ABSTRACT
Terracotta is a material used in buildings in the United Kingdom, North America and in Europe. It was used extensively in the last century as it provided a durable, attractive surface. However, in the UK there is increasing concern about the durability and cleaning of terracotta due to the lack of effective, suitable and cost effective cleaning and conservation methods. The Building Research Establishment (BRE) has considerable expertise on terracotta, extending back to its formative work on terracotta durability in 1927. In view of several cases of bad cleaning on well-known buildings in London, research is currently being undertaken on terracotta cleaning practices and terracotta durability.
This paper summaries the state of knowledge of terracotta failure, decay and cleaning. It outlines the research carried out on terracotta decay in polluted city environments. This includes aspects of terracotta production which affect decay and the damage to terracotta resulting from current cleaning methods.
