Contemporary built environment in the context of evolution of energy-efficient solutions in architecture

The article is concerned with the subject of energy consumption in construction; it also discusses problems related to creation of sustainable built environment and its links to the natural environment, with special emphasis placed on its links to climate. Selected contemporary European development directions and trends in solutions using solar energy in buildings have been discussed in the paper, as well as various projects, concepts and realisations, mostly related to residential development. The collected examples present the experiences of previous eras as well as their continuation contemporary realisations based on the possibilities of using innovative technologies in architecture within the framework of actions undertaken in European countries. They are to be found in various scales referring to whole districts, housing estates and housing complexes as well as individual buildings. They refer both to new development and to transformations of the existing infrastructure in the process of its restoration