A recent unique exhibition at Somerset House has invited visitors to reconsider their relationship with the ground beneath their feet — not simply as landscape or construction resource, but as something to be tasted.

The Museum of Edible Earth, created by artist and researcher masharu and first founded in Amsterdam in 2017, brought together more than 600 edible samples of soil, clay, chalk, volcanic rock and limestone sourced from 44 countries. Its core theme centred on how humans understand and value earth materials, which resonates beyond the gallery setting, particularly for those working with natural materials in the built environment.

The exhibition explored geophagy, the ancient practice of eating earth for nutritional, cultural or medicinal purposes. Found across continents and cultures, the tradition challenges modern Western assumptions that soil exists only as something to build on or extract from. Instead, it positions earth as a material with sensory, cultural and even emotional meaning.

At the centre of the show was a communal tasting table where visitors could sample carefully sourced earth materials accompanied by tasting cards describing mineral content, flavour profiles and cultural histories. The idea was less culinary novelty than an attempt to reconnect people with the geological substances that underpin daily life, from agriculture and ceramics to architecture and stone construction.

The premise raises an intriguing question: how differently might materials be specified, quarried or valued if they were understood not only visually or structurally, but sensorially? Stone, after all, shares origins with many of the clays and mineral soils presented in the exhibition, shaped by geological time yet frequently reduced to technical performance data alone.

Working with landscape designers The Land Gardeners, the creative team also created printing ink made from Somerset House’s own compost, generated from previous hempcrete exhibition walls and coffee waste collected onsite. The walls themselves came from The Land Gardeners, 2025 exhibition SOIL, thus forging a novel circular experiment in reusing exhibition materials rather than discarding them after installation that flowed through into this new, thought-provoking earth-iteration. 

Eating soil may not become standard industry practice anytime soon. But the exhibition offered a reminder that stone, clay and earth are not simply products or finishes. By reframing earth as something culturally embedded rather than inert, it encouraged visitors to rethink humanity’s relationship with materials as part of a deeper geological continuum that architecture continually reshapes, extracts and inhabits.

With over 60 years of experience in the processing and supply of natural stone for the built environment, Italian company Savema has recently entered a new phase in its development following the acquisition of a majority stake in the company by a leading Italian investment group.

Bloomberg HQ

The new ownership brings experience across sectors such as luxury hospitality, high-end real estate development, and the yachting industry. Based in Pietrasanta, in the Carrara stone district, Savema operates as a fully integrated stone contractor, managing the process from quarry sourcing through to fabrication.

The company already owns two quarries and has developed long-standing relationships with quarry operators worldwide, enabling it to work across a wide range of materials, including marble, limestone, granite, and travertine.

 World Trade Center

Over the decades, Savema has contributed to a number of complex, high-end international projects, working alongside leading architects, developers, and contractors. Its portfolio includes major cultural and commercial developments such as the Bloomberg Headquarters in London, designed by Foster + Partners, where Savema supplied the stone façade and lobby, The Shard, and One World Trade Center (Freedom Tower) in New York, where Savema supplied interior stone works, as well as iconic projects across the UK and North America.

World Trade Center

The company hopes the transaction will support further investment in production capabilities, technologies, and material research, while also reinforcing its presence in key international markets across the northern hemisphere and the Middle East.

The Shard

As the use of natural stone in architecture continues to evolve, including toward more bespoke and technically advanced applications, an even higher level of coordination is required across the supply chain. The new ownership is expected to enhance Savema’s ability to respond to increasingly demanding project requirements, where design ambition, material performance, and execution capabilities must be closely aligned.

The Shard

The company has said it will maintain its focus on delivering project-specific solutions and looks forward to supporting clients with its technical expertise and long-standing experience with complex architectural work.

The retrofit of the Pyramid House in Milton Keynes by Khan Bonshek revisits one of the experimental homes built for the 1981 Homeworld Expo, updating a postmodern architectural curiosity for contemporary living while retaining the spatial character that defined its original ambition. 

Constructed as part of a group of 36 prototype houses commissioned by the Milton Keynes Development Corporation to explore future models of domestic life, the Pyramid House represents a period when housing innovation was closely tied to technological optimism. More than four decades later, the challenge lay not in reinvention, but in adapting an unconventional geometry to present-day patterns of occupation and energy performance.

