National Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning

The National Institute of Architecture and Urban Planning is a state institution of culture which fosters social awareness by popularising and promoting architectural and urban design culture through exhibitions, education and publishing. It also works towards preservation of the national architectural heritage, carries out research on architecture, urban design and master planning, and disseminates knowledge about these fields.  

The Institute’s mission is, among others, to work with architects, local authorities and end users of the architecture that surrounds us in order to improve the quality of public spaces, to find balance in the process of their development and mutual understanding in the process of their design and planning.

Squares and streets, workplaces, seats of cultural institutions or offices – these are the places where people should feel comfortable and safe. We at the Institute wish that all of us, as a society, participate in the public space consciously – we ought to feel responsible for it, to appreciate it, but also to apply a critical approach towards it.

For us, education means promoting new ways of thinking about shared spaces. That is why we develop programmes and strategies to educate children, young people and adults. We have established a Team for General Architectural Education whose activities are aimed to develop systemic solutions so that architectural education functions as a permanent element of general education in Poland.

We produce and publish books on architecture, urban planning and architectural design. They are addressed to children and adults, to professionals as well as non-professionals who are interested in architecture.