the study include: theoretical research, in situ field research, original report, and a survey. Social spaces support the correct functioning of the housing environment and enhance the sense of safety among residents and visitors. The most crucial factors that affects the reception and design of social spaces by residents are: architectural form, its location and linkages with the context and surroundings.

Observation of experiences of Polish cities with railway areas shows that despite its unquestionable advantages, railway contributed to the strengthening of spatial divisions and the separation of individual areas. In the era of technological progress, tunneling of railway lines in city centers facilitates investment process in these previously problematic but exposed areas in the city landscape and contributes to their revitalization. The aim of this article is to present methods of work on a degraded post-railway area in an incoherent spatial structure of the city and to show how the effective design supports the revitalization process by complementing social activities. Based on variant, study examples, the area of the Vilnius railway line and the surrounding areas located in the Warsaw district of Praga Północ have been analyzed. The article is a part of the debate on the proper designation of the revitalization area on the basis of reliable data taken from the analyzes of existing and planned conditions in the spatial and functional context of larger urban units. 

The objective of this paper is to present architectural and urban issues associated with the process of shaping residential buildings in harmony with the natural environment, in light of processes of urbanisation and degradation of this environment progressing in Europe and globally. The material focuses on identifying activities fostering a sustainable model of life in the city, in particular on solutions aiming at the limitation of urbanisation costs. These are – without limitations – concepts of designing residential buildings with respect for land protection and aiming to obtain all possible land reserves in the urban landscape. They fit in the concepts of urban development based on the principles of an ecosystem, as well as processes fostering reurbanisation, promoted today.

In the currently functioning planning system there is a lack of studies enabling to determine the main spatial structure of larger urban units. As a result of the analysis of the process of planning the public space structure and the factors influencing the effective transformation of post-industrial areas, the authors argue that the appropriate tool for the transformation of larger and integrated urban units of the city would be an equivalent of the former master plan. The basic content that should be included in such a plan is the functional and spatial structure, defining in particular the form and the layout of the city’s public space. The examples of master plans of Pelcowizna area in conjunction with the development plan analyzed in the text, in which hierarchical spatial structures have been distinguished, show the necessity to cover the entire urban unit with general guidelines and are an example of its more effective development. The article ends with a proposal of a method concerning the manner of constructing the city’s public space structure and being a condition for an effective transformation of post-industrial areas.

This paper presents the results of a survey that explored how the residents of Masuria perceived the contemporary form of singlefamily and tourist housing in their region. The conclusions of this study were used as a starting point for preparing design proposals of contemporary landscape and housing layouts based on homes for rent or agricultural tourism facilities. Bachelor of Engineering in Architecture thesis projects became an answer to the formal preferences of the residents. The temporal scope of the section presenting the survey study concerns the twenty-first century, while the archetype analysis section reaches back to the seventeenth century.

The starting point of this essay is a multidisciplinary study conducted by the Department of Architecture and Urban Studies of the Politecnico di Milano regarding the opportunities for the revitalisation of the almost 800 Community Cinemas owned by the Italian Catholic Church. These cinemas represent the local communities and are an important part of the contemporary Italian urban environment. Research shows that cinemas are threatened by how people currently consume audio-visual content, that there is a need to rethink the projection theatres as social gathering spaces open to the twenty-first-century neighbourhood, thanks to some features innate in the Community Cinemas that can be enhanced. Four case studies have been identified that represent the most common (or widest variation of) size and general layout among the 800 existing situations. A general model has been developed through the radical re-shaping of the space in accordance with new urban and social functions and implementing new technologies. By designing these case-study project solutions, it was possible to define that a new model of multipurpose social centre merged with a more traditional projection room is not only possible, but thanks to state-of-the-art technologies could represent a perfect match and an opportunity to make significant changes throughout a community.

This paper discusses the analysis of modern landscaping trends. Today’s challenges and environmental issues that reduce landscaping area in large cities force us to search for new landscaping trends. Amid global environmental problems, the popularity of green areas attached to private homes is increasing. Despite avant-garde trends, there is a growing interest in traditional oriental gardens, both Chinese and Japanese, based on the principles of harmony between human and nature. At the same time, the arrangement of modern Chinese-style private gardens in Ukraine and other Post-Soviet territories, without a deep understanding of fundamental methods, including ‘one lake, three mountains’, ‘garden in a garden’, ‘mountains–water’, sets such gardens apart from true Chinese design. By comparing the historical Chinese pavilions and modern Chinese-style arbours, their non-conformity has been proven, and it recommended to arrange modern Chinese-style gardens based on the use of time-honoured traditions.

Throughout their history, all civilized states have built buildings for libraries in line with their needs, possibilities, and imperatives. Every time any dedicated structures were designed and built to host a library, they incorporated the sense for their further use by future generations. Thus, there evolved a basis for a library of the future.
The presented cases from modern international practices in library design and construction illustrate a broad range of expanding possibilities in architecture and design in this new thematic area. The use of modern structural systems, finishing materials, and lighting fixtures enable interesting and unique features in library buildings, while new spatial organisation changes the layout structure and architectonics of libraries.
What is this library of the future? What particularities make it different from the libraries of the past and present? What are the key criteria of a high-quality library functioning in the future? These are major questions explored in the paper that, when answered, provide clear conclusions.

The achievements of South American architecture of the early twenty-first century have put the architects of this continent at the forefront in the field of innovative and unorthodox design solutions. Many see the basics of new, socially sustainable design methods for the architecture of the future in the principle of incrementality. The purpose of the paper is to analyse the usefulness and universality of the central feature of some of the most appreciated incremental projects, which is the skilful introduction of informal processes (including participation) into a highly formalised and institutionalised design environment. To analyse the projects and their broad context, a conceptual apparatus was used, as applied in the theory of Postmodernism in architecture and art (especially the works of Christopher Alexander and George Dickie). It allows to highlight similarities and fundamental differences between architectural cultures and to take a step closer to answer the question of the possibility of imitating designs created in completely different cultures in the Polish and European context.

The authors of the article would like to present contemporary architectural implementations from the Łódź agglomeration region, which were created in accordance with the ethical doctrine - pleasure and avoidance of unpleasantness are the most important values, purpose of life and motive of conduct. The analyzed objects were designed in the first two decades of the current century. Cubature objects as well as hedonistically shaped urban public spaces were evaluated. Construction documentation and critical user input were analyzed. The aim of the analysis is to assess the phenomenon of searching for a return to the nineteenth-century character of Łódź›s buildings and the surrounding area perceived as hedonistic as opposed to critical attitude towards neomodernist architecture. This is currently the topic of widespread debate of the Łódź society in relation to the Urban Space Restoration program.

The 21st century has contributed to the development of new, innovative technologies in many areas of life, including medicine, aviation, molecular engineering and construction. Modern technologies are developing very quickly, bringing various conveniences to modern man. However, the 21st century has brought us also the destructive effect of growing weather anomalies associated with deepening climate change.
Living in the age of consumerism, we should think about how we are contributing to this state? Can we, living today, improve our existence? Can the solutions proposed nowadays protect us from many negative effects of climate change? Can we influence the increase in air pollution, temperature rise and the associated growing phenomena such as floods and fires?
Citizens of modern cities are facing many of these inconveniences. We, as architects and urban planners, should react and implement solutions that will improve living conditions.
The subject of the articles is to present selected examples of solutions for the use of greenery, which will help to eliminate unfavorable climate conditions in cities. Properly designed greenery, both on the urban and architectural scale of the city, contributes to the leveling of the Urban Heat Island, improves the comfort of living, and is a stabilizer of temperature and humidity. Research with a thermal imaging camera shows how the use of greenery contributes to lowering the temperature in downtown buildings.
The results of the research are a supplement to the analyses carried out in connection with the observation of thermal behavior of urban development. The possibility of referencing the results will influence the residents’ awareness. It is important to use appropriate building materials and greenery as one of the elements improving the comfort of living in the city.

This paper presents the outcomes of a study on the potential of contemporary Rio de Janeiro to act as a site for a twenty-first century project. An analysis of the city’s architecture in the context of social, spatial and wildlife-related determinants and an analysis of extant major culture-forming places became the starting point for determining conceptual guidelines for the competition design of the Architecture Athenaeum in Rio de Janeiro, which has been presented in the paper. The research was based on critical analysis of the literature and on-site studies.

Temporariness is a desired feature of our ever changing reality; however, it means neither a secondary significance nor low aesthetic value; on the contrary. As part of a study on manifestations of coherence after 2000, the author analyses the examples of architecture of theatre from this perspective. In the realm of theatre, temporariness makes the designers reach for courageous formal explorations, and for innovative and non-standard solutions which are clear signs in the landscape. The creative intention based on the concept of temporariness provides potential for fruition even as controversial solutions, which would be unacceptable in the convention of the non-temporary architecture. The resulting form becomes more attractive, clear, even garish, speaking the language of contemporary perception, (sometimes a short-lived one,) and as such, is intriguing and inspires curiosity. The element of temporariness is also an excuse for balanced design. The budget of these kinds of projects is usually limited and therefore limits the use of advanced technologies, which places these buildings in a low-tech trend. Temporariness and impermanence, as concepts, are a kind of contemporary expression. They are the expression of a specifically understood mobility, an answer to the volatility and unpredictability of current reality.

In many urban areas there is an observable extreme segregation of public space, in addition to the fact that many housing districts are spatially isolated from the city as a whole. As traditional methods of urban analysis provide poor guidelines in this context, an attempt to investigate this problem and present a different approach to segregation in urban design was made. This paper presents an investigation about how Space Syntax theories and methods can contribute to creating more detailed descriptions of spatial relationships in different districts and in the entire city. The research method employed was an analysis of the literature (both domestic and trade). Space-Syntax-based urban analysis enables demonstrating significant structural differences between districts and to determine the impact of urban forms on the spatial advantages of different areas of the city. It provides new opportunities to address segregation in urban design and formulate more effective anti-segregation interventions.

