The article presents the person of Janusz Ballenstedt (1929–2005), a Cracow architect, whom twists of fate relocated to French circles. He was the designer of significant buildings in Poland, a man of great knowledge, skilful in his use of the pen. He transferred his thoughts regarding the all-encompassing viewing of architecture to paper. A valuable book, titled “Architecture – Theory and History” (PWN 2000) was written. The article is focused on J. Ballenstedt’s earlier unpublished work, a manifesto of the architect, titled Theory of Minimum in Architecture.

The concept of civil society does not cease to attract the attention of the media and that of politicians. It is being discussed over and over and viewed from every angle: political, national, social. We can ask ourselves the important question the, what is its influence on architecture and the aesthetics of our immediate surroundings? How can converting the homo sapiens into a citizens change our landscape? If it can, what is so special about architectural and urban design in a civil society which makes it different from those that we have now? Can we describe the aesthetics of a civil society? And finally, what are the relations between being a citizen and architecture, aesthetics and the landscape?

The paper presents the meaning of complexity as a notion in psychology, and its influence on architectural theory in the 1960s, focusing on the notion of optimal complexity. A commentary is presented on the two texts („Network of straight lines” and „Limited complexity”) by professor architect Juliusz Żórawski from 1967, where he has introduced the term of limited complexity in relation to architecture, and where he criticizes excessively far reaching forecasts of future development. Żórawski’s concepts are parallel to those of R. Venturi at that time.

The state of the built environment makes one inclined to ponder how ethics affects the space that is designed and its aesthetic quality. As a consequence, there arise questions concerning the provisions of ethical codes of professional conduct that architects must adhere to on the one hand, while on the other, the practical guidelines for architectural design and planning. In a period when matters of durability (firmitas) and utility (utilitas) have been largely dominated by other branches of design, including the matters of ecology, beauty (venustas) has come to be considered as the most essential constituent attribute of architecture. Selected interpretations of Beauty and its relationship with Good (Vitruvius, 1954; Tatarkiewicz, 1962, 1982) have been presented, including in light of the latest findings of neurobiology and neuroaesthetics (Zeki, 2011, 2019; Qiuling et al., 2018; Ishizu, Tsukiura, Cabeza, 2011). The term appropriateness (Krakowski, 1989) is herein accepted, understood as a notion of intentional, socially conditioned beauty and considered proper to describe the aesthetic standard of the built environment under design. This paper is an attempt at finding practical methods of ensuring aesthetic quality (beauty) in newly designed and redesigned spatial situations. It identifies the field of professional law (the ethical code of conduct for architects), wherein aesthetic matters are largely ignored on the one hand, while on the other it points to the necessity to teach and implement a design process that is tender (Tokarczuk, 2019) and mindful (Dominiczak, 2016) dialogue in a specific understanding of encounters with the Other (the Second), whether it’s an architect, a user or a structure. It notes the proposal of creative aesthetics (Sławińska, 1973) as a potentially possible integral branch of design. Contrary to the professional ethics of architects, which pertains to individuals who practice design and are ethically responsible for their professional conduct (design), the ethic of architecture refers to aesthetic relationships that emerge in architectural situations (Dominiczak, 2016). In this understanding, built structures are personified and seen as entities with their own identities (if the designer wills it) that engage in dialogue with Other entities (Levinas, 1998), which both create and define a given space.