The project began with a modest brief to improve usability within the tightly constrained eaves. However, the architects quickly identified wider opportunities to rethink circulation and spatial relationships throughout the three-storey house. The triangular plan, defined by tapering walls and sloping roofs, required careful recalibration to balance functionality with the playful postmodern identity of the building.

Central to the intervention is a reorganisation of movement through the home. Previously fragmented rooms connected more as a sequence of set pieces than a cohesive dwelling. By removing partitions and restructuring the plan around a clear vertical axis, the architects established a more legible internal hierarchy organised broadly into working, living and resting zones.

The stairwell became the primary architectural device. A new sculptural spiral staircase, fabricated from stacked birch plywood and prefabricated by Landmark Joinery, acts as both circulation and lightwell. Rising through the building’s full height beneath an apex lantern skylight, the stair draws daylight deep into the plan, visually linking floors while reinforcing the spatial drama inherent to the pyramid form.

Material decisions play a significant role in unifying the interior. A restrained palette combines light oak panelling with natural terrazzo surfaces that anchor the main living areas. Rather than competing with the building’s geometry, these finishes provide continuity, allowing subtle tonal shifts to distinguish daytime social spaces from quieter areas located higher within the eaves. Smaller volumes created by the sloping envelope are used intentionally to form intimate reading corners, guest sleeping pods and a bespoke sauna, demonstrating how constraints can generate spatial character.

Alongside spatial reconfiguration, the project addresses long-term performance. Two ground source heat pumps, improved insulation and enhanced airtightness significantly reduce operational energy demand, allowing the experimental house of the early 1980s to meet contemporary expectations for environmental efficiency.

The result is less a restoration than a careful recalibration. By working with, rather than against, the building’s unusual form, Khan Bonshek demonstrates how architecturally distinctive housing can be adapted for modern occupation without erasing its origins. The Pyramid House now operates as a viable long-term home, illustrating how retrofit can extend the life of late-20th-century domestic experimentation while aligning it with current priorities around comfort, sustainability and material longevity.

All Images © James Reteif

A major new stone artwork celebrating the history of Mayfair has been unveiled at the £1billion One Carrington development in central London. It’s being billed as a levelling-up project for the district, which is already seen as one of the most luxurious and wealthiest in the city. That richness extends to the history of the area, which, as a long-established cultural and economic artery of the capital, is layered with stories old and new. Thanks to an artistic intervention, some of those rich tales are now captured in the very surface of the space for all to see.

The mixed-use scheme, developed by Motcomb Estates and designed by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris, transforms a former car park site into a new destination combining residential apartments, offices, restaurants, galleries and retail space. The project also reopens historic pedestrian connections between Shepherd Market and Piccadilly, restoring public access through an area previously closed for centuries.

As part of the development, curator Zoë Allen of Artistic Statements commissioned a permanent public artwork intended to anchor the scheme within Mayfair’s historic context. Following an open call, London-based creative studio Acrylicize was selected to design a large stone-carved wall installation positioned at the main entrance.

The work is carved into Diano Reale stone sourced by AHMM from Sardinia, and was specified for its restrained veining and consistency, allowing detailed engraving while maintaining a refined architectural appearance. The carved façade forms part of the wider stone terraces and external envelope designed to integrate art directly into the building fabric rather than treat it as an applied feature.

Illustrations by Acrylicize designer Emma Wild were developed in an etched style referencing traditional stone carving techniques. Working with local historian Peter Berthoud, the design evolved from a simple historical timeline into a series of narrative vignettes depicting stories from Mayfair’s past - including lesser-known or forgotten moments. They include iconic landmarks such as the ancient Egyptian statue Sekhmet, which has stood guard over Bond Street since 1917, King Charles II’s alleged secret tunnels, and the wartime use of nearby Down Street Underground Station.

Accessibility formed part of the design brief, with braille elements incorporated into the stone surface and lower carvings, including animal and flower motifs, positioned to engage younger audiences. Lighting and placement were carefully considered to encourage pedestrians to pause within what the design team describes as a non-commercial civic space within a dense urban setting.

