Teka Komisji Urbanistyki i Architektury Oddziału Polskiej Akademii Nauk w Krakowie

The paper presents an original introduction to the forty-fifth volume of the yearbook. Volume number, and above all, the date of its publication, Anno Domini 2017, give it an honor of jubilee edition, which creates a good opportunity to recall the history of the magazine. The work also includes short introductions to some articles.

Professor T. Szafer was an excellent academic, scholar, writer, organiser of numerous conferences devoted to the Polish contemporary architecture, author of ca. 300 scientific papers. Professor Szafer was a distinguished expert on the most recent architecture, and his publications on the Polish architecture after the World War II from the 1970s and 1980s have been cited during many scientific conferences and constitute the fundamental critical literature from that period, especially today, when the issue of the protection of the Polish architecture erected in that period has become essential.

The previously unpublished text that has been presented earlier is a dissertation that Janusz Ballenstedt presented during his doctoral proceedings, which were initiated at the Faculty of Architecture of the Cracow University of Technology in Cracow in 1964. The supervisor of J. Ballenstedt’s work was professor Juliusz Żórawski. The original is a bound typescript composed of 87 pages. This publication, after nearly half a century, is the result of a belief in not only the historical value of the work, but also due to the author himself, who took it upon himself in it to creatively continue the thoughts of Żórawski contained in O budowie formy architektonicznej – an important work in the field of the psychology of architecture. Footnotes and underlines have been preserved in accordance with the original. The text in square parentheses [ ] and endnotes have been written by the editor – J. Krzysztof Lenartowicz.

Since the ’70 Vienna has taken up the political, economic and planning actions heading to make the city the significant European business centre. The mentioned above has been realised by development of the modern workplaces connected with generating, transforming, distributing and commercialising information, it is to say by developing the office and conferencing functions. The first was built the Uno-City, then it was recreated into the multifunctional business plot with the office function as the main, namely the Donau-City. With the business area of more than 11mln squaremetres, Vienna is the biggest centre of this type in the eastern part of the European Union, and within the limits of Donau-City there have been risen many interesting architectural objects. The six of them are presented in the article.

This paper introduces a compelling new way to think about the education and practice of architecture. “Intelligent architecture” is founded on the basis of how the human mind perceives and interacts with the material world. Perhaps surprisingly, this scientifically-conceived process for architectural design and building leads to a more human architecture, one with a renewed respect for traditional systems of architectural design. Scientific insight into architecture’s origins and manner of conception gives us a profound appreciation of useful solutions embedded in our architectural heritage. This development reverses a century-old practice in industrial-modernist architecture, which advocated erasing the past rather than learning from it. By understanding essential human engagement with the built environment, architects are able to foster greater human wellbeing in the material structures they build.

The article presents the problem of micro-apartments. The issue is presented in a cross-sectional view, covering both the historical overview and current trends. The problem has been discussed against the background of demographic factors that justify the trend of minimizing living space. In addition to spatial issues, the paper presents the social and psychological issues related to small-scale inhabitation, as well as legal frames concerning minimal size of the flats.

A meadow, a flowery meadow, a clearing, a lawn – smoothly trimmed, flat and recessed, a grassy pathway – these are elements of gardens that have been known for centuries, used in different styles and different types of gardens, including in public spaces. Pratum commune, commons or grassy mounds are the landmarks of the landscape of many a city, both currently and throughout history. Decorative grasses, such as pampas, Miscanthus or Pennisestum started to be used in garden compositions in XIX-century England. Initially more so due to their peculiarity than beauty. However, it was naturalism that gave rise to the wider use of grasses in gardens and parks in various places of the world and gained many propagators, including W. Robinson, J. Jensen K. Foerster and P. Oudolf.Grasses are currently often designed by landscape architects in urbanised spaces. They are employed both in geometric and freeform compositions. Their texture and delicate colour create a background for more expressive plants. They often constitute the key element of naturalist layouts, and the use of domestic species aids in preserving biodiversity and recreating the domestic landscape. Many of these current projects have been discussed in magazines and subject literature and have received awards in competitions. This review article is devoted to this subject.

In the research on historic, composed green areas various computer technologies are applied, including among others reconstruction ideograms and virtual spatial models. They are created on the basis of historical cartographic materials, among which Prussian maps Urmesstichblatts and Messtischblatts deserve special attention as they provide extraordinarily useful and often otherwise unavailable information concerning the system of spatial composition.

The article presents a method of procedure on the example of selected research objects. Such studies are extremely useful in the process of research, analyses and documentation of the authentic state of historical sites. Moreover, they provide a significant material for further analyses concerning revalorisation and creation of the cultural landscape.

The history of Opole Zoological Garden reaches the beginning of the 20th century, when in the Bolko Island, shaped by the Odra river and its canals, the menagerie was founded. Present-day ZOO in Opole is a complex of modern paddocks and structures of an area of around 19 ha, integrated into the old growth of the Bolko Island. In the paper the history and stages of development of Zoological Garden in Opole are presented, the aesthetic and functional values indicated; these ones which make the garden attractive and individual.

In urban composition of both rural and urban areas, parks may play a significant role with particular influence on the spatial arrangement. In Strzelce Wielkie the village center and the surrounding open landscape were connected compositionally with the local manor park. As an significant element of urban layout, the park determined the form and location of the most important historical elements of the village.

