The paper contains synthetic and analytical test results and model solutions for technical maintenance and wear problems of apartment houses traditionally structured. The crucial methodological aspect of the research is striving to minimize the subjectivity of expert assessment while technical investigation of old buildings. The cause and effect between the occurrence of damage to the elements of the rental houses, treated as an expression of the conditions for their maintenance, and the size of the technical process of wear of these elements was determined on a representative, purpose-appropriate, sample of 102 residential buildings erected in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries in downtown Wrocław (Poland) district. Rational maintenance of existing buildings is nowadays significant issue for their proprieties. Therefore, there is constant need to find a research method that may lead to well thought out building maintenance management. The goal of undergone research was to search influence of apartment houses maintenance on the grade and intensity of their deterioration. As to fulfil the research objective the group of engineers identified symptoms of the technical wear growth, which means performed identification of causes and effects responsible for the defects appearance. The range of the work demanded elaboration of a new qualitative model of detected defects and its transfer into a quantitative model. Therefore, such approach enabled to establish the reason - effect connection ‘defect - technical wear’ related to the crucial structural parts of investigated apartment houses.

This paper analyses multi-criteria methods for assessing sustainable buildings and their impact on the ecological quality of the built environment. The aim is to define assessment standards in multi-criteria methods and to demonstrate that civil structures designed and built in accordance with established standards and procedures increase the ecological value of the built environment and the comfort of the inhabitants within it. The methods chosen for the analysis were mainly those enjoying the greatest prestige among users, planners, designers and investors. Selected methods were analysed and verified to propose the author’s building assessment model and verification thereof in the design process on the example of the presented projects. The building assessment methods analysed were shown to have a positive impact on the design process and the environmental quality of the built environment. Quality improvement takes place through: pro-environmental land use, improved energy and water efficiency, improved efficiency in the use of materials and resources, preference for local materials and technologies, preference for eco-innovation, increased comfort for users and residents and their participation in the design and evaluation process of the built environment.
A complementary objective is to promote knowledge of sustainable design methodologies that can result in the creation of environmentally friendly architecture that influences the quality of the residential environment and the comfort of residents.