Nowadays, the problem of overproduction of waste prompts various branches of the economy to look for solutions to reduce its generation as well as its rational secondary use. In response to the existing problem, newer technologies and materials began to appear, but attention was also paid to the possibility of reusing materials from demolition or recycling. Similar searches can also be seen in architecture, which, in line with the idea of sustainable development, is increasingly trying to use recovered materials in the form of recycling, upcycling, earthships movement and others. The research material presents an analysis of selected examples of buildings using secondary materials. The aim of the article is to investigate whether the use of materials in various forms of recovery has a direct impact on the aesthetics of buildings and how this translates into their thermal protection. The summary attempts to formulate a general assessment of the expressive and conventional trends in the secondary use of materials in architecture. The conducted research has shown that the use of recycled materials in design is the most convenient form both in terms of architecture and in terms of the ease of determining the thermal properties of such objects.