What will the General Plan change? Does Krakow need architectural icons and what forecasts do specialists have for the real estate market in the coming months? These, and many other topics, were debated at the 10th "New Challenges of the Housing Market" Conference, held on April 10, 2025 at the Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology in Krakow. The organizer of the event under the auspices of A&B was the Association of Home Builders.
This is the tenth anniversary edition of the "New Challenges of the Housing Market" conference, which has been organized by the Association of Home and Apartment Builders in Krakow for a decade. This time the discussions moved from the NBP headquarters in Krakow to a new ground, to an auditorium in the underground of the Manggha Museum, but the problems raised during the talks remained the same - what challenges are facing the housing market, both in Krakow and throughout Poland?
The 10th Conference "New Challenges of the Housing Market" - Prof. Waldemar Rogowski
Łukasz Zieliński © SBDiM
money, it's a gas
As in last year's edition of the "New Calls of the Housing Market" conference, the talks began with a lecture on economic issues. During the introductory presentation, Professor Waldemar Rogowski (Warsaw School of Economics) undertook an analysis of current trends and phenomena in the housing loan market, presenting the profile of a typical borrower, which is a wealthy or middle-income person aged 36, who is either a specialist or an expert in the field he or she is professionally engaged in.
10th Conference "New Calls of the Housing Market" - From left: Prof. Waldemar Rogowski, Kazimierz Kirejczyk, Jacek Furga, Iwona Załuska, Mariusz Bryksy, Jacek Bańka
Łukasz Zieliński © SBDiM
The first panel again focused primarily on numbers. The introductory presentation, led by Kazimierz Kirejczyk, a member of JLL's Residential Market Research and Analysis Team, clearly indicated that the dynamics of the real estate market in Krakow is not among the Polish leaders. The second part of the panel included a discussion moderated by Jacek Bańko, which, in addition to Kazimierz Kirejczyk, included Prof. Waldemar Rogowski, Vice President of the Association of Home Builders Mariusz Bryksy, Chairman of the Real Estate Finance Committee of the Polish Bank Association Jacek Furga and Upper Finance President Iwona Załuska. Most of the speakers agreed that the coming year could be extremely difficult for the housing market. According to Mariusz Bryksy, the rescue for the development community may turn out to be investment funds, whose large capitals will allow to fill the current demand gap. As Iwona Załuska noted, investments are instead favored by banks, which are preparing appropriate financing offers for developers.
10th Conference "New Calls of the Housing Market" - 1st Deputy Mayor of the City of Krakow Prof. Stanisław Mazur
Łukasz Zieliński © SBDiM
What's in store in Krakow
The second panel, which began with a presentation by Prof. Stanislaw Mazur, was where the discussion took on a much more local character. Representatives of the investor community associated with SBDiM, namely the president of the Association of Home Builders Piotr Legerski and Grzegorz Szmolke, vice president of SBDiM, met on stage, as well as representatives of the Cracow local government - 1st Deputy Mayor of the City of Cracow prof. Stanisław Mazur, Chairman of the Commission for Spatial Planning and Environmental Protection of the Krakow City Council Grzegorz Stawowy, Head of the Department of Arrangements and Agreements Przemysław Czech, and Krzysztof Danielczyk, representing PGE Krakow Branch.
10th Conference "New calls of the housing market". - From left: Grzegorz Szmolke, Przemysław Czech, Krzysztof Danielczyk, Prof. Stanisław Mazur, Piotr Legerski, Grzegorz Stawowy, Jacek Bańka
Łukasz Zieliński © SBDiM
The topics flowed according to the principle "from the general to the specific," taking the former quite literally. The General Plan, although well known to all participants, occupied a special place in the debate, especially in the context of outdated or inadequate Local Area Plans. Both investors and local government officials agreed that the Study and a significant part of the existing Local Spatial Development Plans are not conducive to the emergence of further investments in the city - although the map of investment absorption of the Krakow area presented by Prof. Stanislaw Mazur was almost dominated by the color green, a significant part of the land allocated for residential development, amounting to 85%, assumes the erection of single-family buildings. A bitter commentary on the current state of Krakow's MPZP was served by Grzegorz Szmolke, who said that the current local plans do not so much set the direction of further development, but rather inventory the current state.
Krakow aims high
So where to look for a vision of Krakow's future? Perhaps in the Strategy for the Development of the City of Cracow, which is being developed, and whose formation was announced during the introductory presentation by Prof. Stanislaw Mazur. On the subject of future plans, the deputy mayor also revealed that as early as June we will get to know an important document on the construction of the Krakow subway, while Grzegorz Stawowy mentioned the talks being held in the Krakow City Council on raising the average height of buildings in Krakow by one or two stories.