Pho Hien is a historic district of Hung Yen, a modern city situated in the mouth of the Red River in Vietnam. In the period of 2011–2012, a group of Polish architects prepared a revitalisation programme and a master plan for this district. The revitalisation programme was aimed at improving local housing as well as the creation of a cultural and education centre protecting historical monuments and recalling the historical tradition of the seventeenth and eighteenth century commercial harbour serving European and Chinese merchants.

The findings presented in this study, which focused on how Venice’s residents perceive the problems their city suffers from, served as a starting point for a discussion on the potential to address them by using the potential of the twenty-first century. Thesis design projects by architecture students can serve as an excellent testing ground for studies and presenting proposals of visions of a better future. The functio-spatial solutions presented in this paper can provide an original perspective on some of Venice’s much-discussed problems, such as enormous cruise ships entering the lagoon’s waters, tourist crowds and the search for new spaces for residents, employment market development or proposing new forms of sightseeing in the city.

This paper is devoted to matters of architectural design in the housing environment during the two decades of the development of twenty-first-century architecture and further in the future. Beauty, visual expression and composition move to the fore of contemporary designs of urban space. New visions and architectural designs emerge, individually shaped and with original forms that point to new trajectories in shaping space and functio-spatial solutions, both in the present and in the near future, creating optimal conditions for the existence of society in the housing environment.

This paper attempts to systematise the manner in which avant-garde architecture employed regional motifs during the first two decades of the twenty-first century. Architecture has used local patterns since its beginnings. However, as soon as the models of architectural orders had become widespread in the modern era, folk architecture and inspirations drawn from regional traditions were marginalised. Post-modern architecture questioned the ideas of universal practices, giving prominence to regional architecture. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, avant-garde architecture once more redefined the employment of local traditions as inspirations. The paper seeks to systematise the modern references to local traditions, distinguishing three basic categories: a) inspirations by architectural form, b) inspirations by construction materials and craft, c) inspirations by the ’idea of community‘. The selected examples are representative of these modern architectural solutions, and are discussed in connection to earlier projects.

The subject of the paper is a preliminary sketch of the theory of organization of the built environment, as an answer to the dynamics of urbanisation processes in the twenty-first century. The basic assumptions of this theory are: 1) the temporality and variability of habitat elements, 2) the irreducibility of the environment to its part, 3) the linking of different organisation scales, 4) balancing individual and collective factors, continuity and novelty, as well as conditioning and creative freedom; 5) human participation as an integral part of system description. The work uses earlier structuralist concepts, especially theories by J. Habraken, and also the assumptions of process philosophy by A.N. Whitehead. The result of the study is an outline of a processual model of environmental organisation, based on a original set of technical concepts, including the field, the event, event potential, transformation, control and the relational pattern. The model offers a description of the habitat as a hierarchical system synthesising various elements of architectural and urban design. This results in a new perspective of the architect’s role in the organisation process of the habitat.

This paper aims to analyse challenges that contemporary designers face in creating a living space in the spirit of non-anthropocentric design - a newly emerging trend based in new humanities and the emergence of the idea of post-anthropocentrism in art. In a situation of well-developed sustainable design, creating spaces for wild animals in cities as habitats and refuges has become the next stage in creating a city with the least impact on the environment. The issue of non-anthropocentric design has been studied through the use of case analysis and comparative analysis of buildings ant its components implemented on a different scale, showing a wide range of cases  - from small spatial interventions, such as creating nesting places in cities, to transforming the entire design process into an animal-friendly one. The work was based both on an analysis of completed projects and on theoretical works.

The last two decades of the century have brought unusually many changes in the built environment. These include not only changes directly related to the emergence of a new urban fabric, but also changes in social attitudes towards common spaces located in residential areas. The built environment has never been evaluated so strongly. This assessment translates not only into the everyday outdoor activities of residents (necessary, optional and social activities), but also to economic projects (purchase, sale and rental of real estate). At the same time, the city ceases to be, as it has been so far, mainly subjected to criticism, and the residents are gradually changing their demanding attitude concerning the development of space to participate in the process of its creation. Society wants to have a real impact on urban space, especially on the space closest to them. Thus, the right to the city is no longer a privilege or a duty, but it becomes a need.

Trying to meet this need results in a phenomenon which we can increasingly observe in Poland, and which we have been witnessing abroad for many years: activities in public space are changing into activities for public space. They include the transformation of common spaces related to the place of residence—improving their aesthetic quality, functional changes, modernization of development elements.

Observing numerous examples of public participation in shaping public spaces, it was noticed that the initiation, course and effects of activities largely depend on the social capital of the group undertaking said activity.

Accordingly, there is a need for research on the mutual relation between the level of social capital and the issue of shaping and managing public space with the participation of local communities, which will be the main topic of the paper. To investigate the above-mentioned issue, qualitative research methods were used in relation to the relationship: site visit, non-participant observation and focus interviews. This contributed to a comparative study of three selected Warsaw case studies. They were analysed in terms of meeting the qualitative criteria selected for the study. These criteria have been indicated on the basis of the Social Capital Development Strategy 2020, which is one of the parts of the Medium-Term National Development Strategy.

The result of the analyses is an indication of derived factors from within the group of space users and external factors that have a positive and negative impact on initiating, carrying out and maintaining the effects of changes in common spaces developed with the participation of local communities in Polish conditions. The conclusions can be used to improve future participation processes related to urban space - both by non-professionals participating in them, as well as experts - architects and town planners.

Improvement of housing conditions is one of the basic elements of the process of revitalising urban structures. This study was conducted through the lens of mixed housing as a New Urbanism principle. Employment of this perspective is a result of contemporary adaptation of this American urban movement for revitalisation of urban tissue as a part of an infill development strategy.

This work examines the practice of mixed housing in contemporary redevelopment projects in Europe, based on two case studies: Minguettes Vénissieux in the Lyon agglomeration (France) and Retkinia in Lodz (Poland).The redevelopment policies were compared with the American HOPE VI programme, which, similarly to the examples under study, was focused on the revitalisation of high-rise housing estates. The study’s findings enabled the definition of the influence of mixed housing principles of NU on urban regeneration processes and to gain some insight into the practice of mixed housing today, as well as into existing regulatory frameworks, based on the examined cases from France and Poland (1). A need for synergy between various NU principles was revealed as indispensable to produce or rather rebuild vital urban forms (2). As aimed, European tendencies in the mixed housing policy were related to US practice derived from the NU, especially examining the need for a diversity of tenure rights and regulatory guidelines based on NU application for revitalisation (3). The entirety of the research confirmed that mixed housing, as a multi-dimensional principle of NU, can serve as a means of revitalising residential areas, particularly decayed panel-block neighbourhoods.

Piaski Wielkie and Kurdwanów are former suburbs of Krakow. Over the past half century their space has been changed significantly. The first modifications took place in the 1970s and 1980s. The Piaski Nowe and Kurdwanów Nowy estates were built during this time. In the twenty-first century, the number of inhabitants of Krakow has been constantly increasing. As a result, the attention of real estate developers is once again focused on the regions.

At present, these areas are intensively built-up. In some regions, the speed of development of road and service infrastructure is slower than the construction of residential buildings. This tendency can be seen in Piaski Nowe. Last-century projects are the main basis for the functioning of this complex. It is important to determine the forms found in these housing estates, their functions and potential. The results of the research will contribute to effective spatial policy.

The article characterises architectural forms, spatial structures and basic functions of housing complexes built in the years 1999–2019 in Piaski Nowe and Kurdwanów Nowy. The research has showed that both estates have a predisposition to be attractive places to live. This fact is supported by existing public service facilities and developing private services. The location between the third and fourth Krakow ring road is also an important factor. An analysis of architectural forms has revealed changes in the way how the buildings are formed. There is a tendency to simplify building massings. The presented projects show that simplification is not synonymous with the end of potential for creating forms. It is just a path to new solutions.

In recent years, the concept of “Smart City” has become visibly popular, setting the direction for the development of 21st century cities. However, is a completely uncritical approach to such a complex issue justified? Where do the competences of architects, urban planners, IT specialists and controlling governmental powers meet in such an “intelligent city”?

This article presents important issues of data acquisition, system monitoring as well as security and privacy issues both by presenting and analyzing examples of already existing solutions from all around the world, but also giving some attention to the slowly rising number of “Smart city” initiatives in Krakow.

This paper presents the outcomes of two international conferences: ‘On the way to architectural education and the profession of the future’ and ‘Genesis and development directions of the future architecture in the Eastern Europe’, which took place on 28 November 2018 and 28 November 2019, respectively, at the Lviv Polytechnic National University.

During the conference, educationalists, researchers, experts from architectural and artistic schools of Ukraine from Lviv, Kyiv, Odessa, Chernivtsi, Dnipro, Lutsk; Poland - from the city of Kielce; Germany - from Dresden University of Technology; Canada - from the city of Toronto, discussed what had to be done and done unquestionably so that we could not only dream about an architecture of the future but also actively create it.

Not asking a formal request of the speakers to present what came out of the predictions of the architects / futurists of the twentieth century directed, according to their understanding, into close (the 1970s and 80s), non-distant (the 1990s) and distant future (the turn of the twenty-first century). Instead, they wanted to plant into the architectural reality of modern Eastern Europe, and Ukraine, Poland, Germany in particular, those sprouts of the new in architecture which are associated with ‘the architecture of the future’ and that are currently being born and their blooming can be expected in the Eastern Europe and the world in the future.

Historically, the urban situation in the cities and towns of Persia and Algeria was highly specific. The hot dry climate contributed to a street network, which was protected from the sun as much as possible. Climate conditions determined the appearance of houses with flat roofs, small windows and white walls. The entire urban planning system had the main centre - the city (town) mosque. There were smaller mosques in the structure of residential areas, densely surrounded by houses. Just as under the influence of climate a certain type of residential building took shape, these same factors formed a characteristic type of mosque in the housing environment.

