Cork houses in Catalonia, a kindergarten in Paris with straw as thermal insulation and a public swimming pool made of clay near Madrid: the use of natural building materials in architecture is more important than ever in times of climate crisis and the search for environmentally friendly resources. While structural timber construction is already firmly established, other alternative building materials such as clay, straw, cork and bamboo are increasingly coming into focus. They offer great potential for design and also ensure a comfortable indoor climate. Natural building materials are used to create energy-optimized, recyclable and climate-friendly buildings for the future. A vacation home with seagrass for the façade and roof in Denmark or a monastery with straw bale insulation in Bavaria provide useful ideas, as do examples of social housing, schools and kindergartens, cultural and community buildings. The materials sourced and used locally wherever possible are bamboo, wood, cork, clay, natural stone, thatch, seaweed and straw. The constructive and technical details of the corresponding solutions are documented using plans and detailed drawings on a scale of 1:20 as well as detailed descriptive texts. The book is a source of knowledge and inspiration for anyone who wants to plan and build with natural materials.
The volumes "Natural Building Materials S, M, L", Timber Buildings S, M, L and "Brick Buildings S, M, L" have already been published in the Edition DETAIL materials series. The series documents the possible uses of traditional and new building materials that stand for climate-friendly and sustainable architecture.