In a construction landscape increasingly focused on carbon, waste and lifecycle performance, the materials we use now take centre stage: not just as finish or cladding, but as an active participant in sustainability outcomes. At the forefront of this shift, The New Materialist is redefining what surfaces can be by sourcing biological matter, rethinking extraction, and engineering materials that truly close the loop between design and nature.

Based in Europe and co-founded by designer Thomas Vailly and engineer Baptiste Arribe, The New Materialist operates at the intersection of design, ecology and systems thinking, with a mission to replace polluting commodity materials with regenerative alternatives that can be scaled into mainstream applications. The studio describes its approach succinctly: it “merges design, science, and ecology to create sustainable materials” and works to “transform linear chains into circular ecosystems,” emphasising materials that are natural, non-toxic, made from waste, exceptional and scalable.

While this rhetoric may sound good on paper, the proof is in the pudding - in this case, physical outcomes in real-world applications. The New Materialist combines extensive materials research, prototyping and industrial development to deliver biomaterials that can perform in architectural and surface design contexts. Projects to date span natural composites made from agricultural by-products and waste streams, bioplastics sourced from municipal waste, and bespoke formulations tailored for clients including global brands.

For architects and specifiers, what makes The New Materialist salient isn’t just its commitment to sustainability, but its demonstration that regenerative materials can be aesthetically rich and performance capable. “We explore territories and ecosystems to find available biomass, and turn it into exceptional biomaterials: aesthetic, performant, circular,” the studio states, underscoring that material innovation must integrate function with form.

The practice begins with exploration: identifying bio-resources local to a project’s context, from plant fibres and industrial by-products to organic residues. Over an initial three-month research phase, the studio typically delivers multiple material concepts accompanied by sample libraries that allow designers to assess surface qualities, textures and performance potential. Once priorities are agreed, scale-up strategies are developed, including coalition building between suppliers, manufacturers and clients to embed the new materials into commercial production with agreed quality and impact metrics.

What sets this work apart in the design ecosystem is its systemic ambition. The New Materialist doesn’t simply propose an alternative finish; it reframes the supply chain. Its regenerative philosophy is rooted in the belief that materials should not only be bio-derived and low impact, but should actively contribute to healthy ecosystems, local livelihoods and circular flows. As the studio notes, being “New Materialists” involves recognising shared environmental challenges and seeking to “respect the boundaries of nature by radically changing the way materials are borrowed and returned to Nature.”

In material terms, this means designers and architects can now explore surfaces that embody ecological narratives as well as technical substance. Imagine wall panels made from invasive plant species, bio-composite sheets derived from agricultural processing waste, or decorative surfacing that incorporates botanical residues from fragrance production - all of which have already been prototyped and commissioned. These materials don’t just reduce reliance on petrochemical-derived products; they foreground material stories that resonate with deeper sustainability goals.

As the industry grapples with climate targets, waste reduction and lifecycle assessment, studios like The New Materialist show that material innovation need not be an afterthought. By reimagining what surfaces can be, and how they are sourced, processed and returned to nature, the work points the way toward regenerative design that is aesthetic, technical and deeply rooted in ecological intelligence.

As we continue to report on how the construction industry is taking action in reducing its carbon emissions, we turn our attention to a practice that specialises in retrofit and Passivhaus buildings.

STUDIO/gather is a sustainability-led architecture practice whose work is shaped by environmental responsibility, bespoke design and a strong sense of place. Established by architect Julian Mills shortly after the pandemic and now based by the sea in Cornwall, the studio has grown into a six-strong team delivering carefully crafted residential projects for creatively driven clients who share a commitment to a positive, low-impact future. With roots in alternative technology, sustainable practice and long-form architectural experience, Studio Gather brings material intelligence, collaboration and environmental thinking to the forefront of every project.

SS: As a practice, you work with both retrofit and new build, although it’s noticeable that with both approaches, the performance of the building is central to your thinking. Can you give some insight into how you approach retrofit projects?

JM: Each retrofit is different, as generally, no two older properties are built the same. Getting to know the ins and outs of how it's been constructed in all parts is key. A solid floor needs to be dealt with differently from a suspended floor, and likewise a solid stone wall to a brick cavity. If we can, we like to get stuck into some intrusive work to properly investigate what's going on. It's also key to speak to the clients and know how the building reacts during the seasons – is it super hot in the summer and really cold in the winter, are there areas where damp seems to appear seasonally, do they notice any spikes in their energy bills? If we can get a good view of how the building is put together, we often model the building in a software know as PHPP (PassivHaus Planning Pack), which will start to indicate the building's current performance and how upgrades will make a real difference. Obviously, the brief is also key in retrofits – can we look at the wants and needs of the clients and balance addition with upgrade? Not all the money needs to go into new if we can make an old space light, bright and warm.

SS: How does this differ from your approach to new builds? Can you give some more insight into your Passivhaus approach?