Globalist trends have affected even such a conservative sphere as Islamic religious architecture, as it gradually toned down striking regional features, which is explained by the typicality of modern building materials and structures and the international activity of various architectural and construction firms in different corners of the world. Over the centuries, two opposing images of the mosque have emerged - the pointedly magnificent Persian and the fortress-type of Maghreb (typical for Algeria) types. This paper reviews how specific climatic conditions and historical processes influenced the use of building materials, structures and decoration in the mosques of Persia’s and Algeria’s different regions.

Today we observe an erosion of regional features in the form and layout of modern mosques, which are analysed on the basis of the examples given. On the basis of a comparison of authentic mosques and erected by foreigners, it is proved how local features are gradually being eliminated and what this leads to.

This paper discusses the experiences of the Housing Environment Amendment Laboratory of the CUT FA in the area of generating visualisations in an augmented reality (AR) environment, based on module assignments prepared by students. The objective of the study was to verify the quality of the application of the tool for the purposes of evaluating student projects. As a part of the study, AR visualisations of five selected student projects were developed and compared with the original project sheets prepared by students. As a result, the author obtained material for discussion on the potential of the technology and the conditions of its use in education.

The subject of the article is the analysis of problems related to the two-room apartments, on the example of selected housing investments built recently in Warsaw. During the first three quarters of 2019, approximately 15,000 dwellings were commissioned here, with more than 95% built for sale or for rent. Such a definite dominance of the developer model affects, among others, popularization of specific solutions in the internal layouts. Two-room apartments are currently the most popular on the market. We will examine them in terms of the layout and size of rooms, taking into account the quota in the overall dwelling space and the average flat area. The purpose of the analysis is to indicate the most important problems affecting the comfort of living and an attempt to determine the optimal model of a two-room apartment. The research results are the starting point for discussion on the broader problem of housing availability in categories defined by the number of rooms.

The 21st century housing space due to computer technologies and the Internet is losing its physical boundaries, enabling residents to both conduct remotely life activities without leaving home and to control the physical living space from outside. These technologies create new forms of home activities while globally connecting living spaces.

This work presents results of a case study of available “smart home” technologies which was conducted to verify how and at what cost they serve residents. Research has shown that “smart home” devices offer a number of facilities and amenities allowing not only to control and reduce housing costs, but also to provide information and entertainment. At the same time, these devices more and more often take the form of interior furnishings, inconspicuously collecting and sharing information on the living activities of the household members and interfere with the traditional division into private and public space of residence. Smart homes require smart residents, but unfortunately the fact that residents don’t manage information they share, plays down them to the roles of consumers of products and providers of data about living space usage.

The contemporary architecture of meaning can refer to many cultural patterns. The subject of this article is to show the close relationship between the work of Romuald Gutt and its influence on the design of the Warsaw Pavilion – the Warsaw Insurgents Memorial Chamber. The scientific study was aimed at showing the relationship between the design path and the case study, i.e. study by design. This case study is based upon the analysis of the achievements, the architectural language, the style, the methodology and the design philosophy of the architect Romuald Gutt. The research methodology analyses several aspects of the architect’s work and its influence on the concept of the Pavilion. In this case study, we are considering a universal design method by analysing existing objects designed by the same artist. The architectural legacy, the methodology, the language and the narrative used in Gutt’s creative work allow us to see a whole new quality in the design process of the building we are studying – the Warsaw Insurgents’ Memorial Chamber at the Warsaw Insurgents’ Cemetery in Wola.

Polish residential architecture of the second decade of the 21st century was shaped based on the experiences of investors and architects related to the consequences of the global financial crisis of 2008. The construction boom before the crisis caused a decrease in competitiveness and at the same time a decrease in architectural quality of the built apartments. The crisis forced all participants in the construction process to rationalize planned investments. Their success began to depend on the functional, construction and aesthetic quality of the constructed apartments.

For the analysis of the typology of housing of the second decade of the 21st century, large investments were taken into account, in which architects were largely freed from individual external factors directly affecting the form of the buildings, such as a narrow construction and characteristic plot planning requirements. Investments forming entire architectural complexes or even urban complexes allowed architects to design residential buildings based on rational design assumptions arising from the market needs related to the functional layout of apartments and resulting from efficient construction technologies.

The affordability of apartment units is closely related to the availability of land for planned multifamily housing development. In crisis periods, real estate prices go up, reflecting the perception of real estate as the safest investment, and land speculation increases. Housing is the most important fabric of the city, and the availability of land for housing directly influences housing affordability. In many European cities, legal and administrative mechanisms have been worked out to force the construction of apartment buildings. In times of crisis, however, these mechanisms have proven ineffective. This article will focus on the process of elaborating innovative solutions, with Vienna’s systemically coherent housing policy as an example. In the decade following the 2008 crisis, the ongoing rise in real estate prices, especially the price of undeveloped land, led to a decrease in the proportion of new subsidized affordable housing. The leaders of the federal state of Vienna undertook legal measures to reverse this negative trend. Within two years, the local building code was updated with a provision describing a new land use category: “affordable housing”. Following this rule, the acquisition of a permit to build housing investments requires that two-thirds of the planned development’s usable area be devoted to subsidized, meaning affordable, housing. This provision in Vienna’s building code came into effect on March 1, 2019. It is expected that in the long run, the price of land for housing will drop by 90%. In the upcoming years, monitoring of the provision’s effects will be conducted. The provision is seen as a radical change in the law, ensuring the continued realization of affordable housing programs.

The sustainable development rule changed the architects’ attitude toward the users of the buildings and an increase in their civic engagement. Exhibitions in New York’s MOMA or Frankfurt’s Architecture Museum and Pritzker Jury’s verdicts underlined the significance of community-engaged architecture and the involvement of an architect in the problems of contemporary society. At the same time, an analysis of theoretical works and everyday architectural practice shows some repetition of the creative design attitude even than the motivation behind it could vary. An analysis of such interwoven relations is an attempt to show the continuity and change in urban and architectural solutions. Such commentary linked to long-standing observations regarding the sustainable development implementation enables us to formulate long-term conclusions for the creation of the human spatial environment in the changing reality of the new century.

The subject of the article is the architecture of contemporary residential blocks from different parts of Europe. The aim of the article is to indicate and describe selected aesthetic trends related to the design of their form. The main topic of the article concerns residential city blocks from the first two decades of the 21^st century. The research has allowed indicating clear features that dominate and at the same time define the aesthetic expression and characteristic elements of the architectural idea behind contemporary residential city blocks. The principal research methods are analysis and case studies. The results of the research indicate a variety of spatial and aesthetic assumptions, which aids in discovering and searching for new typological solutions that affect the quality of habitation. The research also serves to formulate the theoretical basis for the design of this type of development, and allows one to forecast further directions for the advancement of the idea of a residential city block in the foreseeable future. The findings focus on revealing certain originality and attractiveness of the form as a common determinant of the prevailing pluralism of creative attitudes in modern architecture.

The dynamic development of computer technologies and multimedia systems has changed the way we learn about the world around us. Museums have undergone transformations, in which digital resources and multimedia exhibitions intensively supplant the 20th-century presentation methods based on passive contemplation. Contemporary exhibitions are spaces focused on evoking specific experiences, attractive to the recipient thanks to their immersion and interactivity, using multimedia and narrative structure. The article describes the observed changes and trends in the design of exhibitions and buildings in relation to the evolution of museum institutions. Objects constructed or designed over the past two decades have been presented, with particular attention devoted to new museums in Poland. The conducted analysis confirms that the museum object – its place in the city space, the architectural design of the functional arrangement, as well as the exhibition areas and the arrangement of the exhibitions themselves is evolving in parallel with changing technologies and new social needs.

Today’s approaches to the design of modern interiors have changed significantly. This is due to such reasons and conditions as: socio-economic terms of interiors’ use and service, rapid technical progress, the development of science and information technology, growing environmental requirements in accordance with the principles of sustainable development, the introduction of new building materials and technologies, accounting accessibility and national traditions, human-centered design, etc.

The purpose of the article is identification of conditions, features, principles and guidelines for the design of modern interiors. The study is based on a systematic approach that defines hierarchical levels of interior design. Methods of historical and comparative analysis were also used.

The article discusses the factors and conditions of modern interiors’ formation, features and principles of their functional and spatial solutions. The hierarchical levels and methodological provisions of the architectural environment design of modern interior spaces are revealed.

What is the today’s space of a single-family complex in the city? What is the contemporary house in the city like? Based on a comparative analysis of completed housing projects from the first decades of the twenty-first century in Poland and Hungary, the authors have identified characteristics that can be considered essential for building identity of urban space. A discussion of the form and expression of contemporary urban, suburban and peripheral zones, contrasted with areas of rural origin, was used as a background for the study. The subject matter of the study was also presented using student designs prepared as a part of the Architectural and urban design of single-family housing module at CUT. The results of the study indicate that it is possible to oppose the unification of space associated with the excessive growth of peripheral areas and globalisation resulting from the free flow of information – by searching for the value of architecture in local heritage.

Large-panel complexes in Poland are very popular among buyers. Their value is particularly affected by communication solutions, access to services, location in relation to the city centre, and in particular the presence of large, well-preserved, though often non-cultivated, green areas. These factors turn out to be important for the buyers, even though the condition of the buildings deviates from modern standards.
On the basis of selected examples of large-panel buildings and complexes, the author discussed measures undertaken to renovate them. She then drew conclusions confirming that the renovation conversions supporting sustainable development are a good direction of action and can work in Polish conditions, where there are opinions against the demolition of large-panel buildings.
To formulate the best possible ways to renovate the Polish housing estates, it is necessary to monitor their condition, in detail and on an ongoing basis, as well as the effects of actions taken so far to upgrade them. Additionally, an important aspect is the analysis of conversions that have been implemented abroad in this area. Such analyses may be helpful in making decisions on the possibilities and advisability of introducing changes, observed in neighbouring countries, to Polish housing estates.

The article describes the types of social spaces in modern multi-family residential complexes and their influence on the development of the forms of living of their residents. Four multi-family residential complexes were analyzed — two residential complexes and an infill building in Kielce, and one complex in Łódź. All presented complexes were erected within the last five years.

