Issue 2(28)/2010

DOI: 10.5277/ARCHITECTUS

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Articles

Andrzej Białkiewicz - The role and influence of Pauline architecture on non-architects (Heritage)

Sacral architecture constitutes a particular sign of presence in culture. Its forms as well as places of location have changed throughout the centuries. Each of the historical époques marked its character by presenting the church structure. These structures were very differentiated but they always stood out in their surroundings. Their locations as well as aesthetic and prestige values distinguish this architecture in a unique way in man’s awareness. It rarely happened that a sacral structure was designed concurrently with towns or settlements for which it was built. Most often the churches were incorporated into the existing context as new elements. Sometimes certain complexes of buildings are different from others and they are characterised by the distinctness which is given to them by their inventors like, for instance, Paulines. Their forms are very appealing to the recipients’ tastes and they are admired by more people than it is the case with other investors. It is so because Paulines treat their religious mission diligently, which allows them to last for ages. The Superior General of Pauline Order wrote: On the one hand, the fact of lasting for such a long time gives us real satisfaction; however, on the other hand, the future, with this type of foundation, gives rise to the awareness of great responsibility. In such moments we refer to the spiritual and cultural heritage of the Order. It left a special stamp in the Central Europe history of church and particularly in the history of two countries: Hungary and Poland.

Keywords:

    pauline-architecture

Monika Bogdanowska - The drawn landscape – a permanent record of the historic cultural landscape on the impermanent carrier – the Sketchbooks by Janusz Bogdanowski (Heritage)

How durable can a pencil sketch often made in a hurry be? As it was only a note on the sheet of paper from a sketchbook which was kept in a rucksack, hidden under the raincoat during the rain and finally, it was put on the shelf between other papers where beams of light destroyed the poor material in the process of irreversible changes. How important can a drawing documentation of a non-existing mechanism of the mill, a cottage plan or the view of a wooden shepherd shelter be? Can such a drawing be compared with a good photography, analytic thesis or precise inventory? A sketch often has some content as well: a description of the road in the fields, which leads to the wayside shrine; a story told by an old man met near the wayside shrine. Isn’t it the most real record of the society history, which emanates with cultural landscape? The landscape irreversibly lost, which disappeared in silence with indulgent acceptance of passing of time. Nowadays, sketchbooks are becoming the shocking evidence of hecatomb which swept away from our planet and blotted out the memory of something which generations had built for hundreds of years creating in this way a new cultural identity. Let us take several sketches by Janusz Bogdanowski. As the life’s work of one man – it is a giant job but as regards destruction – hardly a readable after-image of something that has already gone by.

The need of recording phenomena of the surrounding world is very strong for many architects. It results from the ability to observe, which is often exercised in the process of drawing because this is the drawing that teaches not only manual fluency but first of all empathy towards the encountered world, which in turn releases the impulse to record this world.

Keywords:

    historic-landscape

    sketchbook

Małgorzata Doroz-Turek - Monastic architecture in culture – monastic design as a specific type of ecclesiastical architecture exemplified by the monasteries of the order of the Canons Regular of St. Augustine in Silesia (Heritage)

Order is a special environment whose character and form of life is also connected with special architecture exclusively typical of order. In the Middle Ages, however, in Europe and of course in Poland too, monks and monasteries, despite their specific character, were rather common in social life. Today they still exist but what is left of their everyday activities is only an imposing memory in the form of old abbey churches taken over and redefined by new celebrants and huge convents which were liquidated by revolutionary laws and adapted for other purposes [1, p. 53]. Apart from their use and function, their architecture also changed over the centuries; usually there are no remains of the original form or what is preserved is only its fragments in the fabric which was added later. Despite the passage of time and changes in monastic architecture, its significance in culture is still great.

Research conducted in the years 2003–2007 by the author on monastic architecture of the Canons Regular of St. Augustine in Silesia and its findings enabled the formulation of a few conclusions. One of them regards the location of Silesian canonry, the other regards architectural form – layout and construction of the church and the monastery, third regards architectural elements.

As regards the location of the canonry, the shortest monastic rule providing principles of the monastic life did not directly indicate the place of location of the abbey of that order. We know, however, that while writing the canonical rule St.

Keywords:

    silesia

    monastic-architecture

    order-of-the-canon-regular-of-st.-augustine

Renata Gubańska - Towers – the element of Jutrosin’s spatial composition (Greater Poland Province) (Heritage)

Dwelling and farm buildings along with greenery are the elements that for centuries to a large extent have formed and arranged space. The tallest or the biggest of them dominate the whole composition. These include primarily town halls and churches with their spacious interiors and distinctive functions as well as high towers which are the main architectural landmarks. These buildings also often have exquisitely rich architectural forms as well as sculptural and painting decorations which greatly affect the perception of landscapes or skylines of selected settlements. The town halls and temples create specific architectural landmarks of the cities and thus diversify their spatial composition.

It is worth emphasizing that it was the buildings and spatial composition that significantly influenced the diversity and architectural design of a town; those factors determined the harmonious adjustment to the neighboring landscape. As a rule the closer to the center (market square), the buildings are higher and higher. The architectural landmarks, which would be vertical elements, located over a larger area significantly influence the architectural diversity of a town. The fundamental element in the process of architectural development of settlements and their landscape was their geographical location. Making the most of the landscape features enhances and facilitates the artistic perception of town skylines [8].

The issues indicated above will be exemplified by Jutrosin – a town in Greater Poland.

Keywords:

    jutrosin

    towers

    spatial-composition

Oleksandra Kulynska - Sculptural décor of façades of Lviv tenement houses of the Renaissance period (on the example of Scholtz-Wolfowitz tenement house No. 23 in Market Square in the city of Lviv) (Heritage)

The medieval Lviv, located in the crossroads of trade routes, was open to the influence of the new traditions. The Renaissance period comes to the city, lying in the ruins of destructive fire of 1527. Gothic Lviv suddenly passes away in the past, and the Renaissance in its bright understanding of this word comes to the city. New forms were brought to the architecture of Lviv by Italian craftsmen, educated in the Renaissance traditions of their country. These are mostly the natives of northern Italian regions. Ordinary artisans-architects have quickly assimilated in the new conditions, being affected by the local traditions. Those among them who were non-ordinary personalities left their inimitable monuments of Renaissance architecture to us. Buildings, constructed at that period, attract us by harmony of shapes and by refinement of stone carvings. Sculptural décor, which acquires expressive exemplariness and which is vested a certain symbolic and philosophical content during the Renaissance epoch, plays a special rоle in the formation of a peculiar architectural image of the buildings.

The present article is dedicated to revealing a symbolic and philosophical meaning of sculptural décor on the façades of Lviv Renaissance houses on the example of Scholtz-Wolfowitz tenement stone No. 23 in Market Square in Lviv.

It should be noted there was late Renaissance, which came to Lviv.

Keywords:

    lviv

    tenement-houses

    renaissance-period

Svitlana Linda - Historicism in the architecture of Lviv: tendency across centuries (Heritage)

Development of theoretical conceptualization of the phenomena and events in the history of architecture frequently leads to revaluation of their importance, a more precise definition or even their complete transformation. An example of this is the fate of the term “historicism” that relatively recently got implanted in the Ukrainian scientific use. Only in 1990s has it finally “forced out” the traditional eclecticism from our architectural science and outlined the period of development of architecture of the 2nd half of the 19th century. However, formation of the new views on the problem of historicism as the fundamental world outlook category opens up absolutely new perspectives for the research. The term “historicism” used in this article is not the name of a concrete trend in the practice of architecture of a certain period but a tendency that goes through many periods of development of architecture. Historicism is interpreted as a direction of creative thinking fed on historical consciousness. The author relies on the definition of historicism suggested by N. Pevzner: Historicism is a trend in which study and application of history is more important than discovery and development of a new system, new forms of its time [3, p. 271].