10th Conference "New Calls of the Housing Market"
Łukasz Zieliński © SBDiM
The topic of the eagerly awaited ZPI in Krakow was also raised, which, in the words of Grzegorz Szmolke, could become a tool to "civilize" Krakow's local plans, while, according to Grzegorz Stawowy, a means by which the numerous needs of individual neighborhoods could be met.
park vs. parking lot
The bone of contention, however, turned out to be the issues of greenery and parking spaces. While Grzegorz Szmolke noted that the coefficients of biologically active area seen in some MPZPs are absurdly high, Prof. Stanislaw Mazur upheld the opinion contained in the Declaration of Standards for Responsible Construction, according to which green roofs should not count towards the said coefficient.
10th Conference "New Calls of the Housing Market". - from left: Prof. Stanislaw Mazur, Piotr Legerski
Łukasz Zieliński © SBDiM
The panelists had similarly divided opinions about the ratio of parking spaces, which should be planned when designing new developments. Grzegorz Szmolke pointed out that the invariable ratio, currently at 1.2 parking spaces per apartment, is not adequate for every location - especially in the inner city, separating such a large number of parking spaces can be a challenge for designers of buildings that do not have underground parking. Once again, representatives of the administration disagreed, including Grzegorz Stawowy, who recalled that in the latest edition of the Krakow Barometer, residents for the first time in many years most demanded not an increase in the availability of green areas, but precisely more parking spaces.
10th Conference "New calls of the housing market" - Prof. Krzysztof Ingarden
Łukasz Zieliński © SBDiM
Architectural icons of Krakow
The third and final panel opened with a presentation by Prof. Krzysztof Ingarden, who broke down the meaning of the term "architectural icon" into factors one, moving on to present a list of Krakow's "icons," both historical and contemporary. The choice was not arbitrary, as the author referred to the "Moderne in Krakau" exhibition currently taking place in Vienna, presenting Krakow through the prism of architecture created after 1989. The foundations built during the presentation came in handy during the subsequent discussion, which was proactively led by Jakub Szczęsny. The stage was filled with architects, Prof. Krzysztof Ingarden, Tomasz Konior, SARP Krakow Branch president Magdalena Buczyńska-Zapala, DK-Development CEO Dorota Koźmińska and Janusz Sepioł, Architect of the City of Krakow.
10th Conference "New Calls of the Housing Market" - From left: Magdalena Buczyńska-Zapała, Prof. Krzysztof Ingarden, Tomasz Konior, Dorota Koźmińska, Janusz Sepioł, Jakub Szczęsny
Photo: Łukasz ZIeliński © SBDiM
All the speakers and presenters agreed that designing buildings to become icons by design is not a good solution. Instead of icons, Prof. Krzysztof Ingarden said, "places" should be created in cities. As an example of one such place, he cited the Culture Quarter planned within Krakow's Wesoła district.
10th Conference "New Calls of the Housing Market" - from left: Magdalena Buczyńska-Zapała, Prof. Krzysztof Ingarden, Tomasz Konior
Łukasz Zieliński © SBDiM
how much does an architectural competition cost?
Magdalena Buczyńska-Zapała disclosed what the costs of organizing an architectural competition entail - as she assured, these are amounts that are not subject to tendering. Dorota Kozminska, however, pointed out that on the part of the investor, the architectural competition is in fact not the first, but the next step related to the preparation of the investment. She added that the city should be properly designed first.
10th Conference "New Calls of the Housing Market" - from left: Janusz Sepiol, Jakub Szczęsny
Łukasz Zieliński © SBDiM
The new idea for Wesoola led to another thread in the debate, related to urban design, which was the issue of urban densification. Janusz Sepiol presented his concept of densification on the basis of an increase in green spaces, which is to happen in Wesoola, but also in the Combine area, where the Nowohucki Forest could be created. A different view on the matter was presented by Tomasz Konior, arguing that it is the buildings that should be densified first, primarily through the restoration of urban quarters and the use of post-industrial areas.
The discussion was summarized by the presenter, Jakub Szczęsny. The conclusions are simple: Krakow does not need icons, but good architecture that will serve the city and nature.
10th Conference "New Calls of the Housing Market"
Łukasz Zieliński © SBDiM
difficult conversations about the future
The future of Krakow's urban planning and housing market is playing out before the eyes of investors, local government officials and residents. The challenges are real: from the need to change local plans, to redefining the approach to greenery and mobility, to the debate about the meaning of architectural icons. Will Krakow find a balance between development and quality of life? Answers may come not only from further conferences, but above all from concrete actions. The situation in the real estate market depends on many factors and changes very dynamically. What will it be like next year? This is what we will probably find out at the next conference organized by SBDiM.
