Teka Komisji Urbanistyki i Architektury Oddziału Polskiej Akademii Nauk w Krakowie

This paper discusses the protection and development of the cityscape with the use of digital techniques to determine the location of tall buildings. It presents the methodology applied while developing the 2020–2021 Composition Study of Szczecin. The study was commissioned by the City, and its results were included in the Study of Conditions and Directions for Spatial Development of Szczecin adopted in 2022. The aim was to define a framework for the development of high-rise buildings, while at the same time protect historical vistas preserved in the public consciousness. The paper discusses various methods of digital cityscape analysis based on the use of 3D city models, e.g.,Visual Protection Surface (VPS) and Visual Impact Size (VIS), which allow to indicate the maximum height of new buildings that would enable to protect strategic views and to analyse the impact of new buildings on the city space. The process resulted in the formulation of precise guidelines and the drafting of a long-term and sustainable spatial policy for the cityscape of Szczecin. The research has a universal formula and may also be applied to other cities.

The colours of external architecture are crucial to the reception of urbanized space. An appropriate concept is necessary to maintain order and harmony of colours. Decision-making in this respect was analysed, based on Polish and Slovak legal acts. The formal and actual status was compared through analyses of local spatial development plans and site inspections. For a broader perspective, examples from some of the countries are presented. Using a survey, public knowledge of the current legal situation related to colour decision-making was investigated alongside preferences as to who should manage this issue. It was also investigated how space users assessed the external colours of buildings in the areas under study.

Stalowa Street is the main composition axis of the Nowa Praga area in Warsaw. This paper proposes its transformation towards sustainable development. It concerns place-based identity for the space of the street to unite the local community and become a place of resident integration. Trends of sustainable urban planning are being implemented around the globe, with projects aimed at returning streets to residents. They involve, among others, the modernization of street management and infrastructure, creating new recreational zones that enable interpersonal contact, either complete or partial exclusion of car traffic, a return to the urban commercial street, and active ground floor use.

Urban green spaces (UGS) play an important role in the structure of urbanized areas. Providing adequate access to them may contribute to shaping more pro-health behaviours among city residents. There are many proven benefits of access to UGS. They can have a significant impact on improving mental and physical health. The proximity of green areas in a city has a positive impact on basic environmental indicators: they improve air quality, contribute to reducing the urban heat island effect and are places conducive for socializing. In a world dominated by cars and a sedentary lifestyle, it is difficult to find time to be physically active. Therefore, the presence of park spaces can significantly affect the provision of the required minimum levels of physical activity. The subject of interest of this article is a review of selected academic publications, whose authors attempted to create objective tools for measuring the accessibility of green spaces in an urban environment. The study contains a tabular list of selected research methods and defines the basic purpose of each study and data source. Green area accessibility indices can be an important tool in shaping the spatial policy of cities. Summarizing the academic achievements in this field may constitute an incentive to conduct research of a similar nature and significance in Poland. Effective mapping of accessibility indices may become a clear tool for communication between local governments responsible for making key decisions in cities and the Polish academic community.

The aim of the work is to present one of the most important structures of the last decade — the European Central Bank in Frankfurt am Main, against the background of the role which a sustainable skyscraper can play in the urban composition of a modern city. A literature query and original in situ research show that from the beginning of the 20th century, skyscrapers have become a symbol of the success and importance of cities and metropolises. At the same time, most of the historic skylines of European cities were saved from ‘Manhattanization’. One of the exceptions is Frankfurt, the financial capital of the EU. This paper discusses the construction of the ECB building, both as another important landmark in the city’s urban composition and as an innovative, sustainable structure. The results show that the location of an important high-rise building with a prestigious function in the urban structure confirms the city’s status. At the same time, it was proved that the technological and formal solutions used in the complex, together with the reuse of the built structure (recycling of architecture), may contribute to the reduction of the carbon footprint and maintaining high environmental standards.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed a specific paradox of contemporary urban planning. Cities that since the dawn of civilization have been considered the safest and most attractive human habitats turn into traps in a pandemic. For example New York, the most densely populated city in the United States, became the world’s epicentre of the pandemic in April 2020. Since 1992, successive teams governing the city stimulated pro-ecological planning strategies. From a neglected city, threatened with crime and plagued by terrorism, they turned it into a green metropolis, a symbol of a city of the 21st century. One of the most important planning and urban achievements was the successful revitalization of the post-industrial waterfront piers of Brooklyn and Queens. The rapid growth of bicycle transport stimulated by the planning authorities and supported by the construction of a network of bicycle routes along the main streets and coastal promenades should be noted as well. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of the planning transformations in New York on the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, and to answer the question whether they made the city more resilient and safer.