It becomes clear in such a context that historicism as a characteristic feature of many architectural epochs for the appeal to historical memory through historical prototypes was the foundation of creative thinking of architects. This article analyzes principal stages of development of architecture of Lviv in the 17–19th centuries from the standpoint of representation of historicism in architecture.

Keywords:

    lviv

    historicism

Olga Mykhaylyshyn - Architectural heritage protection in Volyn in 1920–1930 as a source of cultural and national identity (Heritage)

Attitudes to the historical and architectural heritage of the state situated in its territory determine not only the general level of culture, but also a considerable degree of self-awareness of a group of people as a community which is united by the historical background, spiritual and material heritage, requiring constant care and promotion. We know that at this stage of the development of the world civilization, this problem is especially acute in two cases: mainly in the period of strengthening of the state as an independent political union and globalization and similar processes related to the levelling of national cultural characteristics.

After regaining independence by Poland in 1918, this problem became very sharp. Therefore, in our opinion, activities in the field of ancient monuments protection, including architectural and urban heritage were selected as a way to protect the national identity in this period. “Humanity today has deeply looked into the essence of sights and sees in these visual witnesses history of the spirit reflection of people, its culture evidentiary testimony, the arguments of those characteristics that are in the field of art created national individualism, finally, source of motivation for the development of national art. From this point of view of understanding, sights appear in the light of their true value. Therefore, care about preservation of national works of art from ancient times, arising from a love to the motherland and its great past and no less captivating beauty, fascinated by the sculptural forms in architecture, sculpture and painting, is characteristic for each cultural community.

Keywords:

    volyn

    cultural-heritage

    identity

Agata Rusnak-Kozłowska - Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Lübeck as an architectonic expression of Hanseatic culture (Heritage)

The medieval culture of German Baltic Front was determined mainly by a Hanseatic community which was established at the end of the 12th century and which at the beginning associated merchants and later even the whole cities. The Hansa, which represented a sort of a prototype of today’s European Union, constituted a unique organisation whose influence on the political, economical and social situation of the discussed region cannot be overestimated. It also performed a culture-producing role and this article attempts to present the influence it had on the architecture of this region on the example of one of the most important building achievements of southern Germany – Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Lübeck.

The Hanseatic League has its origins in the late 12th century when German merchants began their economic expansion in the Baltic Sea basin. Soon, the German merchants who periodically visited Gotland1 [2] were accompanied by other merchants coming from the newly founded cities on the east coast of the Baltic Sea and together they formed ‘universi Mercatorem Imperii Romani Gotlandiam frequentantes’[9]2. In the course of time, the merchants started trade exploration of other Baltic region countries and of those situated by the Northern Sea [8]3 . Representatives, who were chosen in the particular centres, wielded court power and if necessary they represented merchants before the town authorities where they held their offices. The 13th century brought a gradual transformation of the merchant community into the community of towns.

Keywords:

    lübeck

    hanseatic-culture

Jacek Suchodolski - Inspirations with regional architecture form in the Sudetes landscape (Heritage)

The Sudetes Region is one of many European borderline mountain areas with specific and different culture which has been developed through centuries. This specific culture resulted from the fact that this region belonged to different countries during the previous centuries (Poland, Czechs, Austria and Germany) and the important European trade routes, which connected Lower Silesia with the countries of Western and Eastern Europe, crossed this region. The variety of culture was reflected, among other things, in the whole sphere of folk art, including native and wooden architecture.

Native regional culture also appeared in Lower Silesian traditions and legends, which in turn, influenced painting, sculpture and architecture of this region enriching them with new concepts often filled with the spirit of mysticism and symbolism.

Beautiful landscape of the Sudetes with the highest range of the Karkonosze Mountains inspired with its beauty and danger the people living there for ages and the tourists of the 19th century who visited this place more often.

The magic of the Karkonosze Mountains also significantly influenced the life and creative activity of the artists who more willingly settled there and at the end of the 19th century they founded a colony assembled around the writers Carl and Gerhart Hauptmann.

The main personality, who lived in Szklarska Poręba among the members of the artistic colony, was the writer and Nobel Prize winner Gerhart Hauptmann and similarly, the structures built in 1903 were the main buildings in the Seven Houses Valley; the house of the painter Hermann von Hendrich (Hendrich-Haus) and first of all “Hala Baśni” – “FairyTales Valley” (“Sagenhalle”) situated nearby became the objects associated with the Karkonosze Mountains symbolism.

Keywords:

    sudetes-region

    regional-architecture

Anna Bazan-Krzywoszańska, Marta Skiba - Culture of village public spaces – exemplified by the commune of Krotoszyce (Contemporaneity)

Public space is, by definition, accessible and serves the general public. This is where intense life goes on. All important social, cultural and symbolic objects are available in this space.

The village square is also the site of many behaviour patterns. Although it is a public space, it is primarily a social space of its inhabitants. This is also where the highest number of symbols identifying residents with their “own space” is found. This space is certainly shaping human attitudes and behaviours, it facilitates building relationships, and thus affects the quality of life.

In the hierarchy of spatial layout the most basic unit is the house. Central village square is in a way second, after the house, in line of other spaces. It is an outer space and is commonly treated as an extension or supplement of the house. Although every person measures space subjectively, space regarded to be one’s ‘own’ has a defined limit, and the owners identify themselves by taking responsibility and caring about it [5].

Today’s country house owner perceives their space similarly to an owner of a suburb or city house. They get into their car on their driveway and go to work or school without meeting or talking to neighbours. Reception of used space by a rural resident has narrowed. Central village square with a well, bus stop, church, PGR (State Agricultural Farm), shop is nowadays usually only seen through the wind-shield. Along with group interests, community bonds and the perception of a village square as an extension and supplement of the house have disappeared.

Keywords:

    krotoszyce

    village

    public-spaces

Krzysztof Bizio - Pop culture as an inspiration in the modern architecture. Chosen issues (Contemporaneity)

The beginnings of mass culture1 are connected with the industrial revolution. They also have direct connections with urbanization processes that started in the 19th century, the indirect effect of which was the unification and popularization of societies and consequently, the ways of land development.

In the research conducted on the development of mass culture, from which pop culture has been evolving since the 1960s, the meaning of information popularisation (the influence of the mass media) and the consequences of progressing globalization are emphasized. The aspect of pop culture that still requires an analysis is its impact on the modern architecture and the feedback relation of this process, i.e. the influence of the modern architecture on other aspects of pop culture.

Researchers of culture emphasize the existence of stages in the development of mass culture. According to Antonina Kłoskowska, the first stage of popularisation takes place after World War I (the development of film and radio, the peak point of the press development), the second stage is in the middle of the 20th century (development of TV)2 [2]. Another stage is marked by the appearance of the Internet and further progress of globalization processes.

The 1960s and 1970s are the time of the evolution of mass culture into pop culture, which is connected with a new position of rock music, cinema and television. Fascination of pop culture can also be observed in art, which is manifested by the creation of pop art or the beginnings of American architectural post-modernism3.

Keywords:

    pop-culture

    modern-architecture

Elżbieta Czekiel-Świtalska - Identity of place and culture of urban development (Contemporaneity)

What is associated with a city? Cities and places are associated with their culture. That culture is often associated with unique architecture but not always.

