Stone Federation Great Britain’s Quarry Forum gives its opinion on issues relating to the stone industry from the point of view of companies that extract dimensional stone from opencast and underground quarries and mines.
Expect the Unexpected.
Throughout the year, the Federation’s Quarry Forum comes into contact with thousands of architects, designers, clients, specifiers and local authorities through our website, social media platforms, trade shows and events.
This level of interaction enables us to advise these professionals as to the most effective way of approaching the natural stone elements of their project.
These conversation also allows us to debunk some of the misconceptions and presumptions that clients have in relation to what they can use British stone for.
The reality is that British quarries can offer clients a wide range of textures and colours for almost all applications required.
As the Stone Federation Quarry Forum, we are passionate about promoting the use of indigenous British Stone from all corners of our islands.
A quick glance through the Natural Stone Awards winners from the past decade would provide fantastic case studies of British Stone used for landscaping, interiors, exterior cladding, structural stonework and repair & restoration.
More and more architectural and design practices are taking advantage of the choice of British stone available, right on the doorstep of their projects.
Once the architect, client or designer has realised the wide range of indigenous stones available, the next question is often: “Where do I start?”
A very good place to start would be the Stone Federation’s ‘Welcome to British Stones’ sourcing tool.
This is a map-based tool that allows the user to look through more than 80 different stone types, all found in the British Isles.
For each stone there is a sample image as well as an explanation of the stone’s application, colour and geology.
Rather than trawling through website after website looking for the right stone, this tool allows the user to access more than 80 stone types on the one page.
The Quarry Forum has a samples display board created from the stones listed on the British Stones online tool. This has always proved a hugely popular feature with architects and designers at trade shows the Federation attends, including the Natural Stone Show and EcoBuild.
The most common reaction to the variety in terms of both colour and texture of British Stones available is surprise.
This is a perfect example of how the Quarry Forum is working to educate architects, designers and specifiers about just how much choice they have in stones found right on their doorstep.
The Quarry Forum’s British Stone Selector advert, found near the front of this magazine, is another great place to see some of the wide range of British Stones available from Stone Federation member firms.
The message from the Quarry Forum is simple: Why look abroad when there is such an impressive array of indigenous natural stones found here in Britain?
Connect with quarries close to the project and find out how their material could be incorporated into your design. Surely no building material has greater significance than that?