Jun 10
2026

New building for a covered market in Saint-Dizier in France with walls made of load-bearing natural stone blocks. Architecture: Collectif Studiolada

“Natural Stone as a Building Material for Sustainable and Circular Construction Concepts” is the theme of the Architecture Congress on June 17, 2026, at the Stone+tec trade show in Nuremberg. In various expert presentations, speakers from Germany, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and France will discuss the ecological strengths of the material, which exists naturally without industrial processes and thus has a minimal carbon footprint.

In addition, the focus is on examples of modern stone construction: on the one hand, this involves rediscovering the expertise of master builders of the past, who used stone for load-bearing structures rather than merely as cladding for curtain walls; on the other hand, there are contemporary examples such as post-tensioned structures using steel cables.

Circular economy is also a key theme, as natural stone—due to its durability and longevity—can be recovered from demolished buildings and reused elsewhere. “Urban mining” is the buzzword.

Architects can receive free admission to the trade fair by sending an email from their office address to the German Natural Stone Association (Deutscher Naturwerkstein-Verband) (Mail) and entering the code StoneIdeas50. The first 50 applicants will receive free admission.
 

The program of the Architecture Congress at the Nuremberg Exhibition Center (subway station “Messe”), Hall 11, on Wednesday, June 17, 2026:

11.15 to 11.30 Welcome, Hermann Graser, President of the German Natural Stone Association (DNV)

11.30 to 12.15 Design of new stone structures: Mechanical Behavior, detailing, and conception, Dr. Clemente Pinto, University of Beira Interior, Covilha, Portugal

12.15 bis 13.00 Structural relevance of Natural Stone, Pierre Bidaud, The Stonemasonry Company (Ketton, UK)

13.00 bis 14.00 Lunch Break

14.00 to 14.45 Low Carbon Construction with Natural Stone, Steve Webb, Webb Yates Engineers, London

14.45 to 15.30 Moving Mountains, Carl Fredrik Svenstedt, Carl Fredrik Svenstedt Architects, Paris

15.30 bis 16.00 Coffee Break

16.15 to 17.00 Passion for Stone, Prof. Hans Kollhoff, Kollhoff Architekten, Berlin

17.00 to 18.30 Ceremony of the German Natural Stone Award 2026

From 18.30 Get-Together with Snacks (Admission only with VIP ticket), DNV booth C08
 

The trade show’s complete program can be downloaded from its website.

Deutscher Naturwerkstein-Verband (deutsch), Mail

Stone+tec (June 17 – 20, 2026), Nuremberg