Valencia is associated with the Old Town which evokes the spatial culture of the past centuries. All historical buildings must be restored but the approach to that is different in different countries. The architectural space restoration culture in Spain is defined by local development plans. They specify which buildings must be restored completely, namely both their interior and exterior shall remain as they were. However, a large part of historical architecture is restored by restoring only the historical front facade while the remaining of the building is demolished and built again, taking into account the modern functional and material requirements. It is characteristic of the protection of the cultural heritage of the whole Spain. Usually a few levels of protection of architectural spaces are determined. The first level is the preservation of all elements of a building (shape, exterior and interior decorative elements). The second level protects the buildings which are important for the urban landscape and not necessarily of high architectural value. These buildings should preserve the body of the building and construction system, whereas the change of internal walls is allowed. The third level protects only some important elements of the building such as facades characteristic of specific epoch and style in which a building was designed or remodeled.

Keywords:

    identity-of-place

    urban-development

Dorota Janisio-Pawłowska - Place and time – new forms of sacral architecture (examples of chosen structures from Western Pomerania – as a determinant of new cultural norms) (Contemporaneity)

In order to communicate the message entrusted to His Church by Christ, the Church needs art. Art must make perceptible, and as far as possible attractive, the world of the spirit, of the invisible, of God. It must therefore translate into meaningful terms that which is in itself ineffable. Art has a unique capacity to take one or other facet of the message and translate it into colours, shapes and sounds which nourish the intuition of those who

look or listen1 .

Sacral architecture of the previous centuries strictly referred to the contemporary style existing in a given cultural area and constituted a typological determinant of a given region and at the same time, it represented the level of ‘culture in architecture’. Social and economic changes and civilisation progress which took place after World War II as well as cultural changes in the territory of Western Pomerania, which resulted from immigration of ‘New Settlers’ to the regained territories, became a determinant for new cultural norms. The factors which undoubtedly influenced the change of sacral structure forms were the Resolutions of the Second Vatican Council, regulations of the ‘Canon Law’ Code and established by the Polish Episcopate Conference on 25th January 1973 ‘norms of proceedings in church art issues in the territory of the whole state2 .

Keywords:

    church

    sacral-architecture

Justyna Kleszcz - Designing not only for human. Animal in architecture as a determinant of the humanitarian education standard (Contemporaneity)

According to the assumptions of Agenda 21, humanitarian education became a part of the canon of actions which have the purpose of propagating the principles of sustainable development directed not only at the desire of satisfying people’s needs, but also connected with their life and domesticated environment.

In our times, sustainable development is becoming a form of shaping mutual relations of man and animal, which makes it possible to create particular patterns of social behaviours in the society where the animal becomes an equal partner of man. Owing to the civilisation progress, there is no need to objectify domesticated animals any longer and consequently man discovers in animals a different and lively creature whose needs should be respected.

Of course, the subject of animal in architecture constitutes a very wide notion. It includes any presentations of animals which perform a decorative role as well as the role of a carrier of ideological and symbolic meaning. This is also a problem of legislation connected with the development of buildings used by man for farming and raising domesticated animals. Moreover, this is a problem of the development and usage of zoological gardens which serve the purpose of recreation for human beings or finally the structures in which unwanted animals or those which need professional care as a result of ‘meeting’ man find appropriate man’s protection there. We must mention here not only stables, paddocks, pigsties, cow sheds and henhouses, aviaries for birds or zoological gardens but also shelters and emergency service for animals.

Keywords:

    animal-in-architecture

    humanitarian-education

Elżbieta Komarzyńska-Świeściak - Crossing boundaries. New contexts for architecture in the face of exponential urbanism (Contemporaneity)

Nowadays there is a need for ‘infinite’ architecture. Buildings and structures should be in state of constant change in order to match the dynamic processes taking place in a modern city: its fragmentation and ephemeral character, vivid cultural context, mobility and interlace of infra, urban material and landscape. Furthermore, urban sprawl creates an exponential growth of continuously moving masses – housing, working and recreation are situated far apart, so everybody is continuously on the move. With the intention to deal with horizontal density expansion, urban development seems to be a major policy and a central principle of growth management programs used by cities around the word. One way to create density is stacking programs, structures and volumes, still leaving necessary unbuilt voids. All this leads to creating more challenging and dense contexts for currently realized projects.

Mobility and high-car dependence are signs of modern life style. As a result car traffic takes over the city. Streets and many old squares, which in the past were part of public realm, became just necessary links to get from point A to point B. Street in no more public as it is used mostly by cars instead of people. In a well-known Nolli plan of Rome from 1748 (Fig. 1), private spaces such as dwellings are rendered as black solids and public spaces such as streets and squares or church interiors as white. If we would draw Nolli plan of contemporary Rome, there would be a lot fewer white voids than before – the heavytraffic streets would have to be rendered as solid blocks.

Keywords:

    exponential-urbanism

    crossing-boundaries

Ewa Łapa - Modern architecture around historic monuments. Transformations of architectural space in Cracow (Contemporaneity)

The term “culture” can be understood in a number of ways. In this article that term will be presented in reference to its original Latin meaning. Culture as “exercise or improvement”1 [6] means a process where man changes the existing environment to submit it to his own needs and improve it. Transforming space is an intrinsic part of civilization as its improvement and adjustment to his own needs enables constant growth.

In this article I will try to answer the question of modern approach to transformation of historical space (both architectural and urban) in order to increase its quality and adjusting it to applicable standards. As an introduction, the history of relations between forms in given contemporary periods to the architectural environment will be presented.

Over a great portion of the history of human civilization the transformations of space were treated pragmatically – what is inappropriate for functional or aesthetic reasons or due to deterioration of matter – was replaced or remodeled. Depending on capabilities and resources, these changes were total changes. In some cases the limited capabilities prevented complete erasure of existing buildings and their fragments, sometimes large, were preserved as traces of the past.

Only in the 19th century did a real change take place in perceiving structures which would present a memory of the past. Appreciation for them along with crystallization of the notion of a monument caused a slow process of departing from previous practices.

Keywords:

    modern-architecture

    historic-monuments

Robert Masztalski, Paweł Pach - Transformations of urban and architectural space of the market square in Leszno at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries (Contemporaneity)

If we agree with the assumption that an architect and urban planner are the professions which enjoy public trust, then we cannot in our work resort to cultural patterns, social needs or ecological conditions. If, however, we egoistically assume that the most important thing is individual artistic experience of the author, realizing their unrestrained vision of architecture or urban development, and its future users do not participate at all in this process, then we only build a monument of the author which is useless for local community.

There are a lot of examples of such egoistic activities in architecture and urban development. For instance the design of Brazylia in the second half of the 20th century, which is admired by architects and rejected by the community and has been challenged by demographic problems or development of a Le Corbusier unit where few people want to live.

Assuming that at present in architecture and urban development we operate in a transition period from industrial to information civilization, then the subject of transforming market square spaces is especially interesting from the point of view of urban changes which have been taking place over the last twenty years in out country.

In this context the opinion voiced by Krzysztof Domaradzki [2] is especially pertinent; he defined the problem like that: The rebellion against scenic axes, traditional squares and developments cannot mean that designing cities in the 21st century should contemptuously reject the whole classical art of space development.

