Aims and Scope

The idea of organizing the International Conference – Defining the Architectural Space of the Chair of Housing and Architectural Compositions IAD FoA CUT has originated from the will to create a forum, that would provoke the discussions on architecture. This need has been admitted to be appropriate for the present time of fast changes, that find their expression in the area of the architectural events as well.

The first meeting in the year 2001 was initiated wit the theme: Defining the architectural space, that raised the multi-thread discussion. Then, that receptive phrase was accepted as the motto for the series of the annual conferences of the Institute of Architectural Design, whereas the fields of the discussion for the successive meetings were designated by the themes: The Theory and Practice in Architecture.

Media patronage

Last editions

• XXV – 2026 – Architecture and Experience – English, Polish
• XXIV – 2025 – Architecture and History – English, Polish
• XXIII – 2024 – Architecture and Technology – English, Polish
• XXII – 2023 year comes with Architecture and the City – English, Polish
• XXI – 2022 – Avant-garde Architecture, English | Polish
• XX – 2021 year comes with The Myths of Architecture, English | Polish
• XIX – 2020 year comes with The Truth and Lie of Architecture, English | Polish
• XVIII – 2019 year comes with Tradition and modernity in architecture, English | Polish | Italian
• XVII – in 2018 – Rationalistic or Intuitive Way to Architecture. The co-organizer of this year’s conference is The National Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning
• XVI edition in 2017 refers to: Transmutations of concrete,
• XV edition in 2016 refers to: A house in a city – properties of an architectural thing,
• while in 2015 refers to: Games and play of architecture,
• in 2013 Description of Architectural Space,
• in 2012 Architectural Detail Today,
• in 2011 Durability and Fleetingness of Architecture,
• in 2010 – Architecture Now,
• in 2009 the theme was: Vitruvius’ Theory in the Contemporary Context,
• in 2008 defining the architectural space it is decided to take up the problem of the role and the meaning of – Architectural Work in the Space of Contemporary City,
• in 2007 the theme of the meeting was What about the Beauty of Contemporary Architecture?
• in 2006 the role of Architectural Material was discussed, paying attention to its material and ideological nature,
• the year 2005. Luckily there was no explicit definition,
• the year 2004. The discussion began with the question of beauty, utility and the architectural context. The following subject for the discussion was the problem of the distinction between the architectural practice and knowledge – theory,
• the year 2003, Architecture as Art,
• the year 2002, The Limits of Architecture.

Writing about us

Italy

The Defining Architectural Space seminar has long been an annual event eagerly awaited by many. The topics addressed differ every year and are always significant, all centred on questions of architectural and urban design. The debate is broad, as it brings together the positions of scholars from many countries, and the publication of the contributions is richer still, since it also includes additional texts. It is a rich and valuable resource for scholars, doctoral students and architects.

Germany

The City of Kraków is in itself a great school of architecture, a place where generations have contributed forms and ideas while respecting their inheritance.In the same spirit, the “Defining the Architectural Space” conferences, organised yearly by the Faculty of Architecture at the Cracow University of Technology, continue this tradition and offer a real place, in real time, for the genuine involvement of their participants. Against the backdrop of Kraków, they create an intellectual platform for the search for an authentic expression of our time.

Italy

For more than fifteen years, the Defining Architectural Space seminars organised by the Cracow University of Technology have served as a critical instrument for understanding contemporary architecture, read and interpreted through the stratigraphic line of the history of places, of the city and of the landscape. Over the years, the coexistence of diverse voices, representative at an international level, has made it possible to shape a multifaceted and shared inquiry into the foundations of architecture and into the relationships between the knowledge of form and the knowledge of construction. Central to this inquiry is the role attributed to architectural composition, understood as the rules and procedures of composing and as the logical moment of design, starting from its original meaning: the combination of elements into a structured whole.

 Poland

Thanks to its long-standing tradition and distinguished participants, the Defining Architectural Space conference has become a significant forum for the exchange of ideas in the field of architectural theory. With its reach across Poland and Europe, it fosters a welcoming environment for expert discourse and serves as an important channel of information on the latest findings. Refined over successive editions, the conference publication has acquired a recognisable form. Today it is an important source of knowledge for experienced researchers, early-career scholars and doctoral students, as well as for practising architects interested in the theoretical foundations of the art of shaping space.

Spain

In our ephemeral academic environment, where seminars and publications rarely make it past their first few editions, the annual International Scientific Conference “Defining Architectural Space” in Kraków not only endures year after year but also shows us how its critical analysis continues to improve, preserving its content in an extensive and intensive annual monograph.

USA

The Defining Architectural Space publication and conference at the Cracow University of Technology bring key fundamental issues of architectural design into discussion, addressing them both through scholarly research and from the perspective of practising architects. As such, they offer a rare and extremely valuable contribution to the discourse. The conference advances themes of both scientific and artistic value and debates them in a way that expands architectural knowledge and helps communicate ideas to the broader intellectual community.

Italy

The Journal of Architecture is an essential instrument for emerging research in the field of architectural theory. The centrality and value of the topics it addresses, often in little-explored territory, contribute to disciplinary and academic debate. It is an excellent research tool and a useful and reliable forum for contemporary discussion.

Poland

The Defining Architectural Space publication is a significant undertaking of international standing. It brings together engaging contributions from scientists, researchers, practising architects, urban planners and architecture critics. It is a record of the exchange of views at the recurring conference held at the Faculty of Architecture of the Cracow University of Technology. What matters is the continuous exchange of knowledge – because without knowledge and research there can be no modern approach to design and to architecture – Research by Design and Design by Research.