Jun 4
2024

In 2023, the architects from Atelier Archiplein completed this building with social housing in Geneva in solid construction made of small stone blocks. We will have a detailed report shortly.

Experts will show examples from Europe of the ecological (and aesthetic) strengths of solid stone walls

Natural stone has been used as a building material for millennia to create long-lasting structures. However, in the last century, the era of an apparently endless supply of fossil energy, natural stone was replaced by energy-intensive, artificial building materials, and it is therefore now no longer load-bearing but is mainly only used for “decorative” purposes.

However, this is not the way to exploit the full potential of natural stone.

On the contrary, as a load-bearing building material, it is a real alternative to the currently used CO2-intensive artificial materials and is therefore suitable for the decarbonization of the building sector that is needed. The international Stone+tec specialist trade fair (June 19 -22, 2024, at Nuremberg Trade Fair) is therefore devoting one and a half days of its congress to this highly topical subject, and has succeeded in bringing in some high-ranking speakers, some of whom are from abroad.

The lectures will deal with the excellent ecological footprint of natural stone, which can be explained on the one hand using EPD’s (Environmental Product Declarations).

On the other hand, the speakers will be showing the major potential of natural stone for the energy-related transformation of the building sector on projects that have already been implemented in Europe, where it is being used for bearing loads again and in conjunction with other natural materials.

Finally, the focus will be on the design of different finishes in interior architecture and the use of natural stone in free surface design, whereby the lectures will deal with the use of natural stone in architecture, particularly in house-building, interior design, and in garden and landscape architecture from the point of view of the architects and engineers.

The lectures held in English will be translated into German.

The first day of the congress will end with the presentation of the 2024 German Natural Stone Award.

Other topics at the congress will include restoration and cemeteries/gravestones.

Stone+tec Congress, complete program

(04.06.2024, USA: 06.04.2024)