Pierre Bidaud of the Stonemasonry Company will discuss how new ways of thinking aligned to new technologies are changing the way we build in stone. From augmented stone, to using stone structurally, stone is set to play an increasingly important part in building a low carbon future. 

Amin Taha’s Groupwork have designed a 10-storey block of flats in Finchley Road, north London, built with load-bearing larvikite stone from Lundhs quarry in Norway. Taha describes the project as 'the first 10-storey, loadbearing self-finished stone structure without steel reinforcement/secondary structure since the last stone cathedrals'. The Norwegian larvikite stone requires significantly less extraction, transportation, and on-site erection compared to typical concrete construction methods, resulting in reduced costs and lower embodied carbon.

The panel will be joined by industry leading engineer Steve Webb of Webb Yates who will talk about the practices sustainability led approach and their work on Finchley Road.

The Finchley Road project is set to be completed in 2025 and represents a significant step forward in sustainable urban architecture.