Państwo i Społeczeństwo / State and Society

Francis Kérés work is defined by a socially engaged architecture that responds to the needs and expectations of local communities, respects natural environmental conditions, and draws deeply from local traditions and generations of building expertise. This article explores Kéré’s methodology in fostering local community awareness as a crucial component in cultivating a sense of belonging. Through selected works, the article showcases how architecture can promote the active engagement of residents in improving their quality of life. The author highlights Kérés intentional, educational effort as a prominent aspect of social integration, the preservation of Africa’s cultural heritage in building arts, and the advancement of architectural discourse.

The aim of the article is to show the history and the context of the creation of a new universal museum – the Louvre Abu Dhabi, designed by the architecture studio of Jean Nouvel and inaugurated in 2017. This building – starting from the genesis of its creation, the method of building the collection and the scheme of functioning, and ending with the spectacular form crowned with a monumental dome – is an exceptional undertaking on a global scale. It is a museum that illustrates the history of societies from different parts of the world through art. This unique project is analyzed not only in the local context, but also in a wider, global context, taking into account selected works of architecture and art. The presented material can be an inspiration and a starting point for further studies on shaping modern museum spaces presenting comprehensive exhibitions in various fields of art, styles and eras.

The article aims to analyze the importance of a design method that prioritizes an empathetic approach to the user within education in the field of interior design. Human Centered Design plays a key role in interior design, satisfying not only aesthetic considerations but also the functional needs of people. The user of the space is placed in the center of the design process, and the design must be tailored to the needs, preferences, limitations, lifestyle they lead, and what is important to them. In the process of educating students in the subject of interior design, a holistic approach is extremely important, which prioritizes the pursuit of understanding the desires of users and improving the well-being of people interacting with the designed space. By focusing the design process on empathy, we can identify real preferences and create solutions that effectively meet needs – they are innovative, inclusive and intuitive. The presented student works show the diversity of original solutions developed using the HCD methodology in relation to the topic of developing a living space dedicated to a specific user.

The article presents the results of research that used a descriptive analytical approach to identify contemporary urban planning theories related to the issues of transformation and development of small towns, including concepts of sustainable development and revitalization processes. Contemporary urban planning theories and ideas aimed at improving the quality of life in cities were analyzed. Selected EU documents and examples of good practices in programs supporting the revitalization of small towns were examined. Based on this, the possibilities of implementing the best practices for revitalization processes were illustrated using the example of the „Small Cities of Tomorrow” project implemented in France.

Machizukuri emerged in Japan in the latter half of the 1960s as a way to actively involve local communities in improving the quality of their surroundings. This method, besides considering the physical structure of the city, also focuses on the social dimension, rooted in tradition, culture, industrial structures, and education. Japanese machizukuri has become a unique example of a grassroots, creative approach based on collective action and the use of local resources. It serves as a radical alternative to the centralized, top-down approach of Japanese urban planning (toshikeikaku) and plays a significant role in the regeneration of civil society in Japan. This paper analyzes the machizukuri method, and presents its application in selected Japanese cities.

The aim of the article is a comparison of the architectural design methods of Alejandro Aravena and Peter Zumthor, imlemented in their projects with a high social impact. These methods and their application were analyzed according to the criteria of social architecture, assuming that it is the idea of designing based on the precise, real scenarios of the human needs and possibilities. While the social nature of Araven’s method and the projects of the Elemental studio he led is widely recognized, Zumthor’s work is not associated with the social ideas, but on the contrary – with the subjective and artistic ideas. However, in Zumthor’s method, an equally precise approach to the architectural needs of the futures users was noticed, and the projects selected for analysis encourage the research in the aspect of their social values. It was noted that despite the extremely different social environments of the recipients of architecture and its aesthetic values, in both cases it meets the social expectations and needs. The study indicated surprisingly similar solutions in the projects of residential units of both architects. The conclusions indicated, that the high aesthetic quality of the architecture may limit the informal its development.

The Cathedral of Notre Dame and the Grande Arche de la Fraternité are iconic buildings of Paris, constituting its architectural, urban and cultural identity. The social dimension of the buildings goes beyond the specific functions assigned to them, the material forms existing in the landscape and the impact they have on the immediate surroundings and spatial structure of the city.
The article confirms the thesis that both the medieval Roman Catholic temple, and the seat of the administration of the modern secular state, despite significant differences in the level of symbolic meanings and the time of their construction, demonstrate the ability to integrate the community of residents around the symbolic buildings. They can also coexist without conflict and complement each other as important elements of a vital, heterogeneous urban public space, to the use of which the entire community of citizens has a democratic right and access. The research uses the historical-interpretative method supported by the conceptual apparatus of the critical urban theory drawing inspiration from the writings of Henri Lefebvre on the right to the city and the production of space.

In the academic year 2022/23, the Faculty of Architecture and Fine Arts of the Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski Krakow University held a student competition for the Project of the Year and the Award of the Association of Home and Apartment Builders (Stowarzyszenie Budowniczych Domów i Mieszkań). The subject of the project was the area of the market square between the Market Hall and the modernized line of the Fast Commuter Rail in Krakow. The competition included works selected from all projects completed as part of a semester exercise with an extended program compared to the standard task usually carried out.
The aim of the research presented in the article is to assess the possibilities and methods of integrated teaching combining theory with practice, by confronting the approach of students, academic teachers and developers to the real problems of transforming urban development. The article critically analyzes the obtained effects of the didactic experiment, indicating its prevailing strengths and the remaining weaknesses.