JM: New build is fairly similar in a way, but we will know from the get-go that we can construct well-performing floors, walls and roofs. Having tried and tested systems that we use time and time again is really handy. It means we can pretty much guarantee the performance of a building of any shape and size with some small adjustments to the level of insulation. Testing the design throughout with RIBA works stages using the PHPP is critical in meeting Passivhaus, including with new builds. More often than not in the South West, the best views are facing, you guess it, South West. As such, clients want lots of glazing facing in that direction. Great for the views, not so much for overheating. So, making sure you manage this with shading or first-floor balconies, etc., means the building remains within the limits of PassivHaus, and also for client comfort during use. It can be quite easy to assume ‘PassivHaus principles’ will create a well-performing building, but these principles, if not analysed, can lead to a super hot building that then needs cooling – it flips the whole issue on its head and you end up spending lots on energy bills to keep the building cool rather than warm.  We have found that clients are often really interested in the nitty-gritty of the numbers and we can spend a good amount of time in the Excel software making small incremental changes to find the sweet spot. You certainly have to love and be comfortable with an Excel spreadsheet in our line of work!

SS: It’s always excited to hear designers talk about collaboration, and it feels like your clients are your most important collaborators. How does this relationship work, and how receptive do you find they are when it comes to your sustainability ethos in particular? 

JM: We always kick projects off with a feasibility report. This allows clients to dip their toes into basically the whole process leading up to planning. But getting some quick ideas of layout, design vision, costs and performance on paper means everyone is across how the project will play out. Using hand sketching is also a good way to keep clients on the collaborative side, as everyone feels quite accustomed to scribbling over scribbles. Being handed a full, bold-lined CAD drawing can be quite overwhelming, especially in the early days, so keeping things simple puts the big questions on the table upfront and allows us all to discuss. We also work fully in 3D and offer the 3D model out for clients to ‘float round’. This means they can see the spaces, see how they work throughout the day, and come back to us with their thoughts. This keeps the creative process very open book and means they are fully involved in how it evolves. They get less of a final presentation and more of a ‘this is our thinking, we would love your input’. As I say, tackling the big questions early on is key, especially when thinking about sustainability. There is no cheap silver bullet, so making sure you talk about what the compromises might be, the trade-offs to allow you to have a zero running cost house early on, is a great way to lock in the ethos.  

SS: It would be great to hear more about your other collaborations - how do you work as a team? And how do you bring in contractors and tradespeople? Again, how receptive are they to your ethos?

JM: Our office is a studio environment, and although we offer flexible working, a lot of the team prefer to be in, as it’s a very pleasant place to get on with work. Being all in one room means you can overhear and oversee what each other is working on. This offers great cross-pollination between schemes and means each project has much more than just ‘the one person’ working on it. We also have a structural engineer renting a desk space, meaning it's super quick to bounce ideas around beyond those of the pure architecture. In terms of contractors, we generally work with the same pool of contractors time and time again. Growing this professional relationship means everyone gets to know how the other works and what they expect. They know our drawing style, which has been commended for the level of detail, and we know their quality control onsite and overall craft. This gives us all confidence that the project will go off well. They work with us, like we work with them, because we want to offer the best service to our clients and ultimately produce wonderful low-energy architecture that will be something we are all proud of. This synergy has led us to new work together through word of mouth, which further solidifies the bond. 

Collaboration is key in all aspects; there are plenty of horror stories of projects not going well, and when you dig down into them, it’s often due to the parties fighting against each other rather than seeing it as an opportunity to work together. Life in construction is much sweeter as collaborators. One of our clients called it ‘your ecosystem’. Ecosystems work where there are dynamic interconnections with exchanging energies. I guess what he was trying to say was work with those who work well, and the system will remain positive. So far, so good with us, and the phrase has stuck with me since. 

SS: Materiality is clearly an important part of your practice, so it would be interesting to discover more about how you select palettes for projects.

JM: Sure. Ultimately, we aim to create a material palette for the project that is contextual and uses a natural palette. The buildings that people tend to love the most are those that have stood the test of time for centuries. They were not cladding these lovely old buildings in plastics or composites; they were using materials local to them with trades that knew the crafts to manufacture them into the correct components for their use. If we can source reclaimed materials, especially when looking at slate, we will. Natural timbers from local saw mills also work well. They soften over time and react to the site's conditions – how much sun falls on them, etc. Sourcing locally also helps with the ‘ecosystem’; keeping the money in production locally, supporting local trades, forestry, etc. We often like to be playful with these materials, which then elevates them to give them a ‘of this time twist’. Less pastiche, more modern. They look and feel individual and can make simple forms ‘pop’. These ideas behind how we use the materials are also not just for a look, but also for a feel. 

