DETAIL 6.2019

From the editorial 6.2019

Built of Stone

Natural stone and bricks are popular building materials in vernacular building cultures of the past and present. Especially in areas rich in stone deposits or clayey loam, these materials have been used for generations on end, and so shape the face of entire towns and cities. The Paris metropolitan area, for example, rests on a limestone pedestal that was already mined in Roman times. To this day, the pale-coloured stone characterizes the cityscape of the French capital – the facades of Notre Dame Cathedral are also made of it. In Flanders, clay bricks have been fired for centuries, giving many streets in Antwerp and Ghent a striking appearance that remains to this day.

In our June issue, we document outstanding examples of contemporary approaches to building with natural stone and bricks. We examine the building details and processing methods that are being used with these materials, and to what extent the architects seem to engage with tradition.

Barbara Zettel has compiled the projects for this issue, which demonstrate the diversity and relevance of building with stone today. They include the quarry-stone masonry used in the Sport Centre in Vorarlberg by Bernardo Bader (page 38) and the red brick facade of A-lab’s ten-storey co-working tower in Oslo (page 56).

In our Detail Inside supplement included with this issue, we shine the spotlight on store concepts that make use of exquisite natural stone, and present other outstanding retail interiors.