This article’s aim is to demonstrate that social spaces play an immensely important role within cities regardless of the climate zones in which those cities are located. Even areas with an extremely cold climate see the emergence of places where their residents meet and coexist. The publication is based on examples from Spitsbergen. Research was conducted in the town of Longyearbyen. The factors that determine the quality of common spaces, their utility, the degree of their acceptance and satisfaction derived from spending time in them are the outcomes of widely known determinants concerning the design of social and public spaces, but are affected by their specific climate conditions to a much greater degree.

The word house describes both a home and a building. Both roles are important in the public sphere. Both build the character of urban space.
Not only function but also the form of the built environment effectuate what we call urbanity. Contemporary development processes redefine the notion of what is urban as the needs of society change. And such differences in the comprehension of the urbanity notion, build the core of the article.
Aldo Rossi, in an iconic book, The Architecture of the City, decidedly redefined the notions of continuity or sustainability with reference to the role of the buildings as objects in the city space. His stance, very personal but also grounded in theory, builds the starting point for an analysis of single buildings and their place in urban continuum, concerning research on a 19.-century post-industrial city (with examples from Lodz in Poland and other European cities with different development characteristics). The research base on the analysis of town quarters and their role in the creation of the urban space character. It also contains elements of building architecture and social roles analysis. In conclusion, it is possible to state that even if existing differences in the development of society nowadays are profound, the role of the buildings in the city structure and urbanity is quite unchanging.

The article presents the searching and designing activity of Lviv architecture school on the example of the department of architectural environment design (AED)* in the creation of architectural types of buildings, important for Ukraine at the be­ginning of the 21st century.

Linear megastructures, apart from megastructures in general, are one of several types of concepts in context of linear urban development. The term refers to various compact architectural, infrastructural and transportation plans in linear form. With their daunting massive scale these concepts are often attributed to utopian attempts of pursuing an ideal city and therefore doomed to remain unrealized. This paper examines several models created throughout the course of history in terms of their emergence motivation, socio-economic circumstances and relation to urban sustainability. Through the analysis, it is argued that linear megastructures are often unjustly rejected without acknowledgement of their underlying beneficial features in terms of mitigating challenges to sustainable urban development.

Cities with history have ‘a good tradition’ of multicultural expressiveness. What are, however, new dimensions of social expressiveness; where are threats lurking, and where do opportunities reside for the 21st-century city? What is necessary is an intention of composition (in contrast to the quite commonly encountered intention of lack thereof) of parts and of the whole, and the vision of the ‘face’ of the city it entails, as well as the governing principles of formal coordination, coordination of activities, and of the dramaturgy of connections – sequences exhibiting different expressiveness. Public spaces of historical inner cities more and more often NEED to be supported by new public spaces, attractive somewhat differently. They also call for studies of a designing nature. In Ragusa, starting from the Re-use Ragusa 2014 International Workshop, architects-researchers took up issues of key importance for the advancement of inner city structures of this place, making use of the opportunities offered by a properly directed didactic process. The work was based on a thorough – albeit virtual, indirect – observation of the city, on the investigation of diversified problems, but also singularities, in search of the potential of specificity residing in individual areas of activities, including the ones which are seemingly less valuable. Ragusa transformed into a ‘lab city’. It became a place of a fascinating designing experiment, aimed to identify strategies promoting revitalisation of the city from the inside, starting from the resources and the potential it offers. The goal here was to notice and improve the values and opportunities presented by the location, to be able to accept new perspectives for this intentionally creative observation. It is paramount that such an ‘idealistic’ contribution be useful, offering an array of possible activities and opening up fields for further discussions by creating good models in compliance with the specificity and identity of the place, that is local communities and their needs in terms of individualised expression.

When heritage policies and benefits have gradually enabled the process of renovation of the most attractive historical cen­tres, the densest and poorest of them, not being able to count on the rescue provided by tourism, are doomed to suffer from their loss of ‘utilitas’ The double historic centre of the Sicilian city of Ragusa could be a perfect case offering an opportunity to experiment with the innovative potential of this condition. Ragusa is currently a city with the highest ratio of the real estate surface per capita in Italy. If today Ragusa Ibla regained its vitality as a tourist and nightlife destination, Ragusa Superiore needs a new and extensive regeneration process to be launched, which requires comprehensive planning strategies to be adopted and strong economic subsidies to be secured – as the first step, by organising an architectural and urban planning workshop devoted entirely to the historic centre of Ragusa Superiore, a part of a cycle of International Designing Workshops ‘Territories in Evolution” and drew on its years of experience. In any case and in each and every urban centre, basing on a general, common programme drawn up in advance, the objective of any designing workshop is to concentrate proactive skills of an international working group ‘in situ’. The Re-use Ragusa workshop very quickly unleashed a number of ideas, the effects of which can be considered specific and realistic methods of reviving the historic Ragusa. Thanks to the work during the workshop “Re-use Ragusa: Sustainable Strategies to Revive the City Centre”, the students and lectures who were lucky enough to experience the town on a daily basis: live and work here, recollecting their experience of only two weeks in the historic centre of Ragusa Superiore, demonstrated to themselves and to the town residents that positive thinking about an urban and architectural design may offer new perspectives which can creatively benefit from and enhance the already existing resources. The effects of this workshop are the fruit of successful, if unusual, cooperation between municipal authorities and administrators on the one hand and the university on the other, organising this wider highly professional international support.

The world of architecture is changing, it is quite obvious. Once so necessary as a sine qua non condition for the existence of a work of art, beauty has died. Function, which has been building the shape of architecture for decades, is a rather trivial pre­text today. The composition necessary to create art has been killed by avant-garde art. The art of decomposition has pushed its way into the world of architecture. The single-family house we have become accustomed to is also changing its shape. The spirit of expressionism invades residential architecture. Design science has to follow a new, not entirely known path.

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.

Ontogenesis of human being is constantly connected with the movement. Nowadays, the concept of nomadism is being transformed in the process of forming of the human civilization, acquiring a wider meaning and infiltrating the areas connected with civilization movement, including digital space. Dynamic civilization changes are  he basis for a discussion about meaning and future of traditional thinking of shaping the architectural structures in the contemporary public spaces. This paper focuses on temporary and mobile structures from the urban context to contemporary material and construction solutions. Considering the unusual places of stationing of temporary and mobile structures, such as degraded areas or inaccessible urban spaces, these structures require innovative and creative design solutions in 21st century.

Contemporary cities are struggling with many problems. The most important problems of recent years are: the increasing level of pollution and rising temperatures in central parts of cities (the effect of the Urban Heat Island). The inhabitants often have to deal with these problems. Striving to improve the living conditions in the city facilities are introduced to protect the contemporary man, especially in the house, which is to be his shelter.
The subject of the article is to illustrate on selected examples of bad and beneficial material solutions affecting the comfort of living. Presentation of contemporary solutions aimed at the best possible protection of residents and providing them with adequate living conditions.
The research carried out on thermal imaging cameras and humidity meters of selected objects built in various technologies, show how poorly selected finishing materials can affect the deterioration of the comfort of living.
Proper selection of building materials and their proper application contribute to the reduction of heat losses and thus to the reduction of the effect of the City Heat Island in cities. Lower demand for energy also contributes to the reduction of heat losses and air pollution resulting from excessive heating parameters.
The results of the research will form the basis for further work related to the observation of the behavior of buildings built in various technologies. The possibility of comparing individual solutions will contribute to raising awareness of how important it is for the residents to use appropriate building materials ensuring the comfort of living.

The main aim of this article was to discover the key characteristics in shaping most rewarded eco-district complexes built respectively in temperate climate zone in respect to spatial energy efficiency and resilience principles. It was done through careful case studies, comparative analysis and juxtaposition of critical parameters related to spatial energy efficiency and resilience in chosen representative dwelling complexes. Due to the complexity and multitude instances of ecological dwelling complexes it was decided to set bounds to the defined criteria. The investigated examples were limited to following restrictions as location in moderate climate zone, implementing the pro-environmental solutions in accordance world-known energy and environmental assessment certifications. As a result, a reliable juxtaposition of design trends in temperate climate zone was provided, which was induced by the key spatial energy efficiency parameters. Furthermore, the remarks and future framework guidelines were made, concerning main fields of potential improvements in terms of spatial energy efficiency and resilience.

The aim of the work is to find the sense of architecture, to show the role and importance of composition and form in the creative process towards architecture in a residential environment. Significant examples of architectural works from the late twentieth century were selected, showing the creative path followed by artists detached from historicism. The considerations are directed towards reading architecture, and above all, reading creator’s intentions as thoughtful messages. Searching for similarities in the works of outstanding artists that create great works of art.

The author formulates and discusses the term of a “friendly house” – a modern house designed and built according to the principles of sustainable development. A house friendly for a human is also friendly for the natural environment; simple, affordable, built from natural, biodegradable materials. Based on selected examples, the  author describes the features of a friendly house as a desirable residential engineering model of the near future.

The principles of the formation of the urban planning space of cities of Western and Central Ukraine during the period of Secession, the role of profitable residential development in the city structure are analyzed. The differences between the Secession development of Lviv, Chernivtsi, Stanislaviv and Kiev are identified, examples of the main ensembles and individual buildings are given. Using the example of the house of architect Władysław Horodecki (the so-called House with Chimaeras), we have highlighted the specific features of restoration of buildings of the era of Secession.

The article describes the issue of the effect of the concept design and urban plan on human behaviour. The authors, reviewing their projects from the last decade, present the mechanism of creating logic in shaping space and cubature, contained in minimal utility space and maintaining the maximal scale of using the rules of balanced design. The objects reviewed are: detached and duplex houses, single buildings supplementing existing housing complexes, infill buildings and multi-family building residential area. Everything was designed to be energyefficient. The result of this study is the attempt to evaluate the influence of the author’s architectural determinism (in various spatial situations and object structures) on the communities which use them.