Marc Williams of Allford Hall Monaghan Morris said the installation works “harmoniously within the constrained site” while celebrating the reopening of a historic connection through Mayfair. But perhaps most refreshingly, while the development offers a new pedestrian connection between Shepherd Market and Piccadilly,  Acrylicize’s intervention provides “a moment of reflection and intrigue” for residents and visitors. A timely piece of placemaking formed in a characterful material suited to longevity. 

All Images © Mark Cocksedge

Specialising in stone masonry, carving and architectural preservation, Cliveden Conservation's traditional craft skills sit alongside contemporary practices. With workshops spread across the country, the team works on projects ranging from sensitive heritage repair to complex façade restoration, including a recently completed stone floor restoration at Bristol Cathedral. Their work is rooted in an understanding of historic materials and construction techniques, and is guided by director Tom Flemons. With over three decades of experience in the industry, we were keen to hear some of Tom’s insights.

What does a typical day look like for you?

No two days are the same. If I’m at the Cliveden Conservation Bath Workshop, I’ll be receiving and sending emails and calls, or developing projects; preparing fee proposals and compiling reports, while working with and collaborating with colleagues.  Other days will take me on visits around the country to sites where our teams are working. Here I’ll meet new clients and look at buildings and prospective projects.

How integral are materials/surfaces to your day-to-day? 

My background as a practitioner, stone/marble mason and conservator, means that materials are very important to me.  I enjoy the challenge of identifying the materials used to make the varied buildings and objects on which we work, and then seeking to identify and source like-for-like materials for repair works.  We work with many stones, marbles and semi-precious materials, all of which are dependent on the project and area of the country they’re set in, the extent of which informs a large part of my work.

Bristol Cathedral

What are the biggest lessons you have taken forward from your original training?

My original training as an apprentice mason gave me the discipline and formal understanding of the craft and an appreciation of stone buildings and structures.  I still refer back to some of my notes, albeit from many years ago now.  Subsequently, I was fortunate to be awarded a travelling scholarship by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings.  An additional William Morris Craft Fellowship deepened my understanding of traditional buildings and craft, too, and gave an ethical and ideological basis to my knowledge.

Mussenden Temple

Which project/s are you most proud of being involved with and why?

My work for Cliveden Conservation over the past 35 years has taken me to many amazing buildings and special places.  My enthusiasm to still be doing what I am doing is down to the variety and the brilliant people with whom I work.  I really enjoy and am passionate about delivering training, which has taken and can take many forms.  For instance, there’s been Housekeeping training for National Trust staff, masonry taster sessions to mixed ability groups, or careers fairs at secondary schools - even talks to primary school children trying to sow the seed of a career in our field.

Training at Bristol Cathedral

What do you feel are the main challenges facing the stone and surfaces industry today?

Without doubt, the challenges of training in our industry and the reduction of the number of institutions delivering practical education have created a dearth in trained and skilled trainees entering the industry.

In your opinion, what are the positives of using stone in the built environment? 

The use of stone maintains traditions but can also be the future.  Although a finite resource, stone has a lower environmental impact than many other modern construction materials, especially when used close to the source of its extraction.

Seaton Delaval

How does sustainability shape your thinking and decision-making, and how do materials fit into this?

As above, it’s a vital part of our thinking at Cliveden Construction!

A £1.85million stonemasonry contract has been completed at the redevelopment of Grade II listed Carliol House in Newcastle city centre, forming part of the wider Pilgrim’s Quarter regeneration scheme.

Specialist contractor Classic Masonry was appointed by main contractor Bowmer+Kirkland to deliver extensive stone conservation, façade retention and precast installation works as part of the creation of a new 460,000ft² office complex for HM Revenue & Customs.

The project centred on the retention of the 120m-long Art Deco façade and dome of Carliol House, integrating the historic structure into a nine-storey contemporary office building that will eventually accommodate up to 9,000 HMRC staff. The retained façade is believed to be among the largest structural façade retentions undertaken in the UK, with the Portland stone elevation temporarily supported by a substantial steel framework during construction.

As part of the works, Classic Masonry assisted with the temporary dismantling of the prominent dome at the Carliol House and Market Street junction. The structure was carefully cleaned, repaired and reinstated following completion of the main structural works.

