Innovations in earthen construction – current developments in architecture and building practice

Clay is making a comeback in modern building culture. This traditional material is emerging from its niche to become an innovative building material for the architecture of tomorrow. New technologies, prefabrication and modern processing techniques are opening up entirely new possibilities for clay construction: high performance in terms of building physics, economically attractive and offering high-quality design.

This presentation highlights current developments through which clay is further establishing its place in modern timber construction, renovation and sustainable building concepts.

The focus is on conluto’s new KlimaKern systems for walls and ceilings. These timber-clay hybrid components combine the structural strengths of modern timber construction with the unique thermal properties of clay. They provide prefabricated building solutions that make a significant contribution to protection against summer heat, high levels of sound insulation and a balanced indoor climate. At the same time, they represent resource-efficient construction and the combination of renewable raw materials with a recyclable building material.

Another key focus is an innovation in the field of rammed earth: conluto is unveiling, for the first time, industrially prefabricated rammed earth panels just six centimetres thick. The panels can be fixed to existing solid walls, thereby enabling the characteristic surface and material effect of genuine rammed earth to be incorporated as a decorative layer within the building – without the need to plan and construct a solid rammed earth wall. This solution opens up new possibilities for architecture, interior design and high-quality renovation.

The presentation provides insights into other current developments, demonstrates specific applications and invites participants to rethink the future of earthen construction.