Brazil. Favelas and Oscar Niemeyer’s perfectionist buildings. A terra incognita and an idea. In its Brazilian interpretation, cosmopolitan modernism became an exciting, local “Brazilian modernism”, one that combines native characteristics with universal ones. Despite this, alien and untamed spaces have also become a legacy of the idea of modernism, while favelas have become a social alternative. Torn and inconsistent areas have been created, areas of affluence and poverty, creating spaces for living that are replete with extremes. Municipal authorities are making attempts at reclaiming key areas, and projects have included functional and spatial analyses as well as attempts at restructuring them through local actions.

This article presents the development and changes of the regulations regarding the Construction Law since the beginnings of its functioning, understood as the foundation for regulating the building connections and the basis for development of housing construction in Poland. The second part of the article describes how the law which regulated standardisation in housing construction was shaped in various periods of housing boom after World War II until now. The standards and floor area norms of designing flats in multi-family residential developments have been analysed closely. Particular attention was paid to their direct connection with the quality of designing the flats and the features of large-scale housing construction.

This article presents the results of a student’s workshop organised under the title “Regeneration of housing and urban space within the historic tissue of the city”, which took place during an academic trip of the GROW Students’ Academic Club—which is affiliated with the Institute of Urban Design of the Faculty of Architecture of the Cracow University of Technology—to Valencia, Spain. Six Engineer’s diploma projects were prepared as a part of the workshop. The event was organised by the Cracow University of Technology in cooperation with the CEU—the Cardenal Herrera University in Valencia. The workshop was used to perform analyses aimed at familiarising students with the characteristics of the city, particularly its historic section, as well as performing on-site visits to plots presented by the Spanish university, which were later used as sites for the student projects.

Walicow 14 Warsaw Tenement House has become an image of the total of most facts and events concerning the City during 20th century. The past left its traces on many European cities. The Warsaw case is very spectacular. Walicow 14 Warsaw Tenement House is an integral element of the city structure, which does not exist any more as reality, but still exist as an idea, as well as an element of real today’s city structure. By its urban historical and emotional context it contains the City memory. It transmits the existential and spatial type of City code through the time.

The generalization of the typological, functional, and architectural organization of entertaining establishments will contribute to the further improvement of their development in modern conditions. The purpose of the article is to identify the system-structural principles of the architectural environment typology of entertaining establishments and to consider the features of the architectural and spatial structure of leisure objects in accordance with the hierarchical levels of their environment’s formation and development.
The research was based on A systematic approach that allows us to consider the architectural environment of entertaining institutions as hierarchically subordinate to the integrity. Methods of historical, comparative and typological analysis were also used.
The article summarizes the features of the entertaining institutions’ typology. The specifics of their location in the architectural environment are considered. Features and examples of their functional and spatial solutions, including existing buildings and structures, are considered, taking into account the transformation and adaptation of them for entertaining establishments. The hierarchical levels of formation and development of the architectural environment of leisure objects are revealed.

The main topic of the following article is a process of making office spaces look more like home interiors by introducing furniture, decorative elements and finishing material traditionally used in housing. For this article use there are several examples of polish and western European office building analysed, that have been ejected in few las years. There are functional schemes with all the modifications taken into consideration, as well as elements and materials used to arrange interior spaces.

The topic of the paper are corner houses in an urban block and the accompanying uniqueness of form that results from the specific nature of their location in the urban structure. The study aims to demonstrate that there are currently attempts at implementation and reinterpretation of the solutions known from the past under new formal and aesthetic  conditions. The study was conducted owing to the unique spatial specificity of the form of a corner house in urban development, which is predestined for original solutions and has always been a creative temptation to invent shapes that can aspire to the status of the local sign of a place. The subject of the study is corner buildings with a broadly understood residential purpose whose forms have a key impact on the recognition of co-created places. The basic research method is the analysis of selected developments. The research results indicate various spatial solutions of the bodies of corner houses, giving premises for the formulation of certain typologies and theoretical bases for the  design of this type  of buildings. On the basis of the research, conclusions were drawn on the principles of composing attractive forms of corner houses. This attractiveness can be achieved both by means of conservative and resultant solutions, as well as by creating the legible sign of a place through original forms which are frequently expressive in character.

The tenement houses were very important in Cracow and played important functions. They not only played a moral and political role. They were a permanent place of residence. However, in the nineteenth century, “house in the city” was one more sphere - family. It was a place of existence and meetings, an expression of the wealth of its inhabitants. Such an example of a model house was undoubtedly a good bourgeois private life. He appeared in numerous variants, differing in innumerable details. We can talk about the relative unity of fashion of bourgeois life in the nineteenth century and ways of living reinforced by architectural styles. The subject of my deliberations will be a socially complex, very diverse environment of a tenement house that created a separate world. However, based on numerous memories, on press journalism, one can try to recreate the distribution, social structure and everyday life of the inhabitants. The issue of the residential architecture of 19th century cities has been widely studied, but so far few works have been created connecting the architectural aspect with social and moral aspects.

The article deals with the issue of urban development at the Secession period, it reveals the role of a private estate as an urban-planning unit of the late 19th century – beginning of the 20th century, analyses the specific features of private estates in different cities of Ukraine. The role of the historical and architectural site plans in modern conditions for the preservation of the historical environment of the cities was determined.

With the turn of the millennium, Chinese central government issued arrays of policies targeted to promote virtuous cycles of vitalization in rural areas, mitigate the socio-economic gap with urbanised regions, and face the problem of food security. The current transition is leading China to have an ever-saturated land where the boundaries between human settlements are elusive and blurred, shaping what is scholarly labelled as an urban-rural continuum. The settlement’s schemes realized over the last years, that consists of small or medium size towns as the result of natural villages relocation or new agglomerations, intercepts the call for urbanity, and its related amenities in terms of infrastructure and services – or, in aword, the desire for ahouse in the city – emerging from the marginalized rural citizens. The authors found that such controversial practices are shaping the new Chinese countryside which, conceived as aform of sustainable development by national programs, turned out to impact significantly on the people lifestyle as well as the built environment. Based on several months on-field observations and recent literature, the paper reveals atwo-fold degree of resilience: weak about the real production of space for dwelling and robust about the intangible culture composed by indigenous beliefs and symbolism entangled with the concepts of home and family

The logic of living space is changing. Likewise, the structure of a house, whose role in the contemporary city is becoming increasingly complicated. The paper presents an analysis of selected architectural works in the 20th century and the latest ones, constituting the basis for considerations on the structure of residential architecture and its changes. Its scale encompasses buildings in densely built-up urban areas. The juxtaposition of different examples in terms of the logic of the structure and its legibility allows one to ask the following questions: does the change in the form and internal logic of the house affect the cities? What is the role of unusual structures in their space?

This article is part of the author’s research on rationalist tendencies in contemporary residential architecture. The subject of this analysis are the urban-architectural theories of Aldo Rossi and their influence on the design of various multi-family housing architecture (building quarter, corner building, urban villa, block) in Berlin and Milan.
Aldo Rossi, a theoretician and creator, researched the history and collective memory to draw information - about the city and its architecture -, and then applied this methodology to his design. He tried to define universal, invariable forms and architectural elements. In his typological research, he was looking for a combination of: an abstract language of geometry with a function (also explored historically), analysis of the area, local structures, materials, and unique features of the environment. The author is interested in why Rossi’s works, characterized by unusual formalism and a unwillingness to compromise, during their formation and now, still constitute important examples, or even icons, of urban housing architecture.
The text is also intended to show that Aldo Rossi’s “theoretical and architectural heritage” can still be a source of inspiration in solving the problems facing contemporary architecture. Even today, creators reaching for the forms, structures, types and materials established in the past, may continue to search for universal values in architecture, taking into account contemporary conditions and needs. The objective is to draw attention to the issue of rationalism as a general attitude in shaping urban housing architecture, which may constitute a compromise between the past and the present, tradition and novelty.

The article presents the changes that took place in the village of Kurdwanów after its inclusion to Krakow. The analysis is carried out for area within the historical borders of Kurdwanów. These borders functioned until the introduction of a new division of the districts of Krakow in 2008. Transformations of architectural forms as well as spatial and functional layout are presented. The results were based on: analysis of archival documentation, observation of the environment and information obtained from the residents of Kurdwanów. The village of Kurdwanów was incorporated into the city in 1941. Construction of the multi-family housing estate began at the turn of the 1970s and 1980s. The housing estate was erected on a previously undeveloped hill above Cechowa Street. As a result, the main street of the village lost its importance.
Another crucial moment was the construction of a section of the southern Krakow bypass in 2003. The investment separated the historic village into two parts. Landscape values and social ties were destroyed.
The research was carried out to determine which processes and activities contributed to the destruction of the old village and the domination of previously empty areas. The result of the analysis indicates that the main factor were errors in the spatial policy of the city of Krakow.
Determination of unfavorable processes in the Kurdwanów’s area gives an opportunity to implement measures to prevent further degradation of the region.

The subject of the paper is the study of multifamily residential architecture, which was developed after 1989 and is directly related to the urbanization processes in the Szczecin agglomeration. Selected and representative examples were analyzed in terms of their characteristics of urban composition. The article describes the consecutive stages of development of the Szczecin agglomeration from the end of the 19th century to the present day in the context of changes in the shapes of multifamily residential architecture, emerging in suburban areas. For the purposes of the paper, typology of solutions was introduced based on the size and type of composition. Difficulties of creating new residential architecture in the areas of former villages, adaptations and extensions of former complexes of land estates and industrial complexes were discussed. The impact of the forms of investment processes on the shape of spatial solutions is also discussed, as well as the prospects for further development.

The purpose of the paper is to determine whether, and if so how, the tenants of social rental construction adjust the living space to their needs and whether restrictive housekeeping regulations restrict its symbolic identification. The subject of the analysis is a two-building housing complex of the Szczecin Society of Social Housing (STBS), and in it the  tate of development of visible recreational spaces (balconies, loggias and frontyards) after 10 years from settlement. The research carried out indicates that the rental construction is not devoid of practices characteristic of property rights. In the recreational housing area there is a process of change that manifests privacy and border guarding, the need for isolation and separation, favors the presentation of visible elements of premises, manifest territoriality, build identity with the place and personalize space. The observed space rearrangement is within the limits defined by the rules of the housekeeping regulations.