This paper tackles the questions of material culture and protecting heritage values through urban intervention. Urban intervention is understood as the identification of local heritage with a diagnosis of potential development profiles and application of the adopted solutions to underlie the formation of a new local centrality. It is underlined that the right urban intervention needs to be conducted for and with local inhabitants. Urban intervention, as proposed in this paper, is understood as a tool to properly direct the development of peripheral areas, especially rural ones. The basis for the research is the idea of spatial re-definition that aims to upgrade not only spatial but above all social attractiveness. An original two-stage methodology adopted for the purpose of the research with the use of the author’s AIA method was presented. This developed tool can harness the potential of material culture of local heritage. The shown research methodology is universal and can be applied in any urban interventions intended to transform places characterized by either partially or completely lost spatial and social identity.

Along with the growth of the population of a city, the need for the availability and accessibility of green areas for all population categories, regardless of age, financial capabilities, legal requirements, time, physical barriers, and most importantly — distance, increases, as green areas are important for maintaining physical and mental health of city residents. In Lviv, the area of public green areas per inhabitant significantly exceeds state norms. However, due to the uneven distribution of these areas in the city’s structure, some of the residents have problems with accessing them. Proposals of the development of the city’s green areas do not account for accessibility, which makes it impossible to improve it in the future due to the impossibility of reserving land for the development of such greened zones. In order to equalize the anthropogenic load and ensure that all residents have access to natural areas, an assessment of the territory of the city of Lviv was carried out in accordance with the green area pedestrian accessibility standard. Zones with an urgent need for the development of public-use green areas use were identified and methods of solving of this problem were proposed.

This study assessed the effectiveness of suburban planning in the field of sustainable land-use management. Poznań County was selected as the research area. The scope of the research concerns the changes in land-use purpose and their impact on the landscape and ecological values. The methods used included quantitative research, analysis, and a case study. The conclusions indicated systemic errors in the development of suburban areas, including discrepancies between the development strategies of larger areas (e.g., metropolitan areas) and local studies of spatial development directions. The proposed solutions included the legal empowerment of larger development strategies and promoting the valuation of ecosystem services as a balance for economic analyses.

One of the principles of green infrastructure (GI) design is a multi-scale approach. Each scale requires taking into account various, differently aggregated GI building blocks. Eco-spatial indices are an important tool for implementing GI. These planning tools make it possible to define the proportion between built-up areas and blue-green areas of a project site. The Ratio of Biologically Vital Area (RBVA) is an indicator that is widely used in Polish spatial planning practice. The objective of this study was to determine how the RBVA is shaped in existing local spatial plans for single- and multi-family residential areas in 20 small and medium-sized towns, and to analyse whether and under what conditions the ratio used would guarantee the implementation of GI. The subject of the study were 814 local spatial plans of residential areas. The authors applied a document analysis method using the READ approach. In addition, statistical analyses of the data obtained and a detailed analysis of three selected plans were carried out. The most common ratio for multi-family residential areas was found to be at the level of 30%, while for single-family residential areas, it was 40%. Statistical analysis showed no significant differences between small and medium-sized towns for single-family residential areas. In turn, considerable differences were observed for multi-family residential areas (RBVA higher in medium-sized towns). The research corroborates that RBVA is a commonly used indicator. However, it guarantees only to a limited extent the possibility of GI implementation at the local scale.

The construction of large solar parks requires dedicated landscaping methods. Solar parks — colloquially called photovoltaic farms or solar power plants — require landscape conservation measures to be implemented in the areas adjacent to these projects. This is an extremely important issue for sustainable development and the protection of cultural assets and identities, including the rural landscape. The aim of this work is to present the possibilities of landscape protection using the example of the planned solar park in the municipality of Pobiedziska in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. The studies use case studies, qualitative and quantitative analyses and in situ tests. The studies covered the planned investment area of 160 ha and the adjacent areas. The project proposals for landscape protection applied in this case — ‘green protection walls’ — were presented. The measures presented make it possible to preserve open-air landscapes in agricultural and rural areas from the point of view of sustainable development and the protection of cultural assets, and their formula, adapted to the landscape, can be applied to a large extent and can be dedicated to the local conditions in rural areas.