Keywords:

    leszno

    market-square

    urban-transformation

Robert Mazur - Ecological and energy efficient architecture as a new trend in the architectural culture (Contemporaneity)

Climate change at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries is indisputable. In 1988, two Organizations of the United Nations – the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)1 and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)2 created the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)3. IPCC is a permanent forum of cooperation of hundreds of scientists from many countries, publishing every few years the reports which greatly affect the development of national and international climate programs and the policy of financing research on climate change. The first report of IPCC was published in 1990, next ones in 1995 and 2001 and the last one in 2007. The last report was developed by over 600 authors from 40 countries, reviewed by over 620 experts and representatives of governments. The summary of the report was accepted by representatives of 113 countries. The key conclusions of the Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC (AR4) are as follows:

– Warming of the climate system is unequivocal,

– The probability that this is caused by natural climatic processes alone is less than 5%,

– The probability that this is caused by anthropogenic (human) greenhouse gas concentration is >90%,

– During the 21st century world temperature could rise by between 1.8 and 4 °C. However, the possible rise ranges from 1.1 to 6.4 °C,

– Sea levels will probably rise by 28 to 42 cm,

– There is a confidence level >90% that there will be an increase in heat waves and heavy rainfall.

In architecture the first ideas to save energy and construct environmentally friendly buildings appeared during the fuel crisis of the 1970s.

Keywords:

    ecological-and-energy-efficient-architecture

Teresa Mromlińska, Anita Luniak - Modernization and development of the Central Museum of Textiles in Łódź (Contemporaneity)

The Central Museum of Textiles has been on the cultural map of Łódź since 1950s and it constitutes an example of a museum institution which is in constant progress and still enriches its offer. CMW (Polish acronym of the name) is an exceptional institution – not without reason it was created in the greatest Polish centre of the textile industry called ‘Polish Manchester’, and in this way it emphasizes the specific character of Łódź by documenting its industrial tradition, with time becoming a distinctive feature of the city. Also the location of the museum is symbolic – it is housed in the town’s oldest, attractively located factory consisting of many departments whose architecture is so extraordinary that it is nowadays considered as one of the most beautiful examples of the industrial architecture in Poland.

As a public institution, the Central Museum of Textiles plays many important roles and fulfils various tasks, has cognitive functions adapted to changing requirements and expectations and it encourages visitors to enjoy its rich program in many dimensions. Each visitor may choose their own sightseeing path by focusing attention on buildings, their construction, architecture, details… A visitor can admire the size and space of old factory halls, can look at machines and try to understand how they functioned and can learn about history and development of the textile industry. Finally, visitors can admire fabrics, fashion and works of art; also, in the near future it will be possible to enjoy the virtual world of technology and art… All this can be found in that one exceptional place on famous Piotrkowska Street.

Keywords:

    łódź

    museum-design

Adam Nadolny - Architectural remedy for love. City and architecture in polish films of the 1960s (Contemporaneity)

Ewa Mizerska in the Film Quarterly in 1999 wrote: ‘From the very beginning, cinema is an art characteristic of a great city – for many decades the majority of its viewers originated from those who, according to the Marxist terminology, are defined as an industrial working class, which meant poor people who could not afford a better entertainment’1 [5]. For Poland, the 1960s were the times of getting back to normal after the period of Socialist realism2 [9] which, as we know, in the years 1948–1956 dominated many areas of life, including architecture and film. At this stage we would like to present the situation of the Polish cinema and film in the period which was called the small stabilization3. After the year 1956 some democratic changes were introduced in the country and this became an impulse for creating broader schemes of film activity, where the film was supposed to reflect the reality as well as describe and make a comment about the present times. Unfortunately, this short period of freedom came to a swift end. The existing system of censorship made it impossible for the film makers to tackle the subjects connected with the current social and political situation. This contributed to the production of numerous film adaptations of national literature canons and entertaining films – film comedies4 . ln the years 1961–1966, 119 films were produced in Poland; as many as 24 out of this number were classed as comedies5[1]. The film title which is included in the title of this article – Jan Batory’s 1966 production named Remedy for love6 – is an example of this genre.

Keywords:

    city

    architecture

    polish-films

Marek Ostrowski - Why photograph architecture? From architectural photography to visualization (Contemporaneity)

The history of photography goes back to the first half of the 19th century. The first known permanent rendition of reality is “View from the Window at Le Gras” (Fig. 1) made by a pioneer of photography, French inventor Joseph N. Niépce in 1826. The quality of that photograph was, however, very poor and that is why it is considered that photography was invented in 1839 when Louis J.M. Daguerre presented his invention, which is called after his name Daguerrotype, to the French Academy of Sciences. The quality of the image in a daguerrotype is very high and it renders a lot of details but it cannot be reproduced. At the same time an English scientist William H.F. Talbot was working on a competitive method of ‘recording’. The method developed by him was the beginning of what today is known as positive–negative photography. Talbotype, or calotype, enabled the reproduction of many copies and despite lower quality of fixed images it became more popular. William Herschel was the first to call the new technique of ‘recording’ photography which soon grew popular among both professionals and amateurs and quickly became a new field of art. Both methods required a very long exposure of a photosensitive material to light and that is why architecture and its static character was an ideal subject of artistic works in the new era [1], [3], [5].

In their book Architecture Transformed: A History of Photography of Buildings from 1893 to the Present Robinson and Herschman wrote that originally two styles prevailed in photography of architecture.

Keywords:

    architectural-photography

    visualization

Katarzyna Pałubska - Sustainable spatial policies in managing high-value cultural areas (Contemporaneity)

The Polish social and economic reality, quick structural changes and intensified urban development pose a significant threat for preservation and protection of landscape. The European Landscape Convention [14] ratified by Poland in 2004 specified a definition of landscape, understood as an area integrating natural and cultural components. Polish legislation draws a thick line between regulations concerning natural environment and those dealing with cultural environment. The sole body to be responsible for implementing the Convention provisions was the State Council for Nature Conservation (Państwowa Rada Ochrony Przyrody), which prepared a proposal for amendments in the Polish nature conservation acts [2], environment protection acts [1] and spatial planning and management acts [4]1. Then again, there is a provision set forth in the act on monuments protection and care [3] which is already offering the broadest available possibilities to protect the cultural and natural landscape in accordance with the requirements and definition of the European Landscape Convention [14] – following the concept of sustainable development and social involvement. Changes in the manner in which the cultural landscape is perceived and in the methods employed to protect its qualities are increasingly defined by factors unrelated to conservation, but connected more with present social needs or economic possibilities being treated as superior aspects in conservation undertakings2 .

Keywords:

    sustainable-planning

    culture-park

    management

Wojciech Pawłowski - Role of architect in creation of ‘culture in architecture’ and new spatial forms in cultural landscape of suburban areas and rural settlement units on the territory of Western Pomerania (Contemporaneity)

Throughout centuries, transformations of spatial forms comprising the architecture of a given place were strictly connected with the cultural landscape in which they were located. At the same time, they were subject to the strictly defined canons that were associated with the surroundings and time of their creation.

Nowadays, we can observe a decline or even disappearance of any connections between place and time on the one hand and on the other the form, which process is particularly visible in suburban areas and rural settlement centres, where the awareness of culture in architecture represented by the designer must be confronted with the wrongly understood culture of esthetics represented by the investor.

Perfect examples here are rural areas where the several centuries long tradition of the place clashes with a new, sometimes foreign, spatial form.

In this regard, some of the most significant elements which betoken the roots and maintain the faint cultural continuity of the place and at the same time testify the level of the architect’s cultural awareness are architectural structures of religious cult. They ought to be perceived in historical categories and as a link between the past and the present.

After 1945 in Western Pomerania there were 168 churches. During the war they were partly damaged, moreover, in the postwar period the state authorities ordered to pull down 102 churches. Apart from refurbishments, 128 churches were rebuilt until the present times and there are 40 more which are still left as ruins1 .