This article has been devoted to matters associated with man’s place of residence in the urban environment. In currently designed urban spaces, places assigned for human housing play a dominant role. They are characterised by assets associated with beauty and spatial composition and featuring optimal functional and spatial solutions in apartments and houses, linked with natural and architectural surroundings.

World is constantly developing, and new technologies that improve our life are being introduced. One of them was a car which is still present in urban spaces. The driver became the dominant traffic user. Urban interiors are overwhelmed by parking spaces which are present everywhere around. Without them the city could not function, having to adopt constantly increasing number of vehicles.

Paying attention to a healthy, clean environment, free from pollution and noise, makes it worth considering whether there is an alternative to the car in urban space? What changes brings the idea of sustainable transport in a city free of private vehicles? Problematic aspects were discussed on the basis of three significant examples: Oslo, San Francisco, as well as Masdar City.

The article is devoted to the study of the role of Art-clusters in the urban environment, their functions, and main directions connected with their planning. Art-clusters are a modern type of objects that actively influence the transformation of the urban space. The article presents the examples of Art-clusters in different countries. The main urban planning features of placing Art-clusters in the urban environment and a specific set of functions are identified. Based on the analysis of the dif­ferent Art-clusters, a list of the most characteristic functions has been determined.

Today art is not confined to exhibits enclosed in museums. The contemporary image of the city is co-created by colourful murals and graffiti. They are saturated with information and meaning, and thanks to their egalitarianism and ever-presence in public space—everybody becomes affected by them. They can bestow a persuasive function upon urban space, in which information intensely resonates. Murals, using architecture like a canvas, constitute smart, contemporary details in space. Apart from an aestheticising function, they convey information and meanings, entering into relationships with residents. The author investigated various complexes of murals of selected cities and made an attempt at categorising the causes of their creation.

Significant development of monastic construction in the Naddnipryanshchyna (the Dnipro Ukraine), Livoberezhzhia (the Left-bank Ukraine) and Slobozhanshchyna (Sloboda Ukraine) during the time of the Hetmanate had a solid socio-political background, the main of which was the liberation from the national and religious oppression and the formation of statehood. The economic conditions were no less important. The economic power of the monasteries allowed to rebuild the ancient monasteries, which already had brick buildings, rebuilt the ancient monasteries that were entirely wooden to the masonry ones.

The subject of the formation of stone building on the territory of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra in the 17th -18th centuries is of ex­ceptional interest for research, as it is the only architectural ensemble, united by unique monuments, which has no analogues in the Ukrainian architecture.

The starting point for the reflections in this article is the reference to the manner of shaping the structures of ideal cities to­gether with their infrastructure in relation to the needs of the inhabitants of a given time. Defining a smart city, by providing its important features, will help to identify significant changes that should be taken into account and made in the structure of creating, shaping and functioning of cities in Poland. Based on the reflections presented in the article, the issue of intelligent cities will be introduced. Moreover, based on the given examples and technical solutions, assumptions will be made which can later be used in the planning and urban planning process of Polish cities. The purpose of this publication is to notice the necessary changes that should be carried out in the process of shaping and functioning of the city.

AR technology makes it possible to compare dynamic 3D models with a real-world physical context. The technology has been readily accessible to the wider public since 2015, thus constituting a new and dynamically developing field with significant—in the authors’ opinion—potential for all participants of the construction process. The article familiarises readers with the main principles of the technology’s operation and discusses the tools that it employs. Three main methods of generating 3D models were analysed and their potential for evaluating architectural conceptual proposals in reference to urban context was discussed.

Artificial light, which thanks to new technologies gives us more and more possibilities of enriching and transforming the appearance of the space, unlike the natural and fire light can be recognised as a certain type of pollution of the natural environment. Light pollution seems to be an unavoidable effect of the contemporary urbanisation, hence the need of its effective control, in creative, economic, as well as ecological terms.

Arup is one of companies that try to organise and reconcile the currently undertaken measures with the consequences suffered so far. It has but one goal: synergy of advanced technologies and pro-environmental activity. Due to overillumination in cities, light pollution, and excessive energy consumption at night, Arup started to develop the tactics aimed to turn down the light in the urban space.

Respect for the existing architecture and adjustment of the applied solutions to the existing microclimate of the environment consti­tute ones of the main drivers of success of projects implemented by Arup.

The article deals with the problem of increasing demand for modular buildings as an answer to the construction industry’s current situation and challenges of build environment. The case studies refer to the hospitality and student living sector. The author addresses the following question regarding the near future of the modular construction industry: How would it reflect on urban space, living space and the whole attitude toward modular construction issues? What is the role of the architect during the design-build process? Is it possible to make references to “beauty” in a modular construction context?

The dynamic development of information systems affects the ongoing socio-economic changes, shaping the possibilities of modern management also in the sphere of spatial development.

Against this background, the presented study attempted to answer the question of how the described civilizational progress affects the framework of the functioning spatial policy of Polish municipalities. The study was confined to matters associated with contemporary information transfer and its effects on public involvement in the process of spatial planning, as well as on the legal awareness of municipal government personnel in their individually applied spatial policy.

In light of the collected results, a significant discrepancy was diagnosed between the contemporary IT potential and actual measures taken by municipal governments, leading to the disintegration of planning processes and social conflicts. The work features an outline of proposed necessary reparative measures.

The article familiarises readers with straw-bale technology and justifies the necessity of conducting broad education efforts in this field. The example of a student’s diploma design project shows the possibilities offered by natural construction and points to benefits to health and well­-being, as well as the environment. Apart from discussing the aspect of environmental protection, it also focuses on the economic and social aspect. It is thus in line with sustainable development.

The urban regeneration of waterfronts which is meant to regenerate urban public spaces involves efforts which are aimed at the improvement of the quality and the densification of the built environment and development in areas of natural river watercourses. These are efforts covering the modernisation of different types of areas – downtown, post-industrial areas and those of former ports, located in the vicinity of residential areas, boulevards – and which are also focused on recreational, cir­culation and hydrotechnical infrastructure. In Krakow, the eastern section of the Vistula River constitutes a design challenge for planners and urban designers, due to the function of the areas that are adjacent to it, which are industrial areas, areas suf­fering from urban decay, as well as wasteland areas. In the article the author attempts to outline directions for action regard­ing the urban regeneration of the boulevards and the waterfront in an area dominated by an industrial form of use – the Łęg heat and power generation plant, using the example of the development of the Vistula River boulevards in Warsaw as a basis.

The article is meant to familiarise readers with the subject of the development of riverfronts, which is currently one of the greatest urban planning challenges for contemporary cities. The problem is within the scope of sustainable development. The research focused on demonstrating both the economic and social benefits that are the direct result of appropriately development riverfront areas as they inspire interest in them in developers, tourists and, primarily, city residents themselves.

In many urbanized and developing cities we are observing the overheating of urban spaces commonly referred to as the Urban Heat Island effect. This pattern is forcing the development of innovative urban and architectural microclimate based solutions using both greenery and water to meet the energy efficiency certifications and to improve the living conditions of the local communities.

The use of greenery and water elements in the design of cities and other public spaces has been commonplace in many civilizations and often associated with local cultures and traditions. As an example internal gardens using water reservoirs are used commonly in historic buildings and spaces in Syria. In Italy or France, it is difficult to imagine public places without the use of greenery and water. As a reaction to the mounting evidence of the effects of the Earth’s climate change, Polish design­ers are called to consider the use of greenery and water as part of present urban and architecture solutions

Rainwater management systems are mainly dependant on geological conditions, shape of the catchment and the legal regula­tions. Basic documentat necessary to get before start of constuction is water law agreement (aquatic consent). It can be compared to building permit for the operation of the building. The scope of duties and competences resulting from this document is very extensive. In the Water Law Act the basic document is water law agreement (aquatic consent). The only exception is drainage of rainwater in the tight evaporation water tank, which does not require administrative proceedings. It should be proceeded by obtaining the appropriate administrative decisions. The problem is that such cases are not always examined positively.

**Consultations mgr inż. Andrzej Szymkowicz

‘Green is more than a color. It is a philosophy.’ – the Benneton marketing slogan used among others on the firm’s bags. Green color and greenery build nowadays a specific interchange for the idea of sustainable development when related to the creation of the urban space. At the same time, this includes the definition of sustainable development and excludes its un­derstanding through instrumental use of already existing green areas (especially trees). So a city, subjected to overcrowding (because of concentration caused mainly by migration), and on the other hand – to depopulation (through the migration to suburban areas in want for the nature’s proximity), as a ‘green city’ is becoming a social utopia. A description of exemplary dealings with greenery and water resources in urban space (and a comparison of the methods and attitudes to natural urban resources) starts a consideration process of the present and the future of a city as an urban form.

The article discusses the issues of the use of water and vegetation in architecture, and more specifically in a residential envi­ronment. Examples of the use of the plant world and water are presented to approximate their important role in the space in which we live, work and rest. Based on the review of selected solutions used in architecture: free-standing vegetation in the interiors of the building, atrium, orangery or winter gardens, it was shown that the presence of the aquatic environment in the living space, especially life-giving flora with a rich microclimate, significantly improves health, well-being, and aesthetic reception of the interior, comfort of living and human work, and primarily the quality of air necessary for us to live. An impor­tant noteworthy element is the use of the vertical surface of ubiquitous walls, which can perfectly serve as a base for all kinds of plantings, not only decorative but also usable, fulfilling a significant role in the environment in which we live.

The main purposes of the research presented in the article are following: 1/indication of the possibilities of the use of water motifs and water elements in urban composition and 2/indication of contemporary urban and landscape solutions, which are outstanding examples of the use of water reservoirs and water elements in public spaces in contemporary cities.

