Earth is one of the oldest building materials and in many countries still the most common building material, often preffered for its low cost and self-construction possibilities. Also in Europe, soil was used for centuries as a building material and nowadays expanding again because of it´s enviromental characteristics. Unfortunatelly, traditional unstabilized earth buildings are vulnerable to earthquakes and as many earthen buildings are located in earthquake prone areas, serious damages and life-threatening collapse of many houses occurs regullary. This article shows possibilities of seismic protection and earthquake resistant construction techniques of traditional earthen buildings.

Analysis and design of reinforced concrete structures requires knowledge of the mechanical properties of the materials used. In the case of nonlinear analysis, a higher range and detail of mechanical properties of concrete is needed. The article focuses on the description of strength characteristics of concrete, attention is paid to the strength of concrete in the tension. The testing was focused on the split tension test and the three-point and four-point bending test. The obtained mechanical properties of concrete are subsequently applied in the nonlinear analysis of reinforced concrete beam without shear reinforcement, which has been subjected to a load test.

The methodology for determining energy-neutral or energy-zero houses is different at national levels. The interest in the realization of such houses is not only influenced by the methodology but also by the market conditions in the area of moving surplus energy production from one object to another. This is an economically disadvantageous purchase price when delivering to the network. If the existing conditions in the Czech Republic are not changed, the implementation of energy-zero houses for investors will not be interesting and the potential for reduction of CO₂ production will not be utilized.

This paper will present a survey of the ladder safety from a firefighter point of view, the analysis of the standard and proposing possible modifications of the standard, analytical analysis of ladder composition by optical emission spectroscopy and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and current large-dimensional tests carried out in the Technical Institute of Fire Protection and the objectives we would like to achieve in the research project.

Where is the biggest obstacle to implementing rainwater management? What is the right motivation? What is the effect of the exemption from the drainage water drainage payment? What are the experiences with plants on building façades? And what are the investment and operating costs of a green roof?

The clay bricks produced by extruding (continuous compression) generally have a high proportion of clay. The use of this bricks in buildings is beneficial in terms of the amount of built-in clay in building structures. The positive effects of these clay materials in the living space are generally known, however, using as a support for clay plaster has some difficulties, which are less known. The issue of the application of clay plaster in extruded clay bricks is the subject of my long-term interest.

Concrete is a composite material with significantly different value of tensile and compressive strength. Tensile strength is usually only 1/10 of compressive strength. With admixture of steel fibers it is possible to enlarge the tensile strength. The paper deals with testing and consequent determination of tensile strength of fiber concrete with the amount of fibers 25, 50, 75 kg/m³. Four series, each with more than 23 specimens, were tested. Tensile strength testing implied a few variant of bending test with different span (500 mm or 600 mm), different load configuration (three or four point bending), with or without notch. Results of cube and cylindrical compressive strength and transverse tensile strength are also presented.

Building objects that have been severely damaged by an explosion of explosives, gas or technological breakdowns threaten surrounding area by their unstable state. Their damage is usually so severe that no repair or reconstruction is considered, and the only possible solution is quick demolition. In these risky situations, the emergency state of the building can be advantageously solved by using special charges with an effect which will ensure a rapid reconstruction of the unstable state of the building without endangering the environment, especially in built-up areas of cities.

Due to increasing amount of construction and demolition waste (C&DW), new recycling methods and applications of secondary raw materials are searched. The biggest part of C&DW is old concrete and mortar which can be used for production of recycled concrete aggregates (RCA). To protect the nature and decrease amount of mined natural aggregates, RCA could partially or totally replace natural aggregates used for production of new concrete. This article presents the factors which have influence on the RCA properties. Properties of three different types of RCA were analysed and results compared with properties of natural aggregates. Description of connection between factors and properties of RCA are discussed. Results showed that not only origin and amount of impurities has influence on applicability of RCA as a replacement of natural aggregates for new concrete production.

Smart management is an important part of the Smart Cities concept. Facility management applied in the commercial sector is a functioning platform that has already gained its place in the company. It deals not only with property management but also with work with people so that the place in which they work and live should be the place with the best conditions for them. This principle should be applied more so in municipal self-government. Municipal management is also deal with about ensuring these "ideal" conditions, but also about property management. And these processes need to be combined, connected and optimized very handy and efficient. However, there is a lot of activity associated with it, so just as in facility management, it can be helped by quality software support.

The second part of this article briefly informs about mathematical models to predict the toxic incidence of gaseous combustion products, familiarizes itself with EU legislation on fire safety of buildings, and in conclusion notes the need to continue the research and development of the issue.

The notion of a nearly zero building, usually NZEB or nZEB, is no longer a novelty. This energy standard was introduced in 2016 and is gradually expanding into family houses. There are legislation, standards, but little has been gained. That's why the authors analyzed 130 already existing family houses with different heat sources. The result is an assessment of the influence of different heat sources on the energy intensity of homes and therefore an orientation aid for decision-makers of future builders.

Possibilities of application of clay in the construction of wood-based buildings in terms of increasing their fire protection – history, present. Requirements for fire resistance of outher sheating of wood buildings depending on their fire-height. Application of interior clay plasters in terms of optimization of indoor microclimate and fire protection of lightweight wall sheating in wooden houses in model solution.

The article briefly informs about the fire hazards from the point of view of the toxicity of smoke combustion products. It presents selected data on fires according to Czech and EU statistics, acquaints with the existing ISO, IEC and EN standards for testing and evaluation of the toxicity of combustion products of materials products with bench- scape, large-scale tests, introduces EU legislation on fire safety of buildings and finally concludes the necessity of continuing the research and development of the issue.

If we compare the floods of 1997 and 2002, it is necessary to emphasize the good functioning of the connection of the Prevention and Warning Service (PVS) of the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute to the crisis management system and the integrated rescue system in accordance with the set of new crisis laws in force since the beginning of 2000.

This article briefly introduces the overall concept of the OC FENIX building as a whole and at the same time clarifies the circumstances of meeting the energy performance requirements. This article will be followed by articles dedicated to the building's own operation.

The trend of the earth building material use is not only for plaster but also for the construction of buildings, as well as repairs of clay buildings, which also require the need to determine the load-bearing capacity of whole walls, not just bricks. The loadability of the walls and the influence of moisture on brick strength have been subjected to experimental investigation of SHS o.s. within the framework of the OP HRD project, the load-bearing capacity of the pillars was examined by FA and FAST staff within the BUT grants.

In residential buildings, the quality of the indoor environment can be verified by the satisfaction rates of the people who live in them. One of the forms that can provide the necessary information is a subjective assessment. This form of survey was carried out with residents of the passive apartment building for seniors in Modřice. There were 25 women and 12 men of an average age of 77 years participating in the survey. The survey proved that seniors were able and willing to accept the terms of passive houses.