Keywords:

    cultural-landscape

    settlement

    western-pomerania

Elżbieta Przesmycka - Architecture of industrial complexes of the Central Industrial Region (COP) in south-east Poland (Contemporaneity)

The process of building the Central Industrial Region (COP) was preceded by a period of intensive investments aimed at improving the living conditions of the citizens of the reborn state. The period from November 1918 until 1922 can be described as the time of building the economic basis of new Poland. It was during this difficult time that the administration and army were created from scratch, provision control was organized by the state and the agriculture and industry were reconstructed after the war destruction. The basis for the state development policy was formed. New migration processes from rural areas to cities occurred. Despite all these activities, not all the regions of the state developed equally. The first problems with the balanced level of life on the whole territory of Poland began to appear. The basic components of a change in the image of Poland were the agricultural reforms and the reconstruction of the Polish industry. The year 1923 can be treated as the end of the postwar industrial reconstruction. The years of hyperinflation slowed down these reconstruction processes, but very soon a stabilization was achieved due to the fiscal reforms. In 1927 the government exempted the enterprises created or developed in Gdynia harbor from taxes and fees. In 1928 Poland reached the highest level of the industrial production and the lowest unemployment.

The successful development of the country was interrupted by the world economic crisis which appeared in Poland in 1929.

Keywords:

    central-industrial-region-(cop)

    industrial-architecture

    housing

    modernism

Elżbieta Przesmycka, Małgorzata Sosnowska - Housing estates and culture of architecture (Contemporaneity)

The first housing estates in Lublin after the Second World War were created as part of ZOR (Working Estates Factories – Tatary, Bronowice) and as the first postwar Housing Cooperatives.

The greatest cooperative was the Lublin Housing Cooperative (LSM) which was created in 19571. In the years 1954–1968 the city was greatly industrialized which caused an influx of migration from the surrounding areas. During ten years the population of the city doubled. On 25 April 1957 the first meeting of the founding members of the cooperative took place. The city authorities designated the area of about 42 hectares situated in the district ‘Rury’ within circa 5 kilometers from the city centre for the construction of a new Cooperative housing estate [15, 16].

The first housing estate to be built within the framework of the Lublin Housing Cooperative was Adam Mickiewicz Estate2. At the same time, social and technical infrastructure was created, including shopping and service centres, outpatient clinics, schools, kindergartens, social clubs and libraries [3, 4, 11].

The transportation system of the estate was arranged in a way that separated pedestrian traffic and vehicular traffic. Simultaneously, the intra-estate areas were developed by creating recreation places for residents accompanied by planting high green fields, plants and characteristic for this estate numerous rock gardens.

Keywords:

    lublin

    culture-of-housing-estates

Małgorzata Rogińska-Niesłuchowska - Architecture of the contemporary museum as the art of transmission of material and spiritual cultural values (Contemporaneity)

A term ‘museum’ originates from ancient Greece. Museions (museion – temple of Muses) were the institutions whose patrons were Muses – mythological daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne – guardians of liberal arts1. Libraries, which contained collections of researches, constituted the main part of them. As a kind of academy of science they provided scientists with places for meetings and discussions as well as with flats, costs of living and workplaces at the expense of the state. Fine arts such as architecture, sculpture, painting, and decorative art were regarded as handicraft and the places on which they were exhibited were named according to the exhibit kind: thesaurus (treasure-house), sculpture collection, collection of cameos and gems or collection of paintings [19]. The Ancient Greeks, and later also Romans, were in the habit of making works of art accessible for the public. They were exhibited in temples and public buildings (such as porticos, gates, theatres, odeons, nympheaums, thermaes) as well as on squares (agoras, fora, stadiums, hippodromes) [13]. Private collections of art were very popular in the Roman Empire times. According to Vitruvius, pinacothecas often constituted a part of the Hellenic house [18].

The cradle of museology in modern Europe is considered to be the Renaissance Italy where a humanistic movement started to develop as a result of the fascination with the ancient world. During the Renaissance the notion of museum meant collection of objects of a certain class, appropriately ordered and made accessible.

Keywords:

    contemporary-museum

Marta Rusnak - Revitalisation without revolution. Initial adaptation of post-industrial buildings for artistic purposes (Contemporaneity)

The areas of the European cities which were industrialised during the 19th century cover really large terrains. In the past, factories, mainly located in the suburbs of big cities, as a result of those cities development, now constitute the elements of their developing centres. The appearance of those factories, which was in their majority worsened by their bad technical condition, from the perspective of a contemporary man may seem austere. Factory was and still is a symbol of dynamic civilisation development and the 19th-century social system. In spite of the fact that factory has a significant material and social meaning as a symbol, it undergoes degradation because it has not been used. In the 21st century – at the time of growing culture globalisation – this symbol requires protection. Giving a new function to post-industrial buildings may contribute to the individualisation of city agglomeration spaces which become similar to one another.

Cultural revitalisation constitutes one of the very popular models of reviving industrial heritage [1]. Within the last two decades in Poland, art has become an element which supports the processes of degraded terrains transformations. In the colloquial understanding, the combination of new buildings or functions with a rough historical tissue has become very fashionable among different social groups.

Keywords:

    cultural-adaptation

    exhibition

    post-industrial-terrain

Jan Słyk - Antitectonics – architecture for information society (Contemporaneity)

According to anthropology we perceive culture as a reality transformed by man – as a result of civilizational achievements – changed physically, and through symbolic representation – modeling opinions, notions and feelings.

The world is completely filled with culture which is presents directly or indirectly in all potential locations. The sensory perceptions and their psychological effects have numerous interpretations. Where is the border between nature and culture?

The technological development which changes perception – the borders of art (architecture) cease to be definitive. The discussion shifts from clear distinctions (is/ is not) to relative gradation (is to what extent) or even – to parametric simulations (is in what conditions, what determines that).

William Mitchell’s essay titled Antitectonics: The Poetics of Virtuality1 [4] can be considered a manifesto of new culture. The author describes the context of creatice activities by establishing barriers which architecture crosses while absorbing achievements of the informatization era. He demonstrates the contacts between old and new meanings, scopes and forms of human activity. He undermines the sense of continuing the deliberations on the basis of the tectonic architecture advocated by Kenneth Frampton 2[1].

The key terms taken from Semper’s (1951) description of a building such as earthwork, interior, framework or detail3 [6] – which defined the traditional tectonic interpretation become useless in the virtual environment.

Keywords:

    antitectonics

Małgorzata Solska - Holism as a determinant of culture in architecture (Contemporaneity)

The phenomenon of culture formation takes place as a result of sociological reaction of ‘double feedback’: natural environment impinges on Man, Man – in the process of civilization building – processes and creates the environment, while the environment, in turn, as cultural reality, surrounds and forms Man by improving Man’s personality.

Originally, the notion of cultura was connected with land cultivation and it referred to transforming the natural state of the environment through human work into a state that was more useful for man. In the ancient times, the meaning of culture changed to refer more to man, his mentality and environmental interdependence1. In the Middle Ages, culture had a more universal character, however, because of the significance of religion (i.e. Christianity) in human life, its particularistic aspect was emphasized. The meaning of culture as a motivator of all conscious efforts aimed at developing and assessing the quality of a given object, talking about for instance ‘culture of wheat’ or ‘culture of trades’ was in use at the beginning of the 16th century.

Some symptoms of connecting culture with the intellectual sphere of human development referring to ancient philosophies appear in history in the 17th century when Voltaire uses the word culture in the context of process of human mind formation and improvement by enlarging the scope of acquired skills with various domains of science, art and knowledge of conventions and manners. In the subsequent periods of history in the 18th and 19th centuries, culture is associated with improvement of an individual as ‘a whole’, with qualifications and skills, including both technology and the intellectual side of life as part of these achievements.

