International scientific conference of the Faculty of Architecture of the Silesian University of Technology and the Institute of Architecture Documentation of the Silesian Library

On April 7, 2025, an international scientific conference devoted to research and protection of the architectural heritage of the second half of the 20th century was held.

The conference was held as part of the third edition of the DREAM Silesia Multiconference organized since 2019 by the Faculty of Architecture of the Silesian University of Technology in cooperation with the Commission of Architecture and Urban Planning of the Polish Academy of Sciences. This time, the Institute of Architecture Documentation of the Silesian Library was also invited to cooperate.

The aim of the conference was to present the problem of the architectural heritage of the second half of the 20th century, emerging on both sides of the "iron curtain", which divided Europe at that time.

That is why we invited guests from Portugal (University of Beira Interior, Covilha), Italy (Politecnico di Milano), Germany (Technical University TUV Berlin), Lithuania (Vilnius Gediminas University), Turkey (Yasar University, Izmir) and Poland (Silesian University of Technology) to the session.

The conference consisted of three main parts:
- The first was a session with the participation of foreign guests, who presented the results of their research in the field of conservation of modernist architectural heritage. This part of the meeting took place at the Faculty of Architecture in Gliwice.
- The second part was a thematic walk around the center of Katowice, devoted to the different faces of the city's contemporary architecture - from icons of modernism and postmodernism to the newest buildings.
- The third part was a joint summary discussion, which took place at the Silesian Library, where the Institute of Architecture Documentation has been collecting and developing collections of works by the greatest architects of the second half of the 20th century working in Silesia for many years.

The author of the conference concept and the session leader was prof. dr hab. inż. arch. Magdalena Żmudzińska-Nowak, and the team of substantive collaborators was: dr hab. inż. arch. Magdalena Wałek, mgr inż. arch. Jakub Bródka and mgr inż. arch. Patrycja Czubaj. The organizers were supported by dr hab. Eng. Arch. Anna Szewczenko, Organizing Secretary of the DREAM Silesia Multi-Conference and Dr. Hab. Eng. Arch. Tomasz Bradecki - Dean of the Faculty of Architecture, and the proceedings were graced by the participation of Prof. Dr. Hab. Eng. Bożena Skołud - Vice-Rector of the Silesian University of Technology.

The conference gathered a large group of listeners both participating in the proceedings on site and via the Internet, including academics, students and representatives of the conservation office, architects and investors