The paper addresses the issue of industrial towns planned and built with consideration for local natural features and sustainable use of natural resources. The subject of the study is the mining town of Bukowno. The authors have adopted a case study and comparative analysis as the research method. The starting point is a comprehensive analysis of the main principles behind the creation of Bukowno as a centre integrating industrial, sanatorium, sports and leisure functions, designed by Józef Gałęzowski in the 1930s. The study is based on field research, analyses of source and cartographic materials and academic publications. The contemporary image of the town and the problems and threats concerning the most critical natural features reveal that the original design of Bukowno as an summer recreational and forest estate remains unrealized. Mining and processing activities are not conducive to the protection and proper exploitation of outstanding natural features, the Sztoła River in particular. The diagnosis of the existing problems prompts the search for a crystallized vision of town development that refers to and develops the original design. The research has resulted in an attempt to outline new principles for shaping the urban structure based on the assets of the local environment. The new original spatial and functional design, clearly inspired by the 1930s design, may provide a good foundation for the future development of Bukowno and the region.

This paper presents a critical review of the literature on selected earth-based construction technologies published between January 2020 and July 2022 and indexed in Scopus. Publications on rammed earth, mudbricks and earth sheltering were reviewed and key research areas were identified, including, but not limited to the performance of unstabilized and stabilized earth partitions, the application of various stabilization materials, including waste, plant fibre and cement, characteristics of heritage earth structures, seismic vulnerability, life cycle analysis (LSA), and hygrothermal properties. It was concluded that a greater overlap between these areas could enhance the state of the art on earth-based technologies. Very little interest in earth shelters was observed, as the literature focused primarily on rammed earth and mudbrick.

The research problem of the article refers to the question of the sense of using concrete prefabrication to create a new quality of architecture for single-family houses. Known and referenced projects from the past — from the period of early architectural Rationalism (Modernism and Functionalism) — seem appropriate to show, recall and update the idea of concrete prefabrication of single-family houses in the present day. This point of reference, having its source in the vision of the housing revolution from the beginning of the 20th century, can today be the subject of direct references and the search for further variants of rational patterns of modern prefabrication of single-family houses. The article is based on the most important items from the beginnings of concrete prefabrication technology, including Vers une architecture (1923) by Le Corbusier and articles and manuscripts by Walter Gropius following new concepts in German construction. Newer items include the Gilbert Herbert’s text that summarizes the heritage of Gropius’ prefabrication entitled The Dream of the Factory Made House by Walter Gropius and Konrad Wachsmann (1984).
The research method was the analysis of selected historical and contemporary houses built either in whole or in part in the precast concrete technology (a multiple-case study). The presentation of new examples shows the possibility of adapting the rational ideas and aesthetics of architecture from the early 20th century with the use of the latest concrete technologies. According to the author, the sense of concrete prefabrication in the construction of single-family houses is to return to the idea of ‘developed’ technology rationalization and Modernist architectural aesthetics. Although prefabrication is associated with the domain of economization, modularity, standardization and typification, thanks to advanced technologies, a prefabricated house in the 21st century can be a proof of the multitude of possible configurations.

Due to the ongoing climate change, the issues currently in focus are the reduction of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere and sustainable construction. The search for ecological alternatives to traditional building structures that will reduce a building’s carbon footprint seems to be a desirable direction of modern construction development. At present, the first projects of office buildings that use cross-laminated timber as the main construction material are being completed, which can have a positive impact not only on the environment but also on the users of the building.

This paper presents the unique value of Kengo Kuma’s idea of rooted architecture that results from an innovative approach to the environment. This idea could be the basis for a new paradigm of an architecture befitting of our times, in which the natural environment is degraded. The study was based on an analysis of texts by and on Kuma, supported by references to a selection of his projects. The features of rooted architecture in Kuma’s idea as well as the organicity of rooted architecture, its presentation in Japanese and Western tradition and its radical nature are discussed. The results of this study are: an indication of the link between rooted and organic architecture in Kuma’s original approach, the unique value of the idea of rooted architecture as a new approach to the environment, and the presentation of this idea as a design method based on an interrelation between a place and the human body.

The aim of this paper is to review and introduce neuroscience research whose results offer the possibility or potential possibility for use in the discipline of architecture. This study is a proposal for a substantive introduction to systematics and a detailed description of the use of particular research methods at each stage of the design process. The article discusses necessary definitions and a historical outline of the interdiscipline, which was formed by combining architecture and neuroscience (neuroarchitecture). The most important information concerning the use of particular neuroscience research in architecture are also discussed, such as: observational and experimental methods from the field of environmental psychology, fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging), eye tracking, VR (virtual reality) and the EDA wristbands.

