Construction is a powerful industry that is not indifferent to the environment. Neither the maintenance of buildings in a proper technical condition nor their eventual demolition is indifferent to the environment. The main threats to the environment are still the inefficient use of construction materials and energy needed for their production and installation, as well as the emission of harmful substances to the environment at the stage of operation of buildings and their demolition. This article discusses the importance of wood as a renewable material in terms of its physical and mechanical properties. The restoration of forest areas is of great importance to the global ecosystem and the sustainable development system, reducing the threat of global warming and the greenhouse effect by reducing CO₂ levels. In addition, demolition wood can be reused in construction, can be safely recycled as it quickly decomposes, or can be used as a source of renewable energy. The preservation of existing timber-framed buildings in good condition contributes to a lower consumption of this raw material for repair, which already significantly reduces the energy required for their manufacture, transport, and assembly. This also reduces the amount of waste that would have to be disposed of in various ways. Both at the stage of design, execution, and then exploitation, one forgets about the physical processes taking place inside the partitions and about the external climatic influences of the environment (precipitation, water vapor, and temperature) on which the type, intensity, and extent of chemical and biological corrosion depend to a very high degree. This paper presents examples of the influence of such impacts on the operational safety of three selected objects: a feed storehouse and an officer casino building from the second half of the nineteenth century and an 18th century rural homestead building. The research carried out on wooden structures of the above-mentioned objects “in situ” was verified by means of simulation models, which presented their initial and current technical conditions in relation to the type and amount of impact they should safely absorb. Moreover, within the framework of this paper, artificial intelligence methods have been implemented to predict the biological corrosion of the structures studied. The aim of the paper was to draw attention to the timber already built into buildings, which may constitute waste even after several years of operation, requiring disposal and at the same time the production of a substitute. The purpose of the research carried out by the authors of the article was to examine the older and newer buildings in use, the structures of which, in whole or in part, were made of wood. On a global scale, there will be considerable demand for the energy required to thermally dispose of this waste or to deposit it in landfills with very limited capacity until its complete biological decomposition. These energy demands and greenhouse gas emissions can be prevented by effective diagnostics of such structures and the predictability of their behaviour over time, with respect to the conditions under which they are operated. The authors of the article, during each assessment of the technical condition of a building containing wooden elements, analysed the condition of their protection each time and predicted the period of their safe life without the need for additional reinforcements or replacement by others. As the later reality shows, it is a very effective method of saving money and energy.

Buildings, energy, and the environment are key issues facing construction around the world. The energy efficiency of buildings is a key topic when it comes to reducing the world’s energy consumption, releasing harmful gases, and global climate change, as they consume about 40% of the world’s energy supplies. Heat losses in buildings reduce the energy performance of buildings and are basically important to them. In the paper, the authors focus on the main problems related to heat losses generated by chimney systems, which are inseparable equipment of building structures, resulting in lower energy efficiency and, at the same time, technical efficiency and durability of the building partitions themselves. Authors present thermal imaging with its contribution to the detection of heat losses, thermal bridges, insulation problems, and other performance disturbances, and then verifications using appropriate simulation models. The mathematical apparatus of artificial neural networks was implemented to predict the temperature distributions on the surfaces of prefabricated chimney solutions. In Europe, we can often find a large building substance equipped with traditional chimneys, which disrupts the current trend of striving to reduce energy consumption, especially that derived from fossil fuels. Speaking of energy-efficient buildings, one should not ignore those that, without additional security and modern installations, are constantly used in a very wide range. Therefore, the article deals with an essential problem that is not perceived in design studies and during the operation period as having a basis in incorrect architectural solutions and which can be easily eliminated. It concerns the cooling of internal partitions of buildings on their last storeys, in places where chimneys are located, regardless of their function. The authors of the paper decided to take a closer look at this phenomenon, which may allow the limiting of its effects and at the same time reduce its impact on the energy performance of technologically older buildings.

