Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, and Lord Norman Foster, the architect, officially opened a rejuvenated Trafalgar Square at the beginning of this month (July).

The work is part of the World Squares for All scheme, masterminded by Lord Foster, that is intended to improve some of London\'s key heritage squares. Remodelling Trafalgar Square over the past 18 months has included a major contribution by Croydon stone specialists Stonewest.

Stone in the project includes Cornish granite and York stone paving. A major part of the project involved replacing the road in front of the National Gallery with a grand central staircase leading down to an open piazza with new lighting, street furniture, landscaping and the high quality paving.

Detailed historical investigations revealed what the square was originally intended to look like and efforts have been made to be authentic.

Part of Stonewest\'s work involved remodelling the north wall to incorporate the large flight of steps. As much of the original granite as possible was retained, some being re-worked, although the scheme also included £100,000 worth of new Cornish DeLank granite.

Client: Greater London Authority
Architect: Foster & Partners
Principal contractor: Fitzpatrick Contractors
Stone specialist: Stonewest