Energy Metamorphosis of Cities and Buildings

The article deals with energy transformation on an architectural and urban scale. The first part describes the assumptions of the German energy transformation, taking into account both the scale of individual buildings and urban scale solutions based on RES. Selected objects and design concepts from Hamburg and Berlin are presented as model examples. The second part describes the approach to transformation on the example of Warsaw, based on current programmes, strategies and development visions in relation to the architecture and new standards of facilities as well as the use of RES on an urban scale. The German approach was compared to the Polish assumptions, indicating the possibility of implementing some solutions. A discussion and a photographic documentation made ‘in situ’ of selected Polish and German contemporary RES applications in architecture are presented. Selected examples of modern buildings show the use of energy-saving and RES technologies. The analysis of contemporary architectural designs concerns issues related to energy and the possibility of adapting contemporary architecture to a changing climate. At the end of the paper, challenges in the context of energy transformation are presented. The need to adapt buildings and cities to climate change requires transforming the traditional linear design process into an energy-integrated one operating in terms of the principles of sustainable development. This process will not be possible without the support of digital design and simulation tools as well as mapping to determine the potential of RES in cities in the perspective of 2050. Attention is also drawn to the important role of experimental, educational and popularizing activities that give the opportunity to acquire knowledge about RES.