Aleksandra Nowysz

Urban farming microinterventions are small, place-based cultivation projects that operate under severe spatial and resource constraints yet can generate social learning and locally embedded resilience. The present paper examines how design decisions shape the effectiveness of such interventions through three design-led case studies: Blooming Structure (2018, Warsaw), a temporary hydroponic “laboratory” installation; Micro-cultivation (2018, Warsaw), a shopfront vertical demonstration farm; and Micro-cultivation 2 (2019), modular “cultivation furniture” for interiors and exhibition deployment. The analysis combines project documentation with practice-based observations and applies five interpretive dimensions: spatial fit, technical feasibility, communicative legibility, replicability, and social programming. Findings highlight that successful microinterventions align legible cultivation infrastructure with high visibility, accessibility and participatory formats that support skills transfer and copying-based scaling. Rather than offering universal claims about urban agriculture outcomes, the paper provides a reference set of design principles that may inform similar micro-scale interventions in other contexts, subject to local constraints. Limitations include the small sample size and the concentration on projects from Poland. Practically, the findings can support designers, municipalities, and civic organisations in structuring microinterventions as replicable, low-threshold prototypes and in aligning technical systems with maintenance capacity and public engagement.

This study investigates food-oriented revitalisation (FOR) of Poland’s large-panel housing estates, focusing on the widely used OWT-67 prefabricated system, and proposes an architectural framework for integrating food production into residential retrofit. The research combines (i) a critical review of scholarship on coupling housing and productive functions with (ii) a design-led case study that evaluates the potential of flat rooftops for cultivation, developed for an OWT-67 building in the Kolorowa estate (Ursus, Warsaw), and complemented by an analysis of available financing pathways. The case study translates structural and operational constraints into a buildable rooftop farming scheme based on lightweight cultivation devices arranged around a central circulation deck. The financing review shows that renovation support in Poland is dispersed and predominantly credit-based, suggesting that rooftop food programmes are most feasible when packaged with eligible measures such as energy upgrades, roof refurbishment, climate-adaptation actions and renewable-energy installations. Overall, the proposed rooftop production would meet approximately 8% of the annual fruit-and-vegetable demand in the 45-resident scenario and about 4% in the 100-resident scenario. Accordingly, the OWT-67 roof is best understood as a source of seasonal fresh produce and a socio-educational infrastructure that supplements—rather than replaces—conventional food supply systems.

The Erasmus+ AESOP4Food (2021-2024), aimed to develop future leadership in sustainable food planning, to contribute to food security, food jus-tice, and healthier environments. During the summer 2022 an Intensive Program took place in Madrid. International and multidisciplinary teams had to explore options to reduce the vulnerability of the food system and to ensure accessibility to healthy and sustainable food for everyone, regardless of their purchasing power. This book explains the pedagogical methodology applied and the results achieved. The workshop focused on the po-tential for improving the sustainability of the local food system: addressing the governance and spatial implications of sustainable production and the cross-relations to nature protection and envi-ronmental/landscape quality in urban fringe areas.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of comprehensive thermal modernisation on the energy efficiency of a 19th-century residential heritage building. The central hypothesis posited that a substantial reduction in primary energy demand could be achieved without compromising the building’s architectural and historical integrity. The research was conducted as a case study of an existing historic structure located in the Dolnośląskie Voivodeship of Poland. The proposed modernisation strategy involved the implementation of a ground source heat pump, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery, low-temperature underfloor heating, photovoltaic panels, and the use of natural, vapour-permeable insulation materials. A comparative analysis of the building’s energy performance certificates demonstrated a significant reduction in primary energy demand (from 878.9 kWh×m−²×year−1 to 54.6 kWh×m−²×year−1), thereby confirming the research hypothesis. These findings underscore the feasibility of reconciling contemporary energy efficiency requirements with the conservation of historic architecture, provided that context-sensitive, technologically appropriate solutions are employed.

A Carbon Footprint (CF) is defined as the total emissions of greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, and is a specific type of Environmental Footprint that measures human impact on the environment. Carbon dioxide emissions are a major contributor to anthropogenic greenhouse gases driving climate change. Wood, as a renewable and ecological material, has relatively low carbon emissions. The study aimed to review and analyze the criteria influencing the feasibility of constructing modern zero-carbon wooden buildings. The review was conducted in two phases: (i) a literature review and (ii) an assessment of existing buildings. The preliminary research led to (i) narrowing the focus to the years 2020–2024 and (ii) identifying key criteria for analysis: sustainable material sourcing, carbon sequestration, energy efficiency, life cycle assessment (LCA), and innovative construction practices. The study’s findings indicate that all these criteria play a vital role in the design and construction of new zero-carbon wooden buildings. They highlight the significant potential of wood as a renewable material in achieving zero-carbon buildings (ZCBs), positioning it as a compelling alternative to traditional construction materials. However, the research also underscores that despite wood’s numerous potential benefits, its implementation in ZCBs faces several challenges, including social, regulatory, and financial barriers.

The paper discusses an agroecological approach to an urban food system’s transformation. A selection of representative initiatives and projects in Madrid were analysed. The goal of the paper is to review these projects and identify their potential in the context of transforming Madrid’s food system into a sustainable one, according to the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact (MUFPP) framework. The following methods were used in the study: (i) desk research – a review of academic papers and press materials provided by the various entities working on the transformation of Madrid’s food system; (ii) case studies – field visits, participatory observation, and interviews. Selected indicators from the MUFPP and City Region Food System (CRFS) frameworks were adopted in the study.

Modern environmental protection standards have a direct impact on the construction and shaping of public space. Designers are increasingly reaching for materials produced via recycling technologies. Waste materials are more readily adopted and used in urban planning and architecture. Current projects in this area are being increasingly designed to meet the requirements of the circular economy, which is facilitated by the reuse of once-used components. The aim of the study is to review research papers in the Scopus database (bibliometric analysis) and other selected materials applied in construction, which are recycled and used again in various ways in the construction of subsequent buildings. The results show various application possibilities of recycled materials in construction. The study draws attention to the fact that the use of recycled materials in modern construction is becoming more and more effective, which may contribute to increasing the share of the circular economy in the implementation process related to this subject.

Thermal waste transformation plants (waste incineration plants) are a strong architectural accent in the existing site context. They often function as power plants or combined heat and power plants, producing heat and/or electricity by recovering energy from flue gases. The main objective of this study was to demonstrate the relationship between the architectural quality and protection of the natural environment through the technological solutions applied. The indirect aims of the study include the demonstration of the educational message conveyed through architectural and environmental solutions. The relationships defined by the objective were verified in comparative studies of eight operating waste incineration plants in Poland, located in: Bialystok, Bydgoszcz, Konin, Krakow, Poznan, Rzeszow, Szczecin, and Warsaw. The results were presented in three problem areas: (i) architectural quality, (ii) environmental solutions, and (iii) educational message. The results of the study led to the following conclusions: (i) waste incineration plants operating in Poland show a relationship between the architectural quality and broadly understood pro-environmental solutions, (ii) and all waste incineration plants operating in Poland show educational solutions.