Silesia Park in Chorzów was established on land of poor quality and partially degraded. 60 years since that event, the research have been carried out to identify both the degree of structural preservation of the Park Stand’s structure in relation to the original design goals and also the direction of any changes – due to the effects of years of land remediation and the flora’s natural succession. It was found that vegetation of Silesia Park remains, in general, consistent with its original master plan, however, after 60 years significant changes have occurred, affecting the Park’s function, its general form and landscape values.

Parks and gardens of psychiatric hospitals in the late 19th and early 20th centuries are a particular example of garden design art and testify to the role of designed landscape in therapy. Along with the evolution of psychiatry within the last 100 years, institutions for neurotic and mental patients have evolved too. Besides being adapted for contemporary purposes, hospital gardens have also become sites of commemoration of the victims of Nazi euthanasia of psychiatric patients, perpetrated during the Second World War. This article describes selected Aktion T4 memorials in their park and garden landscape context.

GIS programs are used for the collection and processing of geographic data, however, they are also useful in the study of historical greenery. GIS allows better use of the archival and contemporary cartographic materials, collect data on individual objects, make precise measurements of the areas, track changes in use and land cover. The paper presents examples of the GIS software use, based on research related to the historical greenery in Wielkopolska region.

The article presents the practical use of biological and hydrological processes (eco-hydrology) for improving the quality of water in the ponds of the Julianowski Park. It also presents an effective method of zoning the park area for new investments.

Palace-and park complexes play very important role in the art of gardening. Contemporarily, they draw from historic experience, taking into account also modern solutions. Nowadays, to raise the value of the above mentioned objects, elements enlivening the given area – compositions made of flowers. Part of flower beds reconstruct historic layouts, others are new elements designed to add additional aesthetic value.

Over the past few decades in landscape architecture the new trend can be observed – putting artistic earthworks into public space. New ideas, whose roots date back to prehistoric times, have a close relationship with the artistic mainstream of land art. This paper is an attempt to determine the reasons for the use of expressive terrain as an essential factor in modern parks compositions, for example European and American facilities.

Small towns are an important element of settlement network. They change their status depending on, among others, the development of industry, and changes in the transportation system. Some of them lost civic rights, then regained them, and sometimes were incorporated into the neighboring agglomerations. Some small towns have merged together to create new structures in the settlement network. This article investigates this phenomenon on the example of south-west of Poland. It was also found that in several cases, a small town subsequently separated from the urban area and created a separate urban unit of its own.

The article discusses the expansion of the influence of the museum as a culture forming structure on the example of one of the most beautiful cities in Eastern Europe. Lviv is considered a regional metropolis, its cultural influence extends across Western Ukraine. The paper presents the evolution of the museum’s function in the spatial development of Lviv and urban conditions of expanding this function in a modern city. The need for the placement of museum complexes on the outskirts of Lviv’s city center was determined.

The development and urban planning affects the general spatial order. Continuously increasing chaos is caused, among other thing, by granting construction permit based on Zoning and Land Use decision. It’s one of the reason why communes do not pass Area Development Plans. Presented research determines the exact reasons this phenomenon. The article also analyses, based on case studies, the unlawful, unsupervised adoption of Zoning and Land Use decisions.

The article pres ents digital analysis techniques for the cityscape and structure of the city to examine multifaceted impact of tall buildings. Methods presented enable analysing visual impact (VIS), planning of protection for strategic vistas (VPS) and examining of impact on public space (several methods, including Negative-3D). The research was carried out under the 2TaLL Project: Application of 3D Virtual City Models in Urban Analyses of Tall Buildings, implemented in 2013-2016.

In the 18th century Łazienki, Mokotów and Królikarnia were located outside of Warsaw. Due to the capital’s expansion, they lost part of their territory and the elements responsible for harmonious integration with the surroundings. An iconographic and cartographic documentations’ comparison with the current state shows, which parts and functions of the composition have been changed. These residences do not create the linked Warsaw Escarpment landcape gardens run, but still build the city identity.

The following article presents a selection of the most interesting examples of transformations of public space in towns and cities of varying sizes in Lesser Poland which were aided by European grants obtained from the pool of EU funds, with special attention to the Lesser Poland Regional Operational Programme (ROP) an also the Rural Development Programme (RDP) in the years 2007-2013. The presented findings are of a preliminary nature and are phase in the wider studies being conducted by the Author covering the multifaceted transformations of public space that have taken place and are taking place in Poland with the aid of European funding. The aim of these studies is an overall evaluation of how, in specific planning periods, the joining of the European Union and the possibility of taking advantage of Western experience, as well as financial support, influenced and influence today the transformations of public space in Polish towns and cities, and their influence on people’s thoughts and perceptions of such space.

The article focuses on the beneficial effects of revitalisation processes and their impact on public green areas, creation of spatial order and upholding the tradition of the place. Selected examples presented effects of the revitalization of parks in the towns of various kinds: industrial (Skawina) and resort spa (Szczawnica), paying attention to the positive outcomes of this process. Additionally, we analyzed the history of the parks and the process of adapting their functions to modern social needs.