The goal of the article is the presentation of one of the largest city expansion projects that are currently being executed in Scandinavia, known as Nordhavnen in Copenhagen. The article will familiarise readers with the basic conceptual assump­tions and design strategies that were adopted by the authors of its design, as well as the practical urban planning tools that correspond to them. The article will also explore how the implementation of the conceptual assumptions looks like in practice, with a specific emphasis on green areas—pocket parks and so-called edge zones—and those close to water—wa­terfronts. Basic data concerning various types of surface area in the context of their impact and role in creating the aforemen­tioned spaces were analysed.

The article focuses on an analysis of the system of greenery and water of a city that was a frontier fortress at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In the cameral scale of the city, the blue and green infrastructure constitutes an essential compositional element and a link between public spaces. It is also a legible example of the use of a specific location and accessible natural resources by an urban organism.

Water and greenery are some of the most obvious elements of context in the design of housing complexes. They belong to those factors that, during the preparatory phase of design, are subjected to analysis equally to legal and technical conditions. We are used to treating them as elements that fill up recreational spaces that accompany residential areas. Since modernist times we have strived to regain a type of direct access to nature that is distinct of the primal form of settlement, with the intent of creating an aesthetic unity between architecture and nature. In the latest built housing complexes we can observe additional tendencies associated with the presence of natural composition elements within the housing environment. Among these we can mention an improvement in the quality of housing conditions by providing attractive areas for active and pas­sive recreation. Another area in which the use of natural compositional elements is developing is the bioclimatic performance of a building. We are increasingly often discussing the subject of the sensory qualities of space, in addition to the therapeutic value of backyard spaces in the everyday maintenance of the fitness of residents, the necessity of which is associated with demographic changes, as well as harmful lifestyles that lead to obesity in children and adolescents. The article discusses the manners of the utilisation and significance of water and greenery in contemporary housing complexes.

Architectural and urban structures and complexes associated with cultural functions in European cities currently constitute elements of their spatial structure that are significant to their status and image. They co-create essential sequences of urban and landscape interiors, both within historical spatial layouts, as well as newly-designed ones, most commonly including those fragments of urban tissue that are subjected to urban regeneration processes. Many of these spaces are accompanied by green compositions, most commonly in the form of small flower-beds or rows of trees that highlight the monumentalism of urban and architectural complexes and which are meant to symbolise the rank and position of individual cultural institu­tions. Apart from historical park and residence complexes that are currently being adapted to functions associated with cul­ture, it is very rare for arranged greenery to dominate in these types of layouts, instead of primarily serving as a background for architecture—an equally significant if not a non-dominant element that shapes urban public space. The publication refers to a number of examples of contemporary built projects of such spaces in European metropolises.

Nuremberg – the second biggest city in Bavaria, after Munich – is also the location of the second tallest building in this state – Building Tower Nürnberg. This building is the main seat of an insurance company, as well as a contemporary showcase of the city. The entire office complex in question consists of a cylindrical tower and a peripheral seven-floor building in the shape of a quadrangle, in the internal courtyard of which there is a spectacular water pool and a space for recreation amongst abun­dant greenery. In this paper the Author makes an attempt at determining contemporary meanings relating to the introduction of an attractive recreational green area in the office building of a representational character for the company itself, as well as for the entire city. The Author points to the multitude of meanings and the complexity of values, often quite unobvious ones, resulting from the creation of showcase buildings for a number of diversified recipients.

Rivers and streams are key elements of the urban Green Infrastructure system. Their presence is associated with a wide range of ecosystem services, with particular emphasis on cultural, supporting and regulatory. Riverside lands have become a place of rest for residents, they also play a decisive role in regulating the city’s water and climate regime. The presence of rivers in urbanized areas is also associated with risks that are the result of not only inundation episodes, but also water pollution, sometimes to such a large extent that it becomes dangerous to human health. In the article, selected examples related to riverside locations of garden festivals (Gartenschauen) in Germany, activities aimed at revitalisation and permanent accessibility of river banks are discussed, while ensuring flood safety.

Bathing and swimming pools are a common element of social infrastructure of many of Iceland’s localities. Their function is not limited to recreation and sports. Thanks to their spread, low admission costs, as well as the attractiveness of hot baths in the cold climate, open public pools are a type of public spaces that are specific to Iceland. They compensate for the lack of traditionally understood urban spaces in localities and settlements that feature a dispersed structure of low density.

The aim of this article is to assess the changes in designing of the collective housing estate spaces that have occurred after the system transformation in Poland. Eight Cracovian housing estates designed in various decades, have been analyzed. The attention was paid to the functions and the aesthetic values of the green areas, their quantity in relation to the number of the apartments and the access to these spaces. Which solutions are conducive to strengthen the neighbor bonds, the identifica­tion with the place of residence, a sense of security and responsibility? After decades of experience, multiplication of good and bad concepts, is it possible to create an “ideal housing estate” that will be friendly, green and sunny, not just in name?

The political and economic changes that occurred in 1989 in Poland have influenced the development of recreational ar­chitecture and facilities. The transformations that took place within the field of the architecture of recreational residence buildings located in the seaside region of Western Pomerania exemplify these shifts. For nearly thirty years, one has been able to observe the progressing urbanisation of areas that were recently used for agriculture and forestry. These phenomena belong to a broader spectrum of civilisational changes that influence the relationship between seaside areas and the people who live in them.

The article presents the main stages of an outstanding lost object of Ukrainian cultural heritage recreation – Transfiguration cathedral in Odesa in 1999-2010.

Since architecture accompanied people, water has a serious impact on its character. Apart from engineering buildings, in which water is the main actor, in many cases it is an extraordinary supplement to a building, which would often not have such power without it. Thanks to water buildings often become works of art. It emphasizes uniqueness, creates, often with light and shadow, the mystery of the building. There are many examples in South America that support this thesis. We find buildings based on a similar principles in Europe. It should not be forgotten that most of the examples were designed together with greenery, sometimes being in the middle of a green garden, another time the greenery interfuse with the interior. All of them can be an inspiration for a building designed in Kra­kow by MTWW Architekci. Water emphasizes architecture by reflections. Greenery appears in the interior as well as outside, making users surrounded by nature the whole way through.

The Ruhr was one of the most polluted areas in all of Germany for decades. Towards the end of the 1980’s, when production ceased in industrial plants and mines were being closed down, a process of revitalisation began as a part of the IBA Emscher Park project, which lasted until 1999. At present, almost 20 years after the completion of the IBA, we can observe the long-term effects of the entire transformation process. The combination of the former industrial areas’ cultural heritage with the natural landscape and assigning completely new functions to them has led to a situation in which we can visit complexes of outstanding character and that constitute the man tourist attractions of the entire region.

The article has been devoted to the design of water and greenery in the shaping of the architecture of single-family detached houses along with their surroundings. The creative functional and spatial solutions of detached single-family houses within the landscape in the relationships between man, architecture and nature affect the beauty of architecture and its perception. Original and creative architecture of single-family detached houses introduces order, structure and harmony into the design of urban spaces, as well as optima functional solutions, providing the best possible conditions for living, recreation and work in a natural housing environment. When designing the urban spaces of human habitats in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner, in harmony with the natural environment, we should always remember that Earth is our collective home.

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.

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.

The article points to the possibilities and perspectives of using BIM technology in the organisation of spatial and numerical data used in the management of space on the urban scale. The current use of BIM technology in urban planning has a selective character and is oriented towards providing data useful to the needs associated with carrying out specific construction projects. The postulated model, called the BIM Urban Mock-up can function as a database managed by the public administration, constituting a form of access to public information to citizens on the one hand, while on the other as analytical material supporting decision-making processes. The article’s goal is to justify the assumption that systematised spatial data in the form of a BIM Urban Mock-up can exponentially increase the effectiveness of the management of space on the urban scale.

A safe and comfortable place to live is a basic need of every human. However, modern tendencies in housing construction appear not to answer this deeply rooted human need: the need to live in a sustainable environment and to create neighbourly ties. One of the forms of neighboirhood units is Cohousing. The name has been coined as a combination of the words „community” and „housing”, and describes a situation in which a group of people initiates the construction of a settlement in which social ties and integration go hand in hand with respecting the autonomy and privacy of an individual.

The dynamically developing world requires effective design tools. We work faster; we create buildings that are taller and more technologically advanced, while at the same time documenting every detail more comprehensively than ever before. As a result, design offices implement tools that allow them to optimize the design process, manage the team, documentation, and the building’s life cycle in a more efficient way. The development of the BIM (Building Inform ation Modeling) technology means that the 21st-century buildings are made using software for 6-7D interdisciplinary design. By using parametrically defined interdisciplinary databases containing complete information about the structure, materials, installations or construction, the design process is precise and all clashes are detected at the initial stage of design works rather than at the construction site. Analyzes, research, and proprietary architectural solutions are harmonized with the construction and installation industries, taking into account the process of construction, operation and aging of the facility, until its utilization as part of the integrated design process.

The notion of ‘smart building’ was taking shape over the last twenty or thirty years of the past century. Initially, the term was used with respect to the advancement of the technologies installed in the building. With the development of information socjety and new forms of labour, new requirements appear with respect to buildings, which – apart from technological quality – extended to the quality of man’s life and work.”

The high requirements as regards the building’s technological quality and high standard, quality of the space of life and work have all been met by the world’s tallest building named Burj Khalifa, erected in Dubai. The building is a model example of the smart building concept that “apart from technological quality, extends to the quality of man’s life and work”. The solutions applied correlate with one another, drawing upon the principles crucial for innovative combination of what is economical, ecological, flexible, and aesthetic in modern design trends.

The article raises the issues of color and light in architecture as part of what is called the „smart city”, where Communications and aesthetics solve the latest technology. Color and light in „smart city” create mainly its artistic side, intellectual and emotional game aimed at ordering space for life, the need that lies in the nature of man. The fact is that all color composition in the urban interior is subject to unconscious and unavoidable observation, subconsciously influenced (scientifically proven) to the psyche and physiology of the observer. The analysis of the colors of architectural ensembles in Poland points to the still secondary role that is the color of both buildings and the context. Visible in Poland the color chaos of most urban interiors still leaves no illusions in this regard. However, the hope of improving the situation is the global exchange of designers’ experiences and intense migration between rapidly emerging new urban centers, leading to the need for color coding of entire residential complexes.

