Feb 10
2026

Post-stressed stone. Photo: Bas PrincenPost-stressed stone. Photo: Bas Princen

“The New Stone Age: Towards an Ethical Architecture“ champions the versatility, sustainability, and beauty of stone as a load-bearing material in contemporary architecture. Curated and produced by UK-based architects Groupwork, Webb Yates Engineers, and The Stonemasonry Company, the exhibition features three large-scale stone-and-timber installations that trace the history, innovations, and future potential of structural stone. Seen together, the exhibition demonstrates that stone is a viable, low-carbon alternative to conventional building materials such as reinforced concrete and steel.

Le Corbusier published “Towards a New Architecture“ over a century ago, introducing the ‘free plan’ and ‘free façade’ as the result of material innovations in reinforced concrete and steel. Today, this system has become the default building strategy worldwide, applied indiscriminately across both single and one-hundred story structures.

The so-called Stone Demonstrator gives an insight into options for stone as a load-bearing material in pillars, floors, and walls. Photo: Bas Princen

Such blind assumptions have come under increasing scrutiny in the era of climate change where the construction industry drives 40% of global carbon emissions, and in the next 50 years, the world’s building stock will double. Unless we radically rethink how we build, this growth will lock in catastrophic levels of emissions.

Stone offers a compelling solution. Compared to reinforced concrete and steel, stone can contain up to 99% less embodied carbon, be assembled more quickly, and more cheaply. Through its installations, research, and featured projects, The New Stone Age argues for a contemporary renaissance of stone as a structural material capable of meeting modern architectural demands while significantly reducing carbon impact.

Spectacular load-bearing façade made of stone with unhewn front side. London, 15 Clerkenwell Close, by Amin Taha (architect), Webb Yates Engineers.Spectacular load-bearing façade made of stone with unhewn front side. London, 15 Clerkenwell Close, by Amin Taha (architect), Webb Yates Engineers.

This exhibition is a call to action – inviting students, architects, engineers, contractors, planners and manufacturers to rediscover the potential of structural stone and to help build a more sustainable future.

The University’s Daniels Faculty and curators thank PICCO Engineering for their generous financial and in-kind support for the local installation of this exhibit. PICCO Engineering is an award-winning structural engineering and consulting firm known worldwide for its expertise in natural stone façades, masonry, and anchoring systems design.

Groupwork is an award-winning architecture and design studio established in 2003 in London. An employee-owned trust, their work has been described by The Observer as “poetry in stone” and by the Financial Times as “radical and controversial”.
Webb Yates is an award-winning structural, civil, and building services engineering design practice based in the UK and working internationally. Central to its philosophy is low-carbon design and an enjoyment of the collaborative creative process.

The Stonemasonry Company (SMC) is a specialist in the design, manufacture, and installation of structural and architectural stone systems. It was founded in 2009 by two French stonemasons in the UK, blending traditional craftsmanship and advanced engineering.

Through April 03 2026, at the Toronto University’s Architecture + Design Gallery, Paul Oberman Belvedere, in the Daniels Building at 1 Spadina Crescent, open on weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.