Course detail

Building Materials

FA-STM-KEAcad. year: 2025/2026

The course presents the basic types and most frequently used materials in the contemporary construction industry. The course also includes materials that were frequently used in the past and which are encountered in renovations of existing buildings. The strengths and weaknesses of each material will be discussed. The course overviews significant products which combine the discussed materials (e.g. windows and doors), as well as the basic characteristics of geological subsoil (geology).
In the study programmes “Architecture and Urban Design” the course is part of the technical courses.

Language of instruction

English

Number of ECTS credits

Mode of study

Not applicable.

Guarantor

Ing. et Ing. Petr Hlavsa, Ph.D.

Department

Department of Engineering (US)

Entry knowledge

Not applicable.

Rules for evaluation and completion of the course

To complete the course successfully, students must sit an exam. The exam is written (multiple choice test, plotting and description of simple schemata, eventually short answers to an assigned question). The exam verifies the knowledge presented in all forms during the seminars. The maximum number of marks is 100, the minimum to pass is 50 marks.
The grading of the course complies with the ECTS grading scale and the Study and Examination Rules of BUT.
Compulsory participation in seminars. After a previous apology, compensation is possible in the form of individual consultation.

Aims

The aim of the course is to present the basic types of materials and selected products used in the contemporary construction industry, their basic features, limits of applicability, and their possibilities in progressive application.
  • Students will know the basic range of building materials and products.
  • Students will learn how to independently and consciously choose suitable building materials for a particular building.
  • Students will have the basic knowledge about the compatibility/incompatibility of individual building materials.
  • Students will know the strengths and weaknesses of used or designed materials/ products in the construction industry.
  • Students will be able to recognize the basic risks of used/ designed building materials/ products.

Study aids

Not applicable.

Prerequisites and corequisites

Not applicable.

Basic literature

CLAISSE, Peter A., Civil Engineering Materials. Butterworth-Heinemann, 2015. ISBN: 978-0128027516. (EN)
Construction and Building Materials. Reigate: Scientific and Technical Press, 1987. ISSN 0950-0618. (EN)
DERUCHER, Kenneth N.; KORFIATIS, George Panayiotis; EZELDIN, Samer; EZELDIN, A. Samer Materials for Civil and Highway Engineers. Prentice Hall, 1998. ISBN: 978-0139050435. (EN)
EVERETT, Alan; BARRITT, C. M. H. Materials (Mitchell's Building Series). Routledge, 2014. ISBN: 978-1317893271. (EN)
MAMLOUK, Michael; ZANIEWSKI, John Materials for Civil and Construction Engineers. Pearson, 2016. ISBN: 978-0134320533. (EN)
PLUMMER, Carlos; CARLSON, Diane; HAMMERSLEY, Lisa. Physical Geology. McGraw-Hill Education, 2018. ISBN: 978-1259916823. (EN)
SOUTSOS, Marios; DOMONE, Peter, eds. Construction Materials: Their Nature and Behaviour. CRC Press. 2017. ISBN: 978-1498741101. (EN)
STEHLÍK, Michal, BÍLEK, Vlastimil. Building materials. Brno: Akademické nakladatelství CERM, 2003, 171 s. : il. ISBN 802142544X. (EN)

Recommended reading

Not applicable.

Classification of course in study plans

  • Programme NE_A+U Master's 1 year of study, summer semester, elective
    specialization --- (2023) , 1 year of study, summer semester, elective
  • Programme BE_A+U Bachelor's 1 year of study, summer semester, compulsory

Type of course unit

 

Seminar

26 hod., optionally

Teacher / Lecturer

Ing. et Ing. Petr Hlavsa, Ph.D.