The sensuality of clay: between tradition and innovation

Clay is more than just a building material. It also stands for a cultural heritage, an ecological promise and a source of atmospheric, sustainable and healthy spaces. Clay was long considered a ‘forgotten’ material in many places, disappearing in the wake of industrial standardisation or hidden behind layers of plaster, but is now experiencing a remarkable renaissance as a regional building material.

Following my last article, ‘Nuances – subtle colour concepts in (interior) architecture’, I now focus on a material that thrives on subtle nuances: clay. It is earthy, warm and versatile, in combination with a special aura of calmness. As a colour and material element, it is not only architecturally relevant, but also of great importance for healthy living.

Clay is a building material that appeals to all the senses. As soon as you enter a room with clay surfaces, you feel a special sense of calm: it is soft and earthy to the touch, the light is gently diffused and the atmosphere is warm and cosy. At the same time, clay makes a decisive contribution to health. It regulates humidity, buffers temperature fluctuations and thus creates a stable, pleasant indoor climate. As a material, it fits seamlessly into the current discourse on biophilic building. Studies show that these qualities can reduce stress and promote well-being. This is particularly relevant in times of demographic change: older people benefit from a constant, low-stimulus and secure living environment. In rooms for people with dementia, the natural feel and colour of clay can also provide orientation and security.

From an ecological point of view, clay has unique properties: it requires very little energy to produce, is completely recyclable and fits harmoniously into regional material cycles. Unlike many conventional building materials, it does not produce any hazardous waste, but can be returned to the cycle again and
again. It is therefore a prime example of a building culture that does not oppose nature, but works with it.

Women, building culture and self-empowerment

The building material clay is closely linked to female building traditions. In many regions of the world, it were and are women who build, maintain and design houses made of earth.

This was illustrated at the Woman in Architecture Festival WIA 2025 in a joint contribution by the University of Liechtenstein // Earth HUB, Bauhaus der Erde (Earth Building) and the Deutsches Farbenzentrum (German Colour Centre), entitled ‘Female African Architects’. An exhibition in the ProtoPotsdam research pavilion showed how Maasai master builders from Ololosokwan are developing modern construction methods using confident, local craftsmanship, conserving resources and creating identity at the same time. Looking at such vernacular traditions makes it clear that clay is not only ecologically sensible, but that it is also a medium of social empowerment.

Colour worlds made from earth and pigments

Clay thrives on its nuances. Depending on minerals, iron compounds or humus content, its colours vary from delicate beige to warm ochre, deep red or grey-brown. Each region produces its own colour palette: yellowish to grey tones dominate in Central Europe, bright red and ochre tones in Southern Europe, while strong terracotta colours characterise the architecture in West Africa. These natural colours are complemented by mineral pigments – iron oxides, lime, indigo, charcoal or powdered brick – which are sustainable, ecological alternatives to synthetic dyes.

Clay thus opens up a world of colours that is subtle and understated, yet rich and deep at the same time. This natural diversity can be expanded through targeted pigmentation without losing its organic appeal. The possibilities of modern pigmentation open up a spectrum ranging from subtle earth tones to intense, expressive nuances. Depending on the additives, each clay surface retains its characteristic liveliness. The play of light and shadow enhances the natural texture and allows colours to appear different, depending on the time of day and lighting.

It is particularly exciting to see how clay is being reimagined at the interface between tradition and innovation. At the 2025 Architecture Biennale in Venice, international research teams demonstrated how the building material can be combined with digital processes:

- ’Earthen Rituals’ by Columbia University and the company WASP experimented with large-format 3D printing, combining clay with agricultural by-products and recycled materials. This resulted in tiles that were not only functional, but also sensually experiential: through light, scent and touch.
- The Moroccan pavilion ‘Materiae Palimpsest’ clearly demonstrated how traditional clay building techniques (rammed earth, adobe, cob) can enter into dialogue with modern media such as holograms or textile art. The result was a manifesto advocating architecture that embodies community, history and the future at the same time.
- Research projects by MIT and ETH Zurich developed modular structures that opened up new perspectives on circular construction methods, either through biological processes – such as embedding plants in layers of clay – or through innovative combinations of materials.

These examples show that clay is not a relic of the past, but a forward-looking of the material. Combined with 3D printing, prefab methods or bio-based additives, it creates a construction principle that is both globally relevant and locally adaptable.

The future of construction is not only digital and high-tech, it is also analogue, haptic and human. Clay shows us the way to an architecture that reconciles both worlds.