Keywords:

    sustainable-development-–-holism

    culture-–-architecture

    universalism-and-symbiosis

Tomasz Stępień - Spatial turn. Transcultural and transdisciplinar spaces in the architecture (Contemporaneity)

Intellectual discourse within the framework of social sciences at the end of the 20th century and at the beginning of the 21st century was dominated by theoretical analyses of a threefold turn which formulated and at the same time determined the reality of the contemporary societies: 1) cultural turn commenced by M. Foucault, continued adequately to the technological development of the contemporary cultures and civilizations based on the interpretation of history by F. Fukuyama and S.P. Huntington1; 2) technological turn with analyses of social changes caused by the new media technologies (M. McLuhan) and information technologies (M. Castells); 3) spatial turn, the forerunner of which is H. Lefebvre with a new concept of space in the social dimension.

The very term of spatial turn appeared for the first time in the study by the geographer Edward W. Soja entitled Postmodern geographies published in 19892 . [3, 18] However, in the social dimension, the forerunner of the new meaning, understanding and interpretation of space is Henri Lefebvre. In his study entitled La production de l’espace published in 1974 (Production of space) he presented an interdisciplinary concept of space at the same time introducing anew the notion of space as a motif of the intellectual discourse within the framework of social sciences. The paradigm of the term itself is often referred to in the context of the controversies and disputes on modernism and postmodernism. From the postmodernist viewpoint, Fredric Jameson states that the spatial turn paradigm, or even more a whole series of turns as its variations, enables us to unambiguously define differences existing between modernism and postmodernism and at the same time it functions as one of the main motifs of the postmodernist criticism of modernism3 .

Keywords:

    spatial-turn

    space-in-architecture

Karolina Tulkowska - Individualism and background architecture. Education dilemmas in the days of breakthrough (Contemporaneity)

Faculty of Architecture at Warsaw University was founded in 1915 as one of the four units of the newly established university. The Organisation Committee’s task was to outline the rules of functioning, including the principles of University educational program. The Committee members were architects and engineers who graduated from different European schools, universities of technology and academies and had various scientific and esthetical experiences.

Nowadays, we aim at organising a new university which is supposed to centre and shape our efforts; we aim at connecting creative activity at the deepest sources – architectural, painting and sculpture art; our goal is to revive old traditions, to maintain and develop the artistic tradition on the Polish land in order to compete with the Western Europe art with dignity like in the previous centuries.

The purpose of the program, which we present here, is to educate architects at the highest level and range – wide artistic culture and serious professional knowledge constitute guiding principles in form of a general study schedule as well as particular subjects1 .

Faculty of Architecture schedule was formed on the basis of the assumption that the architect’s profession is characterised by the need to associate and use the knowledge which comprises many different disciplines understood as fields of study. A lot of attention was paid to the connections existing between architecture and painting, sculpture and pattern-designing. In the group of scientific subjects which included, among other things, mathematics, mechanics, building trade, constructions, installations and cost estimates, technical basics of designing were also taught.

Keywords:

    background-architecture

    individualism

    education

Barbara Widera - At the senses’ edge. Multisensual architecture (Contemporaneity)

Designing buildings at the beginning of the 21st century became a field in which the development of technology and design support software resulted in a clearly visible trend to move the barriers which until recently were considered ultimate architectural limits. This is in line with the expectations of both investors and end users who are accustomed to the swift exchange of information and to the performance in virtual reality. Contemporary society which is oriented to consumption driven by the media and accustomed to quickly satisfy their needs, naturally impose similar requirements on architecture. At the same time this is only the first level of expectations. Advanced users of modern architecture, apart from a high level of complexity and functionality, want to use it to experience the contact with art in its broad sense and recently more and more often also with nature.

Designers do not hesitate to introduce some elements of surprise. They try to encourage the end user to join the process of creating architecture, arranging interactive solutions. Many authors seek to enable the visitor to experience the contact with architecture as deeply as possible. They try to achieve that by creating a unique atmosphere, characteristic of not only one specific building but each visit, the season of the year or the time of the day or simply individual mood of the user. In order to maximize the experience architectural objects should affect several senses simultaneously. The advance of that phenomenon can be seen in the Blur Building designed by Diller/Scofidio (Expo 2002) which is permanently shrouded in a cloud of fog or in wood smelling Peter Zumthor Swiss Pavilion (Expo 2000).

Keywords:

    multisensual-architecture

    senses

Jacek Wiszniowski - Sustainable space development (Contemporaneity)

Sustainable development, sustainable design, and sustainable space design – involve improvement of quality of life of present and future generations in harmonious coexistence of man with nature [5]. Traditionally, the environmental protection emphasizes the environmental aspect connected with natural resources, however, its correct, holistic meaning comprises a balance of all interdependent sectors of anthroposphere and biosphere. According to sustainable development human environment and natural environment are considered complementary – not competitive. Ultimately, this is about the development of humanity that will assure the maintenance of the conditions of the environment which will enable man to live now and in the future.

The main idea of sustainable development is to integrate the environmental, economic and social order [8]. The principle of dependence of the quality of the natural environment on economic and social situation has been present in literature regarding sustainable development since the 1990s. Achieving a permanent equilibrium in environment is dependent on equilibrium in its individual sectors. The environmental protection is not possible without spatial order which in turn depends on economic as well as social and cultural order.

The global crisis which since 2008 has blown over most world economies has revealed the weakness of the mechanisms of market self-regulation.

Keywords:

    community-participation

    spatial-order

    common-good

Małgorzata Włodarczyk - Culture or tact in architecture? (Contemporaneity)

One could consider the question: Culture2 or Tact3 in Architecture? to be groundless. However, the meaning of these two terms – culture and tact – should be distinguished. Architecture comprises both of them. Culture – as a broadly explained semantic expression – is embedded in the history of philosophy and aesthetics. Tact is rather parvenu in this comparison but it provides a less restrained, less historical and philosophical, approach to culture. Culture is our common good connected with historical heritage and architecture, as one of the most permanent arts, is its special expression.

In 2009, on the initiative of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage Mr. Bogdan Zdrojewski, the Congress of Polish Culture was held in Cracow. A document which presents in its more detailed part an approach to immovable historic monuments but understood in their broader sense as cultural heritage was developed for the meeting4. Numerous questions were also asked; for instance: “Is there no alternative to Polish ‘today’ than: epigonic historicistic thinking of heritage or another ‘hint of modernism ( …)5. In the final notes, it was stressed e.g. that so far the experiences after 1989 have demonstrated an urgent need to change approach and treat the cultural legacy not as a burden but as an opportunity as well as a need to look at culture as an element of economy not as an unproductive thing6, especially in the context where the current legal system does not include all elements allowing for adapting objects of architecture to changing conditions.

Keywords:

    culture

    tact

    architecture

Grzegorz Wojtkun - The culture of architectural design – the ideological basis of modern architecture (Contemporaneity)

It is common belief nowadays that the development of contemporary architecture was smooth and it originated naturally from the continuity of the development of civilization of societies. That is why industrialization of building which intensified especially after the Second World War and its architectural consequences are erroneously believed to be obvious. However, this would not have been possible without such favorable circumstances as deviations from diligence, designing talent and workmanship in favor of semi-courage and grandeur.

The creative capabilities of the pioneers of international modernism reached their pinnacle at the moment when new materials and engineering solutions enabled the development of totally new architecture. The destructions in the south of France, degradation of industrial regions in Germany after the First World War and especially dramatically growing residential needs of the people required building to become a mass industry. It was a problem which nobody could effectively solve at that time.

