Wattle and daub systems for the conservation of built heritage

Abstract

The article analyzes the biocultural values of the use of wattle and daub as a preservation strategy for built heritage. It starts from the general characterization of the construction system and some of the variants that have developed in different regions and stages of history. Subsequently, the procedures carried out from action-research in various contexts are detailed. A careful explanation of the steps that have been followed in heritage properties is presented, but alternatives are proposed depending on the problems to be solved and, above all, the available means. It concludes with a series of reflections on the economic and ecological potential of wattle and daub as a resource for building, restoration and as a process of recovery of knowledge that since time immemorial has been part of the construction cultures of many areas of the world and that, Therefore, they make up an intangible heritage that deserves to be safeguarded and activated.