Real materials mean a building becomes tactile; the textures are enjoyed when you are close up to it, brushing past it, walking barefoot around the house. It deepens the connection of occupant and building. This connection means people fall deeper in love with the building and, as such, respect it, look after it and keep it from falling into disrepair. This means that our buildings are self-sustaining and one hopes wont be knocked down and replaced, as you see with poorly constructed architecture. Being able to design buildings that one hopes will still be there in 100-200 years means you want the materials to feel and look as good as they do now as they do then. And that those who inhabit them in years to come will feel that the person/s responsible for building it really thought about what they were doing. 

Across architecture and design, advanced composite materials are reshaping what’s possible in façades, interiors and bespoke applications, marrying precision engineering with expressive surface qualities. Among the innovators pushing these boundaries is Lavoisier Composites, a European materials and technology company whose engineered systems span high-performance panels, structural composites and bespoke surface solutions. Central to their expanding portfolio is Carbonium, a carbon-fibre reinforced surface material that’s drawing attention for its combination of technical performance, aesthetic refinement and structural versatility.

Founded with a background in advanced composites and industrial manufacturing, Lavoisier Composites has developed a range of engineered materials targeting sectors where strength, lightweight performance and design flexibility are paramount, including aerospace, automotive, marine and architectural surfaces. The company’s ethos is rooted in the belief that material intelligence — selecting and engineering matter to enhance performance and longevity — is fundamental to contemporary design and construction.

Within this broader offering, Carbonium represents a focused application in the surfaces sphere. While carbon fibre as a material isn’t new, Carbonium reframes it for architectural use, combining carbon composites with tailored surface finishes suitable for both interior and exterior applications. The result is a surface that reads simultaneously technical and refined, and one that can reference industrial precision without feeling cold or uninhabitable.

Carbonium panels are built around high-strength carbon fibre reinforcement, which gives them a high stiffness-to-weight ratio and excellent resistance to deformation. In practical terms, this means that large spans or bespoke geometries can be achieved without the weight issues often associated with traditional stone or heavy engineered materials. For architects and fabricators, this opens up possibilities for slender profiles, cantilevers and expressive forms that would be difficult to realise with denser materials.

Yet what sets Carbonium apart in the surfaces context is not just structural capability, but the way it integrates surface character into performance behaviour. Carbon fibres can be oriented, textured and finished in ways that bring out directional grain, sheen and depth — qualities usually associated with natural materials like wood or stone — while maintaining the unmistakable precision of engineered composites. The panels can also be configured for specific environmental conditions, fire performance requirements or integration with substrates such as aluminium, timber or stone anchors. 

In interiors, Carbonium’s surface quality introduces a visceral material presence. Where many engineered surfaces prioritise neutrality, Carbonium’s subtle interplay of fibre pattern, surface sheen and depth creates a tactile and visual richness that sits comfortably alongside stone, ceramics or wood. These surfaces can be employed for feature walls, bespoke joinery, reception desks or sculptural elements — anywhere a combination of strength and refined surface quality is desired.

Outernet London has launched The Intelligence Garden, a new large-scale immersive installation by creative technology studio GLASSEYE, transforming one of the capital’s most advanced digital environments into an exploration of intelligence, materiality and human evolution. Unveiled on 12 February, the work occupies the four-storey-high LED screens of The Now Building and will run throughout 2026, with free public access.

Conceived and produced by GLASSEYE under the creative direction of Agustín Vidal Saavedra, The Intelligence Garden uses architectural-scale imagery to trace a journey from early geological processes to human consciousness. Although entirely digital, the installation places material thinking at the centre of its narrative, treating stone, texture and surface as conceptual anchors rather than visual backdrops.

“One of the earliest creative decisions in The Intelligence Garden was the choice of materials, as they needed to feel narratively meaningful while holding visual weight at architectural scale,” says Saavedra. For the opening cave sequence, the studio deliberately selected basalt stone as a primary reference. “Basalt is a volcanic rock formed through primary geological processes over thousands of years, and it carries a strong sense of geological memory. Its naturally ordered, almost architectural structure feels elemental – like the Earth’s first built environment – which closely aligns with the work’s exploration of intelligence emerging through connection, environment and time.”

The choice of basalt also introduces a geographical and cultural resonance. “As a studio with roots in Ireland, the formations of the Giant’s Causeway became an important visual reference,” Saavedra explains. “A landscape that feels ancient, monumental and strangely constructed, despite being entirely natural.” In this way, stone is used not simply as an image, but as a carrier of deep time and collective memory.

The cave-like basalt environment also allows the installation to reach further back into human history. “It allowed us to reference early human expression, particularly the hand stencils of the Cave of the Hands in Argentina — some of the earliest recorded gestures of human presence,” says Saavedra. “By evoking this imagery, the installation places a contemporary digital experience within a much longer human timeline, connecting the first symbolic marks made on stone to today’s technological forms of expression.”

While the material references are ancient, the means of presentation are resolutely contemporary. The Intelligence Garden is produced using a hybrid creative pipeline that combines real-time, game-engine-based systems with cinematic animation, particle simulations and spatialised sound. This deliberate contrast is central to how the work is read. “Presenting these ancient, tactile materials through a digital