The article is devoted to the analysis of the behaviour of the foundations of historic buildings. Some basic aspects of foundation engineering are discussed, with an emphasis placed on its development, applied techniques, and materials. Several different approaches and methods for the analysis of foundations of historical buildings are presented. A particular analysis has been focused on an example of a typical stone foundation from the sixteenth century. First, the calculations have been performed using the finite element method, then the bearing capacity and the settlement analysis has been determined according to EC-7. Next, the bearing capacity has been evaluated using simplified analysis. A settlement of the foundation has been also estimated using Kerisel's proposal. The information should allow for a better understanding of the behaviour of foundations discussed in this research, and especially of methods of their analysis. A comparison analysis has been performed and possible directions for further research in this field have been indicated

The study presents a probabilistic stability analysis of a Baltic cliff in Jastrzębia Góra, Poland. Progressive slope erosion is a threat to adjacent buildings, so safety assessment of the slope is essential. The cliff shows a compound, multi-layered geological structure, which makes the analysis of its reliability a complex multivariate problem. A simple, straightforward computational procedure was proposed, incorporating the Response Surface Method (RSM) linked with the standard Monte Carlo (MC) simulation method and the Point Estimate Method (PEM). PEM samples make it possible to analyse the sensitivity of the cliff’s stability to variation in subsoil parameters and to reduce the number of random variables of the problem. The proposed methods were tested in two cases: a high failure probability (undrained state) and a moderate failure probability (drained case). The so-called combined Response Surface Method (CRSM) proposed here may be successfully applied in geotechnical computations characterized by dispersion and uncertainty of soil data as well as a relatively high damage probability.

Architects, civil engineers, and other specialists planning modern projects in historical centers of European cities face extremely difficult historical and spatial conditions. They also come across technical problems related to the need to save valuable heritage assets consisting of historical buildings. These problems are most pronounced in cities that have suffered significant war damage. Such cities include Gdańsk (Poland), which was almost completely destroyed during World War II. Despite the successful rebuilding of the city by the post-war generation of builders, there are still empty spaces and quarters, as well as fragments of historic frontages to be filled in the old town of Gdańsk. This article presents several examples of modern developments designed to preserve and coexist with fragments of historic brick buildings. These building projects each faced a similar task; to save and display the historical urban fabric, but they differed significantly in how they chose to achieve that goal. Not all of the projects presented in this study meet the requirements of the Venice Charter equally well. In this field, the solution often means choosing the “lesser evil”. Each of the projects presents a unique example of interdisciplinary research used to solve complex construction problems. Numerical analysis using the finite element method (including the damage model based on plastic degradation adopted for brick walls)was carried out for one of the projects.