The subject of this article is material research carried out on the ruins of a medieval castle located in west-central Poland. This facility was built at the beginning of the 15th century by the Order of St. John, and during its long life, it was subjected to many reconstructions. Unfortunately, in 1975, it was destroyed by fire. Since then, it has been left in a state of advanced ruin, exposed to climatic influences without any protection. The subject of the research was to assess the possibility of maintaining such buildings in a severely degraded condition while ensuring their technical efficiency. The article discusses a particular instance of “consolidation” applied to a structure in a state of historical, architectural, and structural ruin. After the diagnosis, it was determined that the structure should be safeguarded using a minimally invasive method. The purpose of these activities was to answer the question of whether the structure could be left to continue operating despite failing to meet the requirements of current standards and regulations while posing an additional danger to itself and the environment,. This goal was achieved by obtaining a considerable amount of data on the condition of the materials embedded in the masonry structure, thanks to which the initial parameters for conducting an assessment of the technical condition of the damaged masonry structure and evaluating the degree of its danger were developed. The results of the research and analysis carried out and described in this article can be used in other similar situations where saving national heritage objects through “artificial modern” strengthening will be unsafe and will lead to a loss of their authenticity. We still have a long way to go to develop a comprehensive method for “in situ” diagnosis of heterogeneous masonry structures, so we should use possible techniques and knowledge to conduct such assessments and propose rescue methods for historically valuable objects in a way that could minimize the damage and that can “easily” disappear from our surroundings. Each study should have a specific purpose, not only research but also a long-term perspective, making it possible to leave material for further research and analysis, including testing new research methods in real conditions of its installation.

This paper discusses issues related to operation of environment protection facilities in immediate vicinity of natural water reservoirs, including fresh water reservoirs, located above and below ground. The subject of this study is a municipal solid waste landfill located in southwestern Poland and its related facilities included in the technological processes of waste disposal, treatment, and recycling. The paper briefly discusses the construction process stage and the first stage of operation of the studied facility in respect of their future impact on the environment. At the present time, waste is used to obtain landfill gas for electricity generation and materials to be reincorporated or disposed of, i.e. construction debris (brick, concrete), structural steel, firewood, and plastics. The range of topics presented in the paper is in accord with the sustainable development tendency and the paper specifically focuses on potential hazards arising from presence and operation of facilities of this type (built at a time when environment protection regulations were less restrictive as to their location). Continuity and effectiveness of insulation membranes of landfills are important inasmuch as once such landfills are filled with waste and then closed and reclaimed at the final stage, it will be extremely difficult to identify sites of potential leaks of basins, whose expected lifespan is several decades or a few hundred years. If such leaks are found within this period, it will be necessary to remove reclamation layers and strongly thickened waste in order to reach them [12]. Then, new damage resulting from operation of heavy equipment might occur. Therefore, apart from standard protection solutions of landfills, additional warning systems should be applied for maximum elimination of environmental pollution hazards, the range of which can be supralocal or even supraregional. Such systems should precisely indicate the location of probable places of hazards. It is not about damage to facilities, including cells, but about safety of their surroundings. Due to the vastness of the topic referred to herein, the paper has been narrowed down to include only one issue, i.e. tightness of cells intended for non-hazardous and non-inert waste.

The article describes a hazard caused by deformation of a brick vault located under the dungeons of the gate tower of Zamek Górny in Opole at the turn of the 13th and the 14th centuries, which was used as a school building until 2017. The hazard identified in 2013 was found on the ground level of the building in a communication route of the heavy traffic load. Visual inspections and tests have demonstrated that the existing situation was caused by civil works performed at the dungeon level nearly 6 years earlier due to an unconsidered decision on removing debris and a backfill which filled entirely the lower tower storeys. The above actions resulted in removal of the base of the floor ‘laid on the ground’ in the 19th century [2][4]. In this article, an analysis was carried out to verify possibilities of unbelievable strength of the artificially formed flat vault, which was previously the floor supported on a debris and sand base.