Meeting housing needs is one of society's most important challenges and a large part of current investment activity. Housing is a topic that has preoccupied architects from the very beginning of their creative activity. Nowadays, building activity is mainly focused on the city, the residential environment and its surroundings. There are many issues involved in planning these issues such as the differentiation of urban space, the location of new residential areas, as well as the character of the development and the consideration of the existing context. An important issue is the relationship between the dwelling space and the natural environment, historically shaped urban layouts or the technical and communication structure. Issues that require special attention are: the quality of the built environment, new pro-environmental technologies, the energy efficiency of the residential environment, the adaptation of housing to the needs of different age and social groups, the shape of new settlements, and their functional and aesthetic dimension.

We believe that such important issues require deep reflection and discussion involving the scientific community, representatives of investors, as well as architects themselves. Therefore, we have decided that one of the issues of the quarterly "Architectus" will be devoted to residential architecture and living environment. We expect articles focused on the analysis of needs and solutions to date, issues connected with improving the quality of the residential environment, modern pro-ecological solutions, contemporary trends in housing in its architectural, urban planning, technological and social dimensions. We want to pay particular attention to the problem of living in a historical city and the relationship between new developments and the historically shaped urban environment.

We invite academics including PhD students (architecture and urban planning historians, art historians and sociologists), as well as practitioners - architects, urban planners and conservators - to contribute to the publication.