Introduction and objective: Using the concepts of Ulrich’s theory of supportive design and Malkin’s healing environment, an eye tracking experiment was designed in order to measure respondents’ reactions while looking at visualisations of various interiors, with the aim of verifying...

Noticeable climate change in recent years is reducing the comfort of public spaces in the urban environment, and is becoming an element of urban policies. The adaptation to climate change requires the development of new design guidelines for the development of public spaces. The appropriate definition of development density, choice of building materials, technologies, planting species, and the used directions is a challenge that depends on local conditions. A representative public space located in the area of a multi-family housing estate built in the second half of the 20th century in Lublin (Poland) was selected for the study. The space has undergone redevelopment twice in the last 10 years. The aim of the study was to determine to what extent the executed and designed changes actually improve the thermal comfort of users. Quantitative and qualitative indicators of the successive phases of the investment were analyzed in the context of projected climate change. The simulation was developed using the ENVI-met version 5.0 software. As a result of the changes made, there has been an improvement in usability and comfort. Five simulations were carried out for the warmest day of the year for one of the public spaces in the city of Lublin. The sensation of PET thermal comfort was investigated for people aged 35 and 75, as a particularly sensitive group. The obtained result proved that the elderly feel higher temperature rates than younger people. In one of the simulations, new plantings were proposed to improve the local microclimate. The material temperatures of paved surfaces were also investigated. The article shows how the local microclimate and people’s desire to stay in a given space can be improved with new tree planting.

Today’s Lublin midtown has been shaped through both spontaneous and planned change. The oldest existing form of green landscaping in midtown Lublin are its convent gardens. Most of them have not retained their former character which was influenced by both changes in ownership and functionality. Planned green area landscaping as an element of urban composition appeared in Lublin for the first time at the beginning of the 19th century. It was then that the streamlined squares, markets and streets (Plac Musztry, Krakowskie Przedmieście, church squares) as well as the newly mapped out road and rail links gained a frame in the form of trees and shrubbery. A number of trees planted in the 19th century are still around to this day, forming a valued element of the city’s cultural and natural landscape. Soon after, the first city public parks appeared (Park na Czechówce, Ogród Miejski and Park Bronowicki). The historic cemeteries (at Lipowa St., the cemetery by the Evangelical church) are a very specific variant of urban green landscape in today’s midtown. This article shows kinds of planned green area urban landscaping characteristic to midtown Lublin, based on the archival source materials, project studies, literature and iconography. The transformations of forms and functionalities of the indicated areas have been studied in the period from their foundation to date. Lublin midtown’s most vital public space – Plac Litewski – was the subject of detailed analysis.

The development of scientific research related to the impact of the built environment on people in recent decades has changed the way healthcare facilities are designed in the 21st century. The ideal approach is characterized by research-based design and the creation of a therapeutic environment. An integral component of the hospital environment is art, the positive impact of which on hospital users has been proven by many scientific studies. The purpose of this research was to determine the specifics and forms of art in contemporary hospitals. The qualitative study included 91 hospitals in 18 European countries. Based on scientific literature, acquired data on the surveyed facilities, and study visits to 20 hospitals, 12 forms of art were identified. In addition to traditional art forms, art reflecting the achievements of 21st-century science and technology can often be seen in contemporary hospitals. The best example is interactive graphics using digital techniques and tools. This is art whose base is created by the artist, but at the same time, it is a form that responds to the environment and movement, engaging the viewer to interact.

This paper presents an urban approach to modelling and planning the development of cities, with particular focus on Lublin as a case study. Research into models of the spatial structure of a city is crucial to the effectiveness and efficiency of urban planning decisions and policies. The study analysed Lublin to identify the key elements and relationships that make up its urban layout. The scientific objective of the study is a model interpretation of the spatial and functional structure of Lublin. Following Zuziak’s example, it was called the urban structure, and it will be analysed as a proposal for a potential tool to facilitate the control of city development. The research used classical methods applied in urban planning and architecture but was inspired at the by the logic of algorithms simplifying road networks and preserving their typological properties. Thus, different types of layers, information and spatial data were translated into an accessible language and were finally presented in the form of an urban design, consisting of urbanity nodes and development corridors. The main conclusion of the research is that an intelligible model (plan/scheme/graph) of the city can become a useful tool for shaping a high-quality urbanised environment that responds quickly to new challenges.

Most hospitals in Poland date back to the 20th century. Due to developments in technology and medicine, these buildings need to be adapted to meet modern needs. Due to these needs and the possibility of EU funding for hospitals, modernisation has become an extremely topical subject. The aim of the research was to identify what types of modernisation work had been carried out after 2004 and to identify the main problems associated with this work. The subjects of the study were 38 hospitals from the Lubelskie Voivodeship in which various types of modernisation work had been carried out. Based on the data collected on these hospitals, interviews with selected managers and the authors' own experience of working on the modernisation of hospitals from the 20th century, seven main problems associated with the ten different modernisation works identified were distinguished. The authors formulated ten questions which can be helpful to hospital managers before embarking on building upgrades and that will help them define the main problems, objectives and a more holistic rather than fragmented approach to adapting hospitals to modern requirements. Większość szpitali w Polsce pochodzi z XX wieku. W związku z rozwojem technologii i medycyny budynki te wymagają przystosowania do współczesnych potrzeb. W związku z tymi potrzebami oraz możliwością dofinansowania szpitali ze środków Unii Europejskiej, modernizacja stała się niezwykle aktualnym tematem. Celem badań było zidentyfikowanie jakie rodzaje prac modernizacyjnych zostały wykonane po 2004 roku oraz określenie głównych problemów związanych z tymi pracami. Przedmiotem badań było 38 szpitali z województwa lubelskiego, w których były wykonywane różnego rodzaju prace modernizacyjne. Na podstawie zebranych danych o tych szpitalach, rozmów z wybranymi zarządcami oraz doświadczeń własnych autorów związanych z pracą przy modernizacji szpitali z XX wieku, wyróżniono siedem głównych problemów związanych ze zidentyfikowanymi dziesięcioma różnymi pracami modernizacyjnymi. Autorzy sformułowali dziesięć pytań, które będą pomocne dla zarządców szpitali przed przystąpieniem do modernizacji budynków oraz które pomogą im zdefiniować główne problemy, cele oraz bardziej holistyczne a nie fragmentaryczne podejście do przystosowania szpitali do współczesnych wymagań.