Alongside conservation activity, Bowmer+Kirkland was responsible for the design, manufacture and installation of precast concrete elements, new cladding systems and architectural columns forming part of the new-build sections of the development, creating continuity between retained historic fabric and contemporary construction.

Mike Moody, managing director of Classic Masonry, has underlined how the project demonstrates how historic masonry can be successfully incorporated into large-scale commercial developments. He highlighted collaboration between the contractor team, project architect Ryder Architecture and conservation officers at Newcastle City Council in developing appropriate interventions to protect the structural and heritage value of the façade.

The completed building will serve as HMRC’s largest regional hub and acts as the focal point of the wider Pilgrim’s Quarter regeneration, combining large-scale commercial workspace with the preservation of one of Newcastle’s most recognisable historic façades.

Women in Natural Stone (WINS) will host its next industry event on Thursday, 28th May, offering members and guests a special opportunity to visit a working Bath Stone mine at Park Lane Bathstone in Wiltshire.

Taking place at Park Lane Mine near Corsham, the visit invites participants to go behind the scenes of one of the UK’s active Bath stone operations, providing insight into extraction, block selection and the realities of modern underground quarrying.

Arrival is scheduled from 10:00 am, beginning with introductions and a safety briefing before attendees are taken underground for a guided tour of the mine and block assessment process. The programme also includes a presentation, lunch and networking, continuing WINS’ focus on professional development, knowledge sharing and strengthening connections across the natural stone sector.

The event is being hosted by Stoneworld, which operates the site, giving visitors access to an important source of Bath stone widely used in heritage conservation and contemporary construction projects alike.

As an operational quarry environment, safety boots are required for all attendees, and participants will be supervised throughout the visit.

Places are limited and early booking is advised. To reserve a place, email wins@stonefed.org.uk

Date: Thursday 28 May 2026
Time: Arrival from 10:00am
Location: Park Lane Mine, Brockleaze, Neston, Wiltshire, SN13 9TW 

It’s fair to say that hemp holds a unique position in the world of materials. Its strength and versatility, along with the fact that it can be rapidly and renewably grown,  were positive attributes recognised by the Anglo-Saxons, and both Henry VIII and Elizabeth passed laws requiring a steady farming of the hardy plant. There was a time when the natural fibres produced from hemp were being used to make literal miles of rope and tonnes of canvas - the word itself deriving from the Latin word for cannabis.

But, with the emergence of cotton (and the slavery that came with it), along with the clampdown on its biological cousin via The Dangerous Drugs Act 1928, hemp's cultivation and usage as an industrial material began to slide.  

However, the renewed interest in bio-based materials across architecture and interiors has prompted a reassessment of Hemp. As we recently reported, companies like Build With Hemp are reengaging with the material as a viable insulation. While in Holland, HempWood has developed a solid surface from compressed hemp fibres. 

Produced from the entire hemp stalk and bonded using a proprietary water-based soy adhesive, the material forms flooring, panels and structural beams that can be machined and installed in much the same way as hardwood timber. The resulting product is entirely formaldehyde-free and intended primarily for interior applications, combining familiar fabrication methods with a markedly different agricultural resource base.

What distinguishes HempWood is less its appearance, which retains the grain and warmth associated with timber, than the speed and environmental credentials of its production. Hemp reaches harvest maturity in approximately 120 days, a stark contrast to the decades required for hardwood forestry. By utilising annually renewable crops rather than slow-growing trees, the material responds directly to mounting pressure on global timber supplies while maintaining the same material language of traditional timber.

What’s more, HempWood is reported to be around 20% harder than oak, allowing it to function in flooring and joinery contexts where durability is essential. The material carries a Life Cycle Assessment, European fire certification and a European patent, and is currently represented across multiple European markets, signalling a shift from experimental biomaterial to scalable construction product.

To top it all off, hemp actively absorbs CO₂ during growth, and when locked into long-life construction products, that carbon remains stored within the building fabric. In this sense, HempWood reflects a broader pivot underway across the surfaces and construction sectors — one that looks not only to technological innovation, but also to historical material intelligence, reinterpreted for a carbon-conscious era.

The completion of Vault Youth Zone marks the final phase of more than a decade of regeneration around Preston Bus Station, consolidating a programme that has redefined a key civic site in the Lancashire city. Designed by John Puttick Associates for youth charity OnSide, the 2,912m² building introduces a contemporary community facility directly facing the Grade II listed Brutalist landmark the practice previously restored.

