Tendencies in contemporary architectural design of ecological hotels in poland – a study of natural solutions

Abstract

Contemporary architectural design of ecological buildings is characterized by two different trends. The first trend is the search for traditional solutions that could be modified to address contemporary problems in proper functioning of buildings. The second is focused on recent technological developments in the field of energy optimization and renewable resources. Most researchers in this area focus on single-family houses, and there are very few thorough studies on hotels. The main objective of this paper is to find out which of the aforementioned trends is optimal for both new and renovated Polish hotels. The solutions discussed in this paper are focused on the specifics of Polish climate. This article also examines the traditional and contemporary solutions in Polish hotels and compares them with international best practices. As indicated in the title, the primary focus of this paper is on simple, natural solutions. These solutions have been neglected by contemporary Polish architects because they take longer to build and have a low rate of return on investment. Moreover, with the growing fascination with technological novelties, investors have become reluctant to use traditional construction techniques.