The New Stone Age

In the light of the climate crisis the materials that make up our built environment need more than ever to prove their worth. Stone has serious sustainability credentials; with the ability to reduce a project’s embodied carbon by an incredible 90%, compared to typical steel or concrete frames.

Curated by Amin Taha (Groupwork), Steve Webb (Webb Yates Engineers) and Pierre Bidaud (The Stonemasonry Company) and supported by the Built Environment Trust, the exhibition surveys the contemporary use of structural stone. The curators bring experience as architect, engineer and craftsman on the Stirling Prize shortlisted project 15 Clerkenwell Close – a love letter to structural stone with its limestone façade and fallen Ionic columns where the fossilised coral, ammonite shells, quartz pockets and seams of the material remain.

The event provided an opportunity to broaden the discussion of stone, to acknowledge past architectural achievements and introduce a new generation of architects pushing the boundaries of what is possible with a material that combines practicality and beauty.