Polish Press Agency (PAP): You are the originator of the report Is eco-construction trendy? 2025 Edition, a study of Poles’ opinions and attitudes regarding sustainable construction, which shows that nearly half of Poles are ready to pay more for an ecological house. Is that a lot?

Bartosz Dendura (BD): This is quite an optimistic signal, considering that in 2023 this percentage was lower (about 35%). In 2025, it is clear that awareness is growing. As an architect, however, I look at it with cautious optimism: declarations in the survey are one thing, and actual decisions made regarding the design and budget are another. Psychology describes this as the 'attitude-behaviour gap'. Many people want to choose eco-friendly solutions, but when it comes to specific costs, the more well-known and cheaper solutions often win.

PAP: Do Poles think about making their houses ecological?

BD: They do, and they declare such a need more and more often, but there are still concerns. 'Eco' is sometimes associated with a greater technological risk, or a solution for people with a higher budget. When the market slows down - and data from the Central Statistical Office show that in 2024 the fewest residential buildings were completed in the last four years - investors are more likely to look for predictability. In Poland, this predictability still often means traditional brick and concrete technologies.

PAP: Ecological house, which means what exactly?

BD: This concept is understood in many ways. For me, an ecological house is a building designed and constructed to reduce the impact on the environment throughout its life cycle. This may mean, among other things: the use of materials with a lower carbon footprint (e.g. wood, mineral materials with a simple composition), the use of renewable energy sources and energy-saving technologies, such as photovoltaics, heat pumps, heat recovery or well-designed natural ventilation.

Water-related solutions (e.g. rainwater collection) and thinking about the building as a whole are also important: from construction, through operation, to modernization and dismantling. We often forget that in the long life cycle of a building - e.g. 50 years - the construction phase may be a smaller part of the total emissions than the subsequent use.

PAP: Does the cost of building an ecological house differ significantly from a traditional one?

BD: Yes and no. If we look only at the starting cost of a structure, e.g. in wooden technology, it can be several percent higher compared to the standard. And this is the moment when 'eco' sometimes loses to 'cheaper today'.

On the other hand, from a long-term perspective, many energy-saving solutions can pay for themselves in monthly heating and electricity bills. Therefore, some investors treat it more as an investment in operating costs and comfort, and not just as an expense.

PAP: What other attitudes do Poles have towards ecological construction?

BD: The study shows an interesting polarization: women more often choose the answer 'probably yes', but they also more often signal doubts. Men are more likely to give extreme answers - both 'definitely yes' and 'definitely no'.

Myths still persist. As a designer at Studio4SPACE, I often hear questions: 'Will the wood rot?' or 'Will it burn?' Even though skyscrapers are built from wood all over the world, we still have to fight stereotypes.

PAP: How much money are Poles willing and ready to spend on ecological construction?

BD: The largest group of respondents declares willingness to pay 5% to 20% percent over the real estate value. What is probably not surprising is the dependence on income - people with the highest earnings are sometimes ready to pay even more than 50% more, treating it as an indicator of quality. For most investors, however, the psychological limit of acceptance is usually a dozen percent.

PAP: What surprised you in the research results?

BD: I was surprised by the comparison of the declarations with market data. On the one hand, in surveys, almost half of respondents say they are willing to pay extra for ecological solutions, on the other hand, data from the Central Statistical Office show that traditional technologies dominated in 2024: approximately 98.1 percent new residential buildings were built of brick and concrete, and heating is still based mainly on gas and district heating. Alternative technologies (wood, prefabrication, steel) together constitute a small part of the market. This suggests a clear gap between intentions and actual investment decisions, and shows how important technology diversification and better availability of proven pro-environmental solutions are.

PAP: As I understand it, ecological construction takes into account today’s needs regarding climate change.

BD: Absolutely, although it is worth emphasising that I am a practitioner and a scientist. I see potential in modern technologies not because they are 'fashionable', but because hard data confirm that they are less harmful to the environment and - crucially for an investor - they have lower operating costs. It is pure building physics and economics. In a typical house, CO2 emissions from heating for years exceed those from construction. Therefore, a modern home must cut itself off from fossil fuels. Good insulation and ecological heat sources are simply a logical choice nowadays.

PAP: Are there any data on how many such ecological houses there are in Poland?

BD: Statistics show that alternative technologies still represent a small percentage - around 1-2%. Therefore, eco-real estate is still a niche, albeit a growing one. At the same time, the market is uneven in terms of quality: some offers of 'eco' houses, especially wooden ones, may be simplified or not well adapted to the needs and conditions, which may spoil confidence in the entire category. Therefore, a good design and selection of installations for a specific building are important, and the role of the architect and experienced contractors is crucial.

However, in my academic work, I see that the young generation of architects increasingly treats sustainable design as a starting point, not an addition - and this gives real hope for a change in proportions in the coming years.

PAP: You say that we cannot wait until customers themselves understand what problems the climate is currently facing. And what do we need?

BD: First of all, specifics and examples, not just slogans. Some customers are easier to convince when they see the implementations and receive quantifiable arguments: comfort, operating costs, predictability of solutions. In the studio, we try to show that an ecological house can mean a higher standard of living and contemporary design.

More broadly, there should be a much stronger emphasis on education from an early age: where does water and electricity come from, what happens to wastewater. This basic awareness makes it easier to make sound investment decisions later.

PAP: To sum up, what do you think construction should be like today?

BD: It would be good to make it predictable, safe and increasingly environmentally efficient - without treating it as an extravagance. I dream of low-emission solutions becoming a natural, 'safe' choice for an increasing group of investors. Construction can combine respect for resources with economic sense - and ecology should be perceived not as a luxury addition, but as an element of the quality of a well-designed house.

Bartosz Dendura is the only Polish member of the Sustainable Development Commission of the International Union of Architects. In 2023, he won the main prize in the European Property Awards 2023 plebiscite in the single-family real estate category. The study Eco-construction is trendy? 2025 Edition surveyed 1,000 adult Poles, with the sample selected based on data from the Central Statistical Office.

PAP - Science in Poland, Anna Mikołajczyk-Kłębek, (PAP)

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