Abstract
Earth construction has been used for millennia, using diverse vernacular and traditional building technologies. They were adapted to the characteristics of the local earth and climate. In some countries some of these techniques are still in use; in other countries, the use stopped for some decades mainly since the second half of the 20th century. In recent decades earth construction regained interest mainly due to environmental concerns. Therefore, some of the traditional technologies underwent some updates, and new technologies using Earth were developed. These include the use of earth to produce, using vernacular or innovative technologies, monolithic or masonry walls, to fill and coat. Nowadays the buildings should perform adequately for common requirements but also be adapted to additional ones, such as requirements associated with resilience to climate change. The architecture and the technologies should profit from the advantages of the earth and try to minimize some disadvantages. For that, additional products can be added to the earth, namely biomass-based, and modern equipment can be used. That is associated with positive but also negative aspects. The seminar intends to present and discuss all these issues.