Revitalizace hliněných staveb na přelomu tisíciletí

The authoresses deal with the phenomenon of returning clay as material used for construction of new houses and repairs of traditional clay buildings. The first chapter includes the historic excursus that is followed by characterization of using the clay-building construction techniques within the country environment in Central and South Moravia. In these regions, clay prevailed in construction of farmsteads since the 18th century whereby it developed especially in the 19th century. Recently, clay has been used again for reconstructions of landmarks as documented by concrete cases. The second part of the essay sums up the situation abroad where especially France belongs to the top European countries in the field of the unburnt-clay buildings research. Close to Lyon is situated an experimental settlement built from unburnt clay, and special university programs (CRATerre Centre, GAIA and TERRA 2000 projects) deal with the research of clay-building construction techniques. Other European countries paying high attention to clay in building industry are Germany with university research and a central organization (Dachverband Lehm) and Austria where they do essential experiments in the field of ecological architecture. Furthermore, the essay analyses the most often defects in existing clay buildings (mainly humidity and its causes), the reconstructions of those buildings and the ways of using the clay material in new constructions.