Ukrainian architecture practice Makhno Studio has developed a range of textured clay panels for use as insulation and interior decoration that naturally regulate humidity.

The Breathable Walls project was inspired by traditional Ukrainian mazanka houses, plastered using clay mixed with manure or other organic materials.

Contemporary trends for wellness and sustainability prompted architect Sergey Makhno and his team to explore potential applications of this building method in contemporary contexts.

“This is what our ancestors did for dozens of generations to make the house ‘breathe’ and the walls ‘heal’,” Makhno pointed out.

“This is the most natural and recreational solution I know,” he added. “And these are specifically Ukrainian traditions that we have rethought, adapted to modern times and brought a new interpretation.”

The products are based on two decades of experimentation with clay in the studio’s architecture projects, including an apartment in Kyiv that Makhno designed for his own family.

Makhno Studio uses Ukrainian white clay, which used to be mined in the city of Slovyansk until it was occupied by Russian troops. The material is now sourced from elsewhere in Ukraine.

The clay is mixed with natural additives and fillers including flax, barley, nettle, lemon balm and wood shavings before being shaped into panels and bricks that are air-dried to retain the material’s natural properties.

According to Makhno, the products respond to a demand for living spaces with more natural qualities, offering respite from what he calls the “environmental, electromagnetic, informational and psycho-emotional pollution” that many city dwellers are exposed to.