Eric Parry of the architectural practice that carries his name is using the shelly Independent Grove Whitbed Portland limestone as a structural element in the new £36million, 3,000m² development in Paternoster Square for the London Stock Exchange.

The building is part of the major redevelopment of Paternoster Square that will open up views of the Thames from St Paul's Cathedral (and vice versa) and replace the 1960s towers with buildings more appropriate to the important historical significance of the site.

The whole Paternoster project (a central piece of which is the Portland limestone and De Lank granite 23m high column erected by CWO - see August NSS) will create 75,000m² of office space and 12,000m² of leisure and retail space. It is a £400million project by developers Mitsubishi Estate Co - Schroder Properties.

Eric Parry's contribution for the Stock Exchange will not be the first time he has used Portland limestone as a structural element to his designs. He also used it for post-tensioned load-bearing columns at the £25million Scottish Widows life assurance company's new building in London at Finsbury Square. There, however, he chose Bowers Basebed.

Both stones come from Albion and for the Paternoster Square project 1,050m³ of block have been pre-purchased by project managers Stanhope. The nearly £1.5million-worth of fnished stone is being produced at Albion's factory on the Dorset island of Portland to tolerences of just 1mm over a 50-week period. Fixing is being carried out by Szerelmey.