Civilisation development and the urban sprawl and requirements of the contemporary society it entails force to constantly search for answers to questions relating to the form of the city of the future. The city which would address the growing social needs, and at the same time would provide favourable living conditions, consistent with the principles of respect for natural resources, recognised to be limited in volume. This paper presents concepts of the smart city and of the eco-city as the leading trends in building the image of cities of the future. The second part of the publication is devoted to the area of the eastern section of the Vistula river in Cracow as the subject of theoretical visions taking the trends referred to above into account.

The article highlights the results of modern entertainment buildings design in Kielce performed by Ukrainian and Polish students. During the workshop students focused on designing modern performance architecture, in a sense of architecture-formal solutions, concept of forming the creative environment according to the demands of Polish and the world nowadays. All projects of Polish and Ukrainian students, mentioned in the article, are prepared under the guidance of Professor V. Proskuriakov, projects of the Ukrainian students also involved the Master T. Harashchak.

Sustainable development of built environment is necessary much more than in the past, but a very stringent monitoring of environmental impacts is needed to get economic balance and social acceptance of the constructions. Green economy generates new jobs and the new culture, but reliable assessment of net green revenues is still lacking. Moreover, construction sector faces with more than 50% of waste generated in total scale, 40% of all consumed energy, and 35% of CO2 released emissions. This study aims to provide more insights in green sectors, and the evaluation of sustainability. Green public procurement along with the circular economy was found as the right measure towards green sustainability where environmental, economic, and social aspects are harmonized.

The current, widely used traditional standards of architectural and construction design should be radically modified and adapted to modern needs.

• SMART PROJECT – There is currently an information technology-based revolution happening in the modern architectural toolset, associated with introducing new BIM-standard digital design support tools into common use. These tools make it possible to create a virtual model of a building, linked to an immense database that parameterises all the implemented construction materials, Technologies and building services of a building. The virtual design can be linked to climate parameters of a specific geographic location on the one hand, as well as occupancy parameters for each room on the other.

• SMART BUILDING – Energy efficiency requirements are radically increasing across the entire construction sector. This is meant to lead to achieving the „near-zero energy building” standard in the next few years. Buildings that feature such a high energy effectiveness will have to include an entire array of innovative architectural, structural and building services solutions that significantly differ from the typical ones in use today.

This article is an attempt to relate the latest solutions in the field of technology and art presented at the Ars Electronica festiwal - which in the author’s opinion are worth presenting to a wider audience. In addition, the event was presented on a global scale, which was organized exemplary and for which the important buildings in city center was adapted.

Researchers have made a vision of the depletion of coal and oil deposits, which has resulted in the rapid development of research into a new generation of building materials and alternative energy. Unfortunately, every technical solution Rusing recycled materials has as many supporters as hard-core opponents. Fortunately, it has long been found that the processing of „garbage” is the only salvation for a dynamically developing civilization. Treating the global technological transformation of humanity on a global scale, as a specific type of production, creating waste and pollution, the use of renewable materials on an industrial scale should be considered. Architecture creates and at the same time limits human space, energy is necessary for creative activities, that is, without architecture there would be no need for energy. Unreasonable human activities in the aspect of ecology lead to significant, global changes to our planet. Protection of air, water, nature is possible despite adversity.

This article concerns the description of the SMART CITY EXPO WORLD CONGRESS event in Barcelona. The author presents the latest trends, ideas and fashions accompanying the inhabitants of modern cities. In addition, a set of selected good practices relating to the development, policy or management of urbanized structures is included here. The concept of smart cities today applies to almost every area of life and functioning of these structures.

The article is devoted to the specific character of the formation of art-clusters as a new type of buildings. Today, the theme of redevelopment of unprofitable industrial enterprises for art objects is extremely relevant for Ukraine and Poland (where a powerful experience of such complexes is accumulated). A feature of such modern establishments is that this is a space of a fundamentally new type, based on fundamentally new principles, where the preserved in its original form, facade and the modern functional content are combined. Since such industrial buildings are often architectural monuments, a complex of the restoration and renovation measures becomes important.

The article analyses the modern city of Dubai in the context of the assumptions of the idea of the SMART CITY, as an ex ample of introducing a model idea of the sustainable development of a city in practice. Dubai is a modern agglomeration that is excellently managed and employs available technological novelties to the greatest possible extent. It is a relatively new city – that has been built in a desert, in greatly unfavourable conditions – one that aspires to be a city of the future. Dubai is a progressive, cosmopolitan, open city, but it is mainly ahead of our times through being the most innovative and advanced.

The current term SMART CITY – the hallmark of the sustainable development of urban tissue – is a key element that identifies progress in the modern world. SMART CITY DUBAI appears to be an example that perfectly illustrates the idea of the intelligent city. A good example of this idea is SMART CITY DUBAI.

Tourism has been one of the most dynamically developing branches of the economy in recent years. One example of this development is the region of Podhale, and the town of Zakopane in particular, in the area of which this is especially apparent. Podhale is one of the few regions in Poland in which, over the course of history, a distinct and unique architectural style Has developed, which particularly manifests itself in folk art and architecture. In this region we can observe examples of attempts aimed at developing modern architectural forms that are to respect the distinct climate of this region on the one hand, Chile introducing modern forms and new technologies on the other, as something that is meant to characterise the buildings of this region equally to regional architecture. The article presents the problems that modern designers and builders must face while constructing modern commercial buildings associated with tourism.

Territories of former large industrial plants constitute an equally large problem for cities where they are located. A fall of a factory entails not only the occurrence of the phenomenon of unemployment, but also the reduction of the tax receipts to the municipal budget. Cases which are particularly difficult to deal with are declining steelworks, as due to their sizes and specificity of the production technology they had a strong impact on the planning form of the city and its socioeconomic structure. The question of the future of post-steelworks areas is an issue of strategic importance for municipal authorities as well as for central administration. This paper describes the case of the steelworks in Belval. After its closure, authorities of Luxembourg along with private entities undertook a series of measures allowing to transform this brownfield site into a dynamically developing urban centre. The revitalisation process, conducted since the end of the 20th century, led to the occurrence of one of the most interesting transformations of post-industrial areas in Europe, the new growth axis of which is the knowledge-based development. The decision of the central administration to transfer the University of Luxembourg from the capital to the degraded areas of the former steelworks constitutes an answer to the demographic and economic problems of the entire country, recognising diversification of important services and public structures as a factor which may contribute to more sustainable development of the country by means of activation of local centres.
 

The goal of this paper is a confrontation of a study-based and idealistic design approach with the strategy of pragmatic / professional designing for a specific investor. It has the form of a comparative narration of a diploma dissertation with the current design-related activities, soon to be investment activities, referring to the Modlin Fortress. This allows to juxtapose hierarchies of values adopted in both cases and verify the legitimacy of premises underlying the decisions taken in the planning and designing process, and in the context of works of a design team, of mutual proportions in the contribution of pe ople influencing the design, and the order of performance of individual investment tasks.
 

Cities, authorities thereof, communities should pursue the high quality of urban public space which constitute a counterbalance for ‘a multi-stage fake’1 – private space, disguised as public space inside typical2 large-format retail facilities. It is the most effective pressure for the concept of large-format retail facilities to take into account the principles of sustainable development.

This paper constitutes a compilation of the results of a research topic focusing on the integrated energy design. It discusses the process of design preparation at the stage of the architectural concept, initial power-related assumptions, getting familiar with basic construction materials and technologies, forms of education in the field, and project completion. The research was conducted on the basis of periodical international students’ workshops, the first stage of which takes place in Cracow, AT the Faculty of Architecture of the Cracow University of Technology. The workshops are then continued in Strasbourg. At this stage they comprise theoretical classes at the campus of Lycée le Corbusier, as well as visits to construction sites of housing estates, and design works. The publication demonstrates benefits stemming from combining theory with practice in teaching students within the scope of the Smart Project assumptions, as well as students’ designs as the effects of the cooperation.

Light and darkness. Two completely opposite phenomena. Light stands for the truth which allows to learn. The path to cognition is a path of conversion, of returning from darkness to light. The light of reason, knowledge, which does not warm up, allows to learn about the world, people; it does not, however, bring love, it does not develop spiritually. In this paper it is associated with the symbol of life, it constitutes a synthesis of positive values, particularly important for the young generation. Night, darkness can also serve as a symbolic image of the actual existence in the world, which only too often has little in common with one’s dreams.
The starting point for this paper are positive values; light is a symbol of hope, joy, happiness, optimism. Confrontation of youthful zeal with cold-hearted world deprives of illusions, sometimes even of dreams. Our reality is often grey, full of selfish people, consumerist lifestyle directed towards worldly possessions. Man is forced to exist in the world of objects, the light of which is not perfect. Hence man’s need to constantly search for the source of the utmost light. An element which is quite natural and results from man’s inherent needs, which is also man’s salvation, is recovering the spiritual sense of hearing and seeing – man’s internal, spiritual development. Reaching the utmost good constitutes the fulfilment of man’s spiritual potential.

The relationship between the interior of the building and its outer space is now the basic component in architectural design as a holistic integrated spatial solution. The opening of the building to the context of the immediate surroundings serves to build a visual expression, attractive aesthetics of the building and its artistic expression, but also the creation of interior spatial impressions connected with the light. All compositional and plastic effects and landscape effects are achieved through the use of transparent partitions, the conscious use of light in the building. Another aspect of such solutions is the possibility of building a universal space, where the boundaries between the interior and exterior of the designed object are blurred. Not without significance here is the use of appropriate materials that emphasise the unity of the connection and the partition is only the formal closure of the space. This is particularly important in the design of relationships landscape – interior, which outside the planned view is given a natural lighting. The ability to use transparent walls in architecture is due to the use of state-of-the-art technology that allows large areas of glazed glass to be introduced without limitation. Transparency can then act on both sides of the barrier, outside and inside the object.