Modernists grew up when the decor of a typical burgher’s house included heavy decorated furniture, plush upholstery and ubiquitous knick-knacks. It can be said that that kind of aesthetics achieved its highest level of development. However, its another form, instead of being an antidote against it, became the extreme opposite of that exaggeration. The authors of modern architecture claimed that it should be universal in respect of aesthetics and functionality because the only right way of building indeed can exist.

Keywords:

    culture

    modern-architecture

Małgorzata Wołodźko - Garden architecture in contemporary Japanese culture (Contemporaneity)

In contemporary Japanese culture, gardens are a form of art which combines nature and human creation. The Japanese garden presents nature formed with the human hand. This way it is both an element of nature and architecture as well as art.

Contemporary art and architecture are dominated by functionalism and simplicity where excessive decoration and ornamentation are avoided. Similar trends appear in gardens globally. A lot of old rules are questioned and in many cases nature is rejected. Japanese designers also experiment by creating inventive compositions but the basic difference is that they still draw from their native tradition of garden design.

The oldest tradition assumes that the garden represents nature which for centuries has been considered holy in Japan. Such understanding of nature is connected with indigenous Shinto religion which provides that each natural phenomenon is interpreted as a manifestation of deities. Japanese kami deities dwell in places which display natural beauty such as mountains, trees, waterfalls, rocks. They were the places of contact for man where people could worship deities and pray to them for grace. These natural sacred surroundings, enclosure and pebbles became the origin of the garden.

In the 18th century, Zen Buddhism was brought to Japan from China and it exerted great impact on numerous aspects of Japanese culture such tea drinking ceremony, garden design, calligraphy, suibokuga painting, ceramics or theater. This unique culture developed under the influence of Zen and it deeply penetrated into the aesthetic perception of the Japanese who love simplicity, naturalness and subtlety.

Keywords:

    japan

    garden-architecture

Maria J. Żychowska - ‘High’ architecture (Contemporaneity)

Architecture in culture has existed for ages and it is needless to propagate it in a special way because it has always been perceived as prominent among other arts. It has often been described in literature as well. Interesting literary texts can easily be confronted with descriptions of various buildings, sometimes also paintings, sculptures, monuments and this provides a unique possibility of perception of architecture as a field of art which is distant from constructional or functional issues. On the one hand the poetic opinion inspires us to enrich our knowledge as regards architecture, while on the other hand it can make us search for wise and good literature.

Literary descriptions of architectural structures are created by non-architects and are addressed to non-specialists. They describe impressions of a spectator as well as feelings and experiences caused by the direct contact with an architectural structure which is outstanding and significant. There are also architectural structures which are quite common and only their different perception through a unique personality allows us to see ‘their hidden beauty’.

Out of the ancient seven wonders of architecture, only the Pyramid of Cheops survived until the present times. The rest was lost throughout the ages. We are informed about their size, beauty and existence mainly by literature, which in some fragments is now confirmed by archeology. Therefore, we put our trust in the ancient descriptions which extol their unique beauty.

Keywords:

    “high”-architecture

Oksana Kinash - Peculiarities of ventilating of the Lviv Opera Hall (Civil engineering and building technic)

Lviv State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre of Solomiya Krushelnitska is a peculiar building being of special importance for the architecture and culture of the city of Lviv. The building was designed by Zygmund Gorgolewski, an outstanding architect of his time, in 1897 [2], and was erected in 1900. The bulk of the Opera auditorium is 4374 m2, the auditorium has room for 1000 spectators. The stage part of the theatre also has significant dimensions, being equipped with modern technologies with moving platforms.

The project of ventilation and heating systems of the theatre building was done by engineer Władysław Niemersz from Austrian designing firm “Johanes Haag” in 1897 in Vienna [6]. One of the projects of modernizing ventilation, central heating and temperature electrical regulation systems was developed in 1903 by Lviv engineering company “Michalski and Hupert” specializing in health recreation equipment [7]. Another project of reconstructing ventilation and central heating systems as well as their partial automatic control was developed in 1977 [8].

The initial project provides for systems of direct flowing mechanical plenum-exhaust ventilation of the auditorium and the stage, recirculation mechanical plenumexhaust ventilation of these main premises and the system of their thermostimulating (natural) ventilation.

For example, the system of mechanical direct flowing (without recirculation) plenum ventilation operates in the following way (Fig. 1). Due to rarefaction created by ventilator W1, the external air from the on-land cylindrical air collector, distanced from the building, flows through the underground duct, then through filter F1 with duct F closed, goes through distributed horizontal underground (under-floor) ducts and flows into four (six) vertical ducts that are shown in the plan of the basement (Fig. 2, 3).

Keywords:

    lviv

    opera-house

Roman Kinash, Tadeusz Kamisiński, Adam Pilch, Jarosław Rubacha - Acoustic aspects of the Lviv Theatre of Opera and Ballet auditory usage (Civil engineering and building technic)

For over one hundred years, the Lviv Opera (Ukraine) has been intensely used for theater, opera and ballet performances. Performers appreciate its interior for its exquisite appearance which is the result of great design and rich decorations as well as acoustics which make it possible for the sound to be heard very well both in the auditorium and on stage. Due to the building’s technical deterioration, it was necessary to renovate it and restore some of the elements of its decor and consequently its original splendor. The modernization which was conduced in the 1980s was not positively received by the performers as the building’s interior acoustics for symphonic music decreased. In order to avoid the same mistakes during the modernization of the hall in 2008, the authors of this paper were asked for acoustical consultations. As a result of detailed tests and analyses it was possible to maintain the acoustic features of the theater.

Lviv State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre of Solomiya Krushelnitska (Lviv Opera) is a special building, very important for Lviv architecture and culture. It was designed by Zygmunt Gorgolewski – one of the best architects at that time (Fig. 1, p. 246). The construction works, which were supervised by Gorgolewski, lasted for three years [9]. The City Theater in Lviv was built during the theater construction boom in Europe. It demonstrates a synthesis of the achievements in theater architecture and technology. The grand opening night was on October 4, 1900 with great guests such as directors of the most famous European theaters and a lot of artists.

Keywords:

    lviv

    opera-house

    acoustic-aspects

Maciej Kowaluk - Construction quality of architecture (Civil engineering and building technic)

The first thing is an idea which is disturbing enough to prevent a peaceful sleep. It needs to be worked out and broken into its component parts and all pros and cons need to be thought through. Then it is slowly transferred to paper to develop a project which is often subjected to evaluation and changed finally to meet all possible requirements and recommendations. Construction: transformation of a vision into reality, erection of walls and unbearable expectation of the final result.

However, this is not the moment when the last brick is laid that the work is complete. The real test and the only true verification is time. The evaluation of the quality of buildings includes a lot of factors, the most important of which seems to be the durability of architectural solutions and their correct application.

Not all of them can stand the test of time. More importantly, some of them which at first seem to be world scale events and the keys opening new doors cannot bear the burden of the load placed on them. Constructed with the spotlights directed at star-architects, the buildings’ foundations are supported only on their fame. Often the renown is not coupled with construction quality or diligence.

Fortunately, some real gems can be found in the star architecture firmament. Works that not only defend themselves but also combine finesse, artistry and functionality as well [2].

Simplicity, work at the grass roots, quality, and transparency are only some of the distinctive features of the designs by Peter Zumthor.