A collection of nine letters from the Catholic theologian Romano Guardini to his friend Fr. Josef Weiger was published in 1927. In Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s library of several hundred items, it was a book that he used to formulate the basic principles of his own architecture. The aim of the paper is to present the content of Guardini’s book and its influence on the views and work of Mies van der Rohe. The architect’s insightful monographs, especially the book by Fritz Neumeyer, accurately document the relationship between the theologian’s statements and attempts to adapt them to the theory of architecture. The more recent analysis of these relationships presented in the article leads to the conclusion that Mies van der Rohe set himself the task of finding a pure spirit in the world of pure abstractions. His creative involvement was a form of contemplating and developing forces which, although contained in nature or technology, can also be considered transcendent.

The article presents a reflection on the loss of historical and cultural heritage caused by the pursuit of energy efficiency reduction of buildings. The paper will present the post-war construction development in the Ostrava region, especially the completion of the railway network with the implementation of new railway stations. It is these stations, whose architecture refers to the success of the Czechoslovak Expo 58 pavilion in Brussels, that have faced increased interest in the last few years from conservators seeking to preserve these cultural assets for future generations. The author illustrates this with the example of the inappropriate reconstruction of the railway station in Havířov. The scientific method used is mainly the communication of the author’s own activist experience in saving the railway station from demolition and his own observations during the recent reconstruction of this object. The response to the activities of the Důl architektury association was very topical at the time and led to the production of a documentary by Czech Television titled Requiem for the Station (Hollander, 2015) from the series My Private War.

The war, which broke out in Ukraine on the 24th of February 2022, has left cities and infrastructure destroyed. While hostilities continue, war damage, including architectural monuments, is being recorded. The following paper is part of these activities. It aims to emphasise the scale of the destruction of cultural heritage sites and to identify the possibilities of their reconstruction and restoration. This study analyses international doctrinal documents and recommendations on the protection of historic monuments (e.g., ICOMOS), Ukrainian regulations and the literature on the reconstruction of historic urban layouts and architecture after the Second World War, primarily in Poland. The research is also based on methods used in restoration work, architectural survey documentation, and historical and comparative analysis. The war damage (as of May 2022) is discussed in general.
Russian rocket attacks are inflicting damage to sites in almost all of Ukraine, but the Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Donetsk and Lugansk, Mykolaiv and Kherson regions have suffered the most. This paper presents examples of destruction in selected regions surveyed directly by the authors — the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, Chernihiv and Mykolaiv regions. In Kyiv, mainly residential buildings and shopping centres have been destroyed, whereas in the Mykolaiv region the scale of destruction has been greater, including residential build- ings, schools and Orthodox churches. The conclusions provide proposals for the post-war reconstruction of selected buildings.

This paper presents the attempts carried out at the start of the twentieth century by Austro-Hungarian Army specialists in camouflage painting. Consideration to the landscape features of the surroundings helped the army to protect the fortifications from enemy observation. Against the background of global and European trends, where the development of camouflage came only after the outbreak of the First World War, these experiments were innovative and pioneering. This topic is important because of the international and European context of the research and introducing practical issues for a proper approach to reconstructing and conserving historic fortifications. The research was conducted in Austria, Poland, Italy, Croatia, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Previous studies of camouflage with paint in Austro-Hungarian fortifications are incidental and contributory, hence the need for a cross-sectional approach and practical recommendations. Inquiries, literature studies, analysis of available archival sources and the limited iconographic material, and field research were conducted. The results indicate that there was no general camouflage painting scheme in Austria-Hungary and each site was treated individually within its unique context.
The study aims to conclude how to properly read the relics of camouflage painting and preserve and protect this specific engineering heritage. It is also possible to formulate guidelines on the basis of the results. The restoration of such paintings for educational purposes might be a part of conservation work programs, and the more extensive revaluation of architecturae militaris monuments that has recently been taking place both in Poland and abroad.

At present, fortress greenery is a significant resource of urban greenery, composed for the purposes of concealing, defending, decorating and nourishing the former Kraków Fortress, based on the knowledge and experience of engineers at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as the aesthetic principles of that era. The aim of this paper is to present conclusions formulated as part of a research project by the local municipality and university, concerning the proper interpretation of the masking greenery systems of the Kraków Fortress, and the definition of framework guidelines for the protection and shaping of green complexes. The development of the method of recording, valorizing and defining the rules of dealing with the green areas of the Kraków Fortress was based on the experience gained from searching for holistic methods of recording and valorizing the fortified landscape of the fortresses of Przemyśl, Zamość, Pula (Croatia) and Kotor (Montenegro). The development of rules for the conservation and legibility of system plantings may contribute to the effective protection of masonry and earth structures, as well as regaining landscape values and increasing the safety of visitors. In the preparation of the guidelines, general principles and detailed principles for selected, representative examples were developed (with an indication of the processes of change, development, possible use together with low-intervention zones).