Volume 116 (2019): Edition 11 (November 2019)

Performing arts halls are increasingly becoming multi-purpose halls. Purpose-built venues that serve purely as concert halls or opera houses are rather rare today. Multi-purpose halls, conversely, can be used for different types of stage presentations inside a single building, under one roof with proportionally lower costs; furthermore, they can also be used for activities which are not related to the performing arts. The paper discusses functional and spatial adaptability and flexibility in multiple-use halls, and presents possible forms and arrangements of the stage and the auditorium as well as their spatial interrelations. Attention is focused upon acoustics and their impact on the functioning of multi-purpose performance spaces. The paper also presents multi-use and multi-format facilities. The author attempts to determine the best possible conditions for various types of theatre arrangement.

The landscape of Nowy Wiśnicz is a unique example of the preservation of Baroque cultural landscape. Changes in the manner in which the castle surroundings are used and a lack of care resulted in overgrown greenery which then began to interfere with precious spatial relations. The landscape currently requires intervention. Conservation has been protecting the site against investment plans. However, it must be integrated with active protection in the form of caring for the vast area in order to preserve the spatial meaning of the entire complex. A study of the exposure of the castle hill indicated further actions that are required for the landscape framework. With use of contemporary methods of a visual analysis, the main exposure links were identified. Two options of specific guidelines for land cover were then defined. These were considered with regard to the current state and then against the future state in the case of no intervention. These guidelines constitute the basis for further steps for the development and management of the surroundings of the castle hill.

This article discusses the history of the spatial development of the town of Jordanów, as well as the cultural heritage sites located inside the territory of this urban centre. Jordanów, currently located within the administrative area of the Lesser Poland Voivodship, in the district of Sucha, was founded as a private town in 1564 and issued a charter by the Krakow Voivod Spytek Jordan of Zakliczyn. The urban centre is an example of a town which was founded in cruda radice–i.e. on previously undepeveloped land–during the early modern period but whose model bears a similarity to traditional urban forms used in previous centuries.

The results of research into two city gates, Kłodzka and Wodna (Water), and into the Rycerska (Knight’s) Tower in Bystrzyca Kłodzka are discussed in this paper. The research into the architecture of the three structures helped review the chronology of transformations they were subjected to between the beginning of the fourteenth century and the second half of the twentieth century. The city walls, together with the two gates and the tower, were probably erected by Alderman Jakub Rücker in the first half of the fourteenth century. All the towers were probably raised and converted in the fifteenth century and in around 1568, they were topped with masonry pyramid cupolas. The work performed in the nineteenth century was aimed at restoring the damaged elements and at introducing bells to the Rycerska (Knight’s) Tower. The conservation work conducted in the years 2013–2017 resulted in the restoration of the damaged details and in the enhancement of all of the structures’ features of historical value.

This article presents the problem of the maintenance and adaptation of a historic shooting pavilion for new premises of the Museum of Photography in Krakow. The wooden pavilion used to be a part of the military shooting range development in Wola Justowska, established for the Austrian army in the 1880s. The adaptation of the pavilion for new functions has primarily enabled the protection of this historic and derelict building, which was entered into the Register of Historical Monuments in 1993. Conservation works have restored the shooting pavilion to it former splendour; there is also an effective display of preserved architectual elements, although these vary in their technical condition.

The aim of this study was to document spatial changes in the size of the Spa Park in Inowrocław from the 19th century onwards based on archival maps as well as field research and observations of the current status. Towns providing a highly specialised health resort and spa services, such as Inowrocław, need large expanses of green areas as public spaces for outdoor therapy for spa town visitors and patients. In Inowrocław, this may not be limited only to the surroundings of the greatest asset of this spa town - its graduation towers. The fascinating history of the area and planning decisions concerning green areas over the years have brought many benefits to the town, which also extend outside the scope of health resort services. This article presents the multi-faceted changes and transformations of this area along with the plans and intended uses.

This paper focuses on architectural transformations of some post-industrial objects into sacral functions. The discussed works mainly relate to churches, chapels and parish houses of various Christian denominations, mainly Protestant. Such transformations provoke questions about the limits of acceptance for adaptation works in the context of objects associated with a religious cult. The doubts that arise are connected primarily with the theological-liturgical dimension, that means the interpretation of the sacrum space. As far as conservation work is concerned, the analysed examples confirm the thesis of high architectural potential inherent in post-industrial objects. They also show a wide spectrum of possible interferences in a given structure during the conversion process.

Many studies have observed that the mechanical properties of concrete made of recycled aggregate are worse than for concrete made of natural aggregate; this is mainly due to the mortar that is attached to the recycled aggregate. In literature, an equivalent mortar volume method in the manufacturing of recycled aggregate concrete has been proposed. This method treats the attached mortar as new mortar. The application of this method can reduce the use of natural materials while maintaining mechanical properties and eliminate the additional processes required for the production of recycled aggregates. The aim of this paper is to briefly describe the recent application of this method, present gaps in current research and anticipated directions for further research.