Keywords:

    constructions

    quality

    architecture

Hubert Mełges, Małgorzata Mełges - The principle of building processes staging during the renovation of church towers and the exchange of a roof framing in neo-Gothic St. Martin Church in Krzeszowice (Civil engineering and building technic)

Decapitalization of buildings constitutes an unavoidable process as the years pass. A technical state and material condition of the building construction show the extent to which it was exploited and its usefulness of further exploitation. There are many factors which decide about the rate of particular parts of the building exploitation. However, the most important are the following: a place of localisation, an influence of the climate conditions and economical possibilities of the owner or investor. In some regions of the world the architects must deal with, for instance, earthquakes, typhoons, hurricanes and frost. The Polish climate with four characteristic seasons is not free from surprising meteorological phenomena (heavy rainfalls, floods, hurricanes and extreme snowfalls) and therefore, a lot of requirements must be met, for example, for a design, construction and restoration lines. There are often complex problems of the geotechnical character, which impose a complicated specificity of the building’s foundation. Therefore, during the compilation of a design concept and later a building documentation, the above mentioned aspects must be taken into consideration and expected early on. In the situation where big decapitalisation of the building takes place (e.g. a historical building), material and technological solutions as well as the type and method of refurbishment and restoration works should be appropriately chosen. All these things should be preceded by specialist diagnoses which specify material deprecation and the level of technical wear and tear of the building.

Keywords:

    roof-framing

    wood-vermin

    decapitalization

Małgorzata Mełges, Hubert Mełges - Research method in recognizing the causes and level of destruction of the roof construction in the neo-Gothic 19th century St. Martin’s Church in Krzeszowice designed by Karol Fryderyk Schinkel (Civil engineering and building technic)

The St. Martin’s neo-Gothic parish church in Krzeszowice (Little Poland Province) has been preserved in an unchanged condition until today. The church was built thanks to the artistic patronage of Count Potocki – the owner of Krzeszowice holdings who decided to build the church and very carefully selected the best design conception. The first drafts of the design of the church were made by two excellent Parisian architects Percier and Fonteine. The final design, however, which was the basis for building the church was made by a famous architect from Berlin Karl Schinkel. In 1832, the design was approved and the construction of the church without its interiors was completed in 1844. It was another architect from Berlin and his student Wilhelm Hofbauer who was the direct builder and executed Schinkel’s vision. The works, including the furnishing of the interiors, were completed in 1872. Over the period of about 140 years the church has been used without any problems despite the fact that since its erection the number of people living in Krzeszowice has grown a few times. The church is on the permanent conservation list. It was built with the use of stones and bricks as a single-nave church on the layout of a Latin cross closed with a polygonal chancel. The front facade, pedestals, the rose window above the entrance, cornices, window frames, traceries and some details of interior decoration were built of stone (sandstone) and they demonstrate excellent workmanship.

The external walls were built of bricks with characteristic buttresses and two towers with octangular spires and a decorative viewing terrace between them.

Keywords:

    roof-framing

    decapitalization

    reconstruction

Anetta Kępczyńska-Walczak, Bartosz M. Walczak - Contemporary architectural practice – a challenge for educational process (Education)

Builders used drawings from the earliest times. The statue of the Sumerian ruler of Gudea (circa 2500 BC) – kept in the collections of the Louvre Museum – who is sitting on the throne and keeping a drawing of the temple plan on his lap can be considered to be the oldest drawing representation of the structure. Ancient civilizations contributed to the development of mathematics and geometry as well as the studies on proportions and in this way they set the trends of architectural thought development for the next centuries. The Roman creators of architecture commonly used drawings of projections and facades. In order to make the communication with clients easier, some of them tried to present a project by means of perspective drawings. Such a method of presenting the space developed and was popularized only in the period of the Renaissance.

The architect was responsible not only for the project but also for its realization. He lived and created in the direct contact with constructions, materials and the process of actual building. Architects, who not only designed buildings but also used their profound knowledge and numerous skills in painting, sculpture and widely-understood engineering, performed a particular role in the period of the Renaissance. Dissonance between aesthetics and technology appeared only in the 19th century.

Keywords:

    architecture

    education

Halina Łapińska - Culture and education – how to teach non-architects about architecture – report from the workshop in the rural area of the Białowieża Forest (Education)

Taking care of the values of the cultural and natural environment, with regard for the needs of future generations as well as behavior, growth and development of civic and cultural awareness of the residents – is the statutory obligation of the local authorities provided for in their strategies. The strategy of Podlasie Province which is implemented through the “Program of Development of Culture of Podlasie Province until 2020” [2] provides the guidelines in respect of the protection of cultural heritage. It contains the permanent and long-term actions in the area of protection of material and non-material culture. The current expenditure on preservation of historical monuments is still too low and still, in spite of the needs, it is not of primary significance among many programs and undertakings which are being executed. In general it can be said that the management of historical monuments and buildings of cultural value by local authorities is not satisfactory, despite a considerable progress over the last few years and the growth in awareness of the necessity for protection of cultural heritage. Furthermore, the Program defines the role of local communities through their identification with the region and integration around specific plans and objectives of growth.

The mission of the “Program of Development of Culture of Podlasie Province” is: “To strive for social improvement in satisfying cultural needs, including the quality and level of participation in culture and creating its value by as many people living in this province as possible”.

Keywords:

    culture

    architecture

    education

Ewa Łukaszewicz-Jędrzejewska - Architecture in painting – in search of third dimension (Education)

A huge while rectangle put on the easel and a huge white rectangle on the drawing board – two planes creating a coordinate axis. What’s important for an art historian is the points where y-axis and x-axis cross, creating a drawing, illustration of synergy of both media of artistic expression. Vitruvius – lover of eurythmy, symmetry, illusionistic painting and a module based on human body as a pattern of good proportions – is the person who symbolically combines these two areas of expression.

Vitruvius demands that artists only precisely imitate reality and especially the illusions of spatial depth and third dimension. There is one more aspect of the Vitruvian lecture – a colorful tale of antiquity that actually could be the basis of the scenario of a virtual game called “the world of an architect” whose main characters would be a hero-superman and an environmentalist, an incorruptible architect. a philosopher and a poet, an expert in painting and a constructor of “ballistas, scorpions and other war machines” [7, pp. 16–17].

In my teaching classes I have students of the Academy of Art and Design, Faculty of Ceramics and Glass who chose the specialization in restoration and reconstruction of ceramics and glass. These are difficult studies which require adequate knowledge of all strictly artistic subjects obligatory for all students of the Academy such as drawing, painting and sculpture as well as perfect ceramic craftsmanship. This area of knowledge requires not only knowledge of application of the techniques and technology of ceramics and glass but also specialist knowledge in the scope of chemistry, physics, and technical drawing required in the designing process.

Keywords:

    architecture-in-painting

Barbara Misztal - Domes in architecture (Education)

Architecture structures are a form of presentation of significant message of the period when they were built. Architecture of centers of power, religious cults or culture is the synthesis of knowledge about communities that built them. Ecclesiastical and prestigious structures were often crowned with domes to develop a prominent structural landmark. In Eastern and Western civilizations, domes were built in order to emphasize the prestige of the structure and develop representative interiors of representative buildings. The construction designs of domes reflect the technical knowledge and culture of specific epochs.

Depending on geographic location, in different proportions, the first materials which were used to build domes included stone, clay, and wood. Due to its availability in the Mediterranean region and its greater durability, stone was applied in construction of monumental structures in Egypt, Greece, and Rome.

Ancient Greece contributed to building its innovations which made the most of the best properties of stone and wood. In Greek temples, the walls were built of stones whose thickness was 1/20 of the distance between the walls. Such proportions were achieved for instance in the temple of Aeschylus in Epidauros, designed by Theodoros from Samos which was built around 370 B.C. The small thickness of stone masonry walls indicates that they supported light timber roofs. The distances between walls and piers show that they could not have been simple beam roofs. The distances between piers indicate a system of trusses or arches.

Keywords:

    domes

    architecture