Social group as a factor activating the city

Background: One of the social groups that influence the activation of the city to the greatest extent are young people, including students. Social spaces dedicated to this group are to embellish the city, have a positive effect on its image, but they are also to be useful. Methods: This paper has been written on the basis of the Author’s study devoted to finding an answer to the question how much a social group that uses a specific space influences the activation of this space. The examined social group were young people, students from two cities: Toronto and Cracow. The spaces used in the study are places separated from school and university buildings, intended for individual study for high school and university students. Results: The results of the study indicate that one of the important factors that according to young people studying in the cities improve the quality of the social space is the existence of legibly marked places intended for individual study, that is places where students can study and spend time after their classes and lectures. Such places animate and activate the space connected with them. Conclusion: The social group of young people who still attend schools and universities constitutes a very important factor of the activation of cities. Providing young people with an attractive offer connected with their individual education has an invigorating effect on the city

My memory

"Profesor Wojciech Kosiński. Wojtek. Poznaliśmy się tak dawno, że już nawet nie pamiętam, w jakich okolicznościach. Ale pamiętam, że urzekła mnie Jego otwartość, serdeczność, poczucie humoru i potężna dawka luzu. Człowiek z tak wielką wiedzą, doświadczeniem i zdolnościami był bezpośredni, wesoły i po prostu uroczy. Do ostatnich chwil…"(...

Forms of inhabitants’ participation in the shaping of their places of residence. The idea, specificity, problems

The idea of sustainable development is being intensively extended with issues related to social participation. The society’s share in the formation of its own places of residence assumes various forms – from the immaterial dimension of interpersonal relations to entirely measurable participation in the process of designing, realizing and maintaining houses and estates. The future brings many more forms of such participation developed on the basis of communications, technical and technological potential that is less and less limited. However, we should ask ourselves the following question: which of these forms can be used to an extent under defined conditions in certain countries, regions and districts

With respect for the surroundings. Living in Switzerland, living in the Netherlands

This paper describes the natural, environmental and cultural conditions in Switzerland and the Netherlands. It shows how the principle of Green Architecture, which concerns respect for the surroundings with reference to housing, is applied in these two dissimilar countries

Architektura Miasto Piękno tom 2

"Wydział Architektury Politechniki Krakowskiej zawsze był miejscem pełnym osobowości, indywidualności, talentów. Gdy profesorowie i mistrzowie odchodzili z Wydziału, mieliśmy świadomość, że tu nigdy już nie będzie tak samo. Wydział jednak trwał i trwa jak piękno miasta, które jest przecież dziełem zbiorowym, o nakładających się warstwach, wzmacniających i tworzących jego tożsamość. Tak też kolejne pokolenia kontynuują i budują historię Wydziału. Wydział pełen jest wspomnień i anegdot. W fotografiach, księgach, obrazach, meblach kryją się opowieści."(...

Masurian model of contemporary regionalism

W artykule przedstawiono wyniki badań dotyczących spojrzenia mieszkańców Mazur na współczesny kształt budownictwa mieszkaniowego jednorodzinnego i przeznaczonego na turystykę w ich regionie. Wnioski z badań posłużyły jako punkt wyjścia do przygotowania propozycji projektowych współczesnych założeń krajobrazowo mieszkalnych z wykorzystaniem domów na wynajem, czy gospodarstw agroturystycznych. Dyplomowe prace inżynierskie studentów architektury są odpowiedzią na preferencje formalne mieszkańców. Zakres czasowy części opartej na badaniu ankietowym dotyczy XXI wieku, a części dotyczącej analiz archetypu sięga wieku XVII.This paper presents the results of a survey that explored how the residents of Masuria perceived the contemporary form of single-family and tourist housing in their region. The conclusions of this study were used as a starting point for preparing design proposals of contemporary landscape and housing layouts based on homes for rent or agricultural tourism facilities. Bachelor of Engineering in Architecture thesis projects became an answer to the formal preferences of the residents. The temporal scope of the section presenting the survey study concerns the twenty-first century, while the archetype analysis section reaches back to the seventeenth century

Contemporary functional and spatial challanges of Venice based on local perception

Przedstawione w artykule wyniki badań dotyczących spojrzenia mieszkańców Wenecji na problemy nurtujące ich miasto posłużyły jako punkt wyjścia do rozważań na temat możliwości zaradzenia tym problemom przy wykorzystaniu potencjału jaki niesie XXI wiek. Dyplomowe prace magisterskie studentów architektury mogą być doskonałym poligonem doświadczalnym i miejscem prowadzenia badań i przedstawiania propozycji dla stworzenia wyobrażeń o lepszej przyszłości. Przedstawione w publikacji rozwiązania funkcjonalno-przestrzenne pozwalają spojrzeć w oryginalny sposób na część problemów Wenecji, o których dyskutuje się od lat jak wpływanie wielkich statków wycieczkowych na wody laguny, tłumy turystów, poszukiwanie nowych przestrzeni dla mieszkańców, rozwijanie rynku pracy, czy proponowanie nowych form zwiedzania miasta.The findings presented in this study, which focused on how Venice’s residents perceive the problems their city suffers from, served as a starting point for a discussion on the potential to address them by using the potential of the twenty-first century. Thesis design projects by architecture students can serve as an excellent testing ground for studies and presenting proposals of visions of a better future. The functio-spatial solutions presented in this paper can provide an original perspective on some of Venice’s much-discussed problems, such as enormous cruise ships entering the lagoon’s waters, tourist crowds and the search for new spaces for residents, employment market development or proposing new forms of sightseeing in the city

Social group as a factor activating the city

Background: One of the social groups that influence the activation of the city to the greatest extent are young people, including students. Social spaces dedicated to this group are to embellish the city, have a positive effect on its image, but they are also to be useful. Methods: This paper has been written on the basis of the Author’s study devoted to finding an answer to the question how much a social group that uses a specific space influences the activation of this space. The examined social group were young people, students from two cities: Toronto and Cracow. The spaces used in the study are places separated from school and university buildings, intended for individual study for high school and university students. Results: The results of the study indicate that one of the important factors that according to young people studying in the cities improve the quality of the social space is the existence of legibly marked places intended for individual study, that is places where students can study and spend time after their classes and lectures. Such places animate and activate the space connected with them. Conclusion: The social group of young people who still attend schools and universities constitutes a very important factor of the activation of cities. Providing young people with an attractive offer connected with their individual education has an invigorating effect on the city

Developing a framework to predict factors significant forcreative architectural design performance of freshmenand senior architecture students, by adopting and validating the CEDA

This study aims to provide a framework to predict factors significant for creative engineering design performance of freshmen and senior architecture students. Since different environments demand utilisation of a rather interdisciplinary approach of design-cognition types of teaching and learning, an advanced model of creative engineering design process has been proposed to measure multifaceted effects of the architecture study programme. For the study, 108 freshmen and 98 senior architecture students were surveyed for attitudes towards engineering, proactivity, situational interest, perception of learning, and satisfaction with design work environment and tested for creative engineering design on fluency, flexibility, originality and usefulness of designs or solutions generated. Two models were developed based on social cognition supported by self-determination theory using predictive modelling. Results demonstrate that for freshmen creative design work is not well explained by the social-cognitive theory model, while for their senior counterparts the same is strongly explained. Student proactivity was a crucial predictor in perception of control over learning solution-based creative design work, especially in senior students. As the strongest negative predictor, tediousness toward engineering was identified in social-cognitive learning, pointing to the importance of engineering knowledge, beliefs, opinions, emotions, and responses towards wider definition of technology and engineering. Such students more likely do not utilise potential of technology and engineering to work on problem- and solution-driven design tasks to develop creativity. The findings are of particular interest for architecture education curriculum designers, design course conductors and different organisations to provide sustainable, creative and market-competitive design solutions

Investigating possibilities of developing self-directed learning in architecture students using design thinking

Education systems are struggling to effectively integrate in their study programs the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which define the challenges we need to overcome as a society in the 21st century. This study revealed the special agency that architecture and built environment have in shaping our social, economic, and natural environment using system and design thinking. Despite the several studies on the metacognitive design process, several cognitive traps still exist when developing design thinking in architecture education. This study investigated design thinking and self-directed learning in undergraduate architecture students. Responses collected from a sample of 117 undergraduates were subjected to bootstrapping in structural equation modelling to find significant relationships of reversed action when design thinking is used for developing self-directed learning. The findings suggest that design thinking is strongly connected with self-directed learning, and as shown in the resulting model, all components of self-directed learning are strongly explained by design thinking variables. This can provide insights for curriculum designers and educators on how to shape effective design thinking processes in architecture education to overcome existing shortcomings while improving interpersonal skills, creativity and digital skills, make pedagogical changes, and enhance redesign of learning outcomes towards sustainable architecture