The direct release of energy from the groundwater under the building of the Sobieski Family Palace in Lublin, Poland, and the obtainment of heat and cooling energy for Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning systems (HVAC) provide an opportunity to reduce electricity and heat consumption and to limit CO₂ emissions by 15–50%. The upgrade to the Sobieski Family Palace and the addition of new educational and administrative functions require state-of-the-art, energy-saving, and environmentally friendly solutions such as Fuel Cells and Hydrogen for Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (FCH HVAC) systems. As part of the program “Research for high-quality air in architecture and urban studies,” carried out since 2018 at the Institute of Architecture Planning, Department of Contemporary Architecture, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture of the Lublin University of Technology, in 2021, further research was carried out in order to prepare for the potential implementation in 2022 of the project entitled “Development and Upgrade of the Former Sobieski Family Palace in Lublin. The main body of the building—educational and administrative function,” whose chief designer was Architect J. Wrana, Lublin University of Technology, 2021. The objective of this paper is to identify technologies and solutions specifically designed for HVAC systems in upgraded and renovated historic buildings. This paper is also a call for cooperation among institutions, scientists, higher education institutions, as well as an expression of appreciation for the immense energy stored in groundwater. This energy not only has the lowest carbon footprint but also is the only generally accessible large storage source from which we were unable to obtain ecologically pure energy before the introduction of FCH technology.

It is now highly likely that with the rise in fuel, gas and electricity prices, groundwater deposits will become the third primary source of renewable energy, alongside photovoltaic cells and wind turbines. These deposits are characterized by unlimited clean and environmentally friendly energy with constant parameters independent of the fluctuations of wind and solar energy. This paper presents innovative low-carbon solutions for converting groundwater energy into heating and cooling energy in FCH HVAC. A good example of a significant reduction in CO₂ emissions achieved by this technology is a study describing the system implemented in the Integrative Sports and Recreation Center in Łomianki. New installations for the FCH technology in the abovementioned center will reduce the consumption of heating and cooling energy as well as CO₂ emissions by at least 50%. The aim of this article was to present the energy from underground waters and how to use it in HVAC installations. The authors show a new direction for the use of forgotten energy that is not only available in unlimited quantities at all latitudes but also has a very small carbon footprint and can significantly reduce CO₂ emissions.

The article concerns a question of revitalising the “Sobiescy” Palace Complex in Lublin as well as various possibilities of revalorising it. The authors demonstrate problems of and defects in the technical condition of the building while referring to expert opinions on specific elements of the facilities in question. In order to exemplify chances resulting from prospective modernisation of the discussed complex the authors present already revitalised buildings in Poland. With the purpose of showing considerable potential of the edifice the authors set forth a developed, but unfortunately not implemented project of revitalising the Palace Complex. Moreover, the authors illustrate a new idea for revitalising the facilities in question. The last paragraphs of the article present an outline of creating a Regional Centre of Identity and Cultural Dialogue that would be a chance for popularizing architecture and developing not only Lublin Region but also creativity of its citizens. Moreover, adapting the complex would also provide opportunities for recalling multiculturalism of the region and identity resulting from this feature.

The article concerns the issue of revitalizing historical buildings by assigning new functions to them. The authors of the writing provide examples of constantly dilapidating edifices in Lublin and their brief historical outlines. Basing on the expert’s report concerning Sobiescy Palace in Lublin, the writers present problems resulting from the technical condition of this as well as other historical buildings. Chances for improving the conditions of such properties by including them in a completely new functional programme are seen by authors. In order to support this thesis, the writers present already implemented revitalization projects in Poland by assigning various new ones, e.g. living and public utility functions to the buildings. Autorzy przytaczają rysy historyczne zabudowań niszczejących na terenie Lublina oraz wyniki badań stanu technicznego prezentowanych budynków. Na przykładzie wyników ekspertyzy pałacu Sobieskich w Lublinie ukazują problemy dotykające zaniedbanych obiektów zabytkowych. Szansy na poprawę ich kondycji autorzy artykułu upatrują we wprowadzeniu do budowli nowego programu funkcjonalnego. Na poparcie założonej tezy prezentują oni zrealizowane dotychczas w Polsce zabiegi rewitalizacyjne poprzez wprowadzenie do zabudowań różnorodnych funkcji, takich jak mieszkaniowe i użyteczności publicznej.

This paper discusses the application of a new honeycomb FCH HVAC (Free Cooling and Heating System, Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) ring network technology that reduces the primary energy consumption in existing infrastructure. The aim of the research is to evaluate the cost-environmental viability of upgrading the technical infrastructure and moving from traditional to newly designed green systems built on renewable energy sources. The results show that the energy capacity stored in groundwater is equivalent to 65% of building demand, resulting in a 60% reduction in CO₂ emissions compared to a traditional HVAC system. The solution reduces the consumption of natural resources by using renewable energy sources with horizontal heat exchangers arranged in independent ring configurations.

An architect undertaking some creative activity ‘’today”, touches ‘’the future”, and tomorrow our interference directed towards ‘’the future” will be nothing else but ‘’the past”. Therefore, while thinking about architecture as a constant cultural message concerning the place, the architect-creator is obliged to collect and analyse the research material in order to take accurate project decisions. Nowadays, after the thorough analysis of research material, treating the result of our creative activities as a spatial message, we expect social allowance and acceptance for proposing new expressive forms, which create the processed message codes.