Located within Preston’s Harris Quarter, the Youth Zone occupies a tight urban plot between the bus station and a new public square. Its prominent position demanded a building with civic presence, while remaining responsive to the scale and material weight of its Modernist neighbour.

A yellow colonnade marks the entrance, projecting towards the square as a gathering point and establishing a direct visual dialogue with the bus station’s original yellow steelwork. The façade is clad in light grey fluted fibre cement panels, their vertical rhythm referencing the strong articulation of the bus station’s concrete soffits. Yellow-and-black columns and mesh balustrades reinforce the connection, giving the building a distinct identity while rooting it firmly in its setting.

Internally, the building is organised around a double-height central void, with a climbing wall acting as both focal point and visual connector between floors. Large-volume spaces, including a full-size sports hall and indoor kick pitch, are stacked towards the most sheltered part of the site, allowing the building to rise away from the street frontage and reduce visual impact near an adjacent listed warehouse. 

John Puttick describes the project as the culmination of a ten-year engagement with the site. “The refurbished bus station, public square and Youth Zone work together to provide an animated and community-focused area of the city,” he says, noting the significance of giving young people such a central and visible location.

Interior design was developed with designer Ben Kelly, known for his work on Manchester’s Haçienda. As with the legendary club, bold colour blocking and robust finishes feature, and help  to define zones and create distinct atmospheres without resorting to overtly institutional design, reflecting an ambition to treat young users as confident participants rather than passive occupants. Associate Martin Aberson explains that the aim was to create “a compact internal arrangement with clear access and views across a central social hub,” encouraging engagement while ensuring durability.

Due to the multi-functional and considered layout across multiple floors, users have already noted a tardis-like experience. The ground floor functions as a social hub, combining café, mentoring kitchen, arts spaces, gaming zones and sports facilities. Upper levels accommodate the sports hall, performing arts areas, music and recording studios, and quieter wellbeing rooms. 

Sustainability measures include an optimised steel frame, highly insulated envelope, natural ventilation through windcatchers and photovoltaic panels contributing to on-site energy generation. Again, the material palette is built around durability, prioritising intensive daily use, and recognising longevity as essential to environmental performance.

Rather than occupying a peripheral site, Vault Youth Zone asserts youth provision as part of the city’s public core. In doing so, it demonstrates how regeneration projects can move beyond heritage repair to create new civic architecture that is contemporary, robust and socially ambitious, while remaining materially and formally responsive to place.

Since we watched six best friends regularly hang out on their favourite red sofa, seemingly carefree and able to drink coffee at any point of the day during the 90’s, the hot drink has become a ubiquitous mainstay around the globe.

Since its invention in the Middle East in the 15th Century, coffee’s popularity has been a culinary juggernaut, fuelling our days, and for many, becoming a subtle modern-day addition. In the West, we are surrounded by coffee shops, both multinational and independent, with a vast turnover of profits and production, which includes an array of materials within the process.

We recently shared Blast Studios' innovative reuse of spent coffee cups, but at a moment when the surfaces sector is reassessing the environmental cost of engineered materials, what about those less obvious, and often messier waste materials and byproducts like coffee grounds? It certainly can’t be said that we don’t produce plenty of them!

That realisation was the driving force behind the creation of  KAVA Surfaces, which are a range of plastic-free materials made from repurposed coffee waste, organic fibres, and bio-binders. Developed and handmade in the UK, the panels offer a durable surface in an array of colours and finishes intended for interior architectural applications, ranging from furniture and joinery to wall covering and work surfaces. 

Rather than disguising its composition beneath decorative layers, the material retains a subtly particulate appearance, allowing recycled aggregates to remain legible within the surface. The panels are designed with fabrication in mind and can be cut, routed and finished using conventional woodworking equipment. Equally important is the emphasis on durability and reworkability, recognising that longevity remains one of the most effective forms of sustainability in interior environments subject to frequent refurbishment cycles.

As the company expands and the original coffee-fuelled range has gained in popularity, the team has experimented with other food waste, not least equally abundant fruit stones, which allow for more varied textures that extend the raw, natural aesthetic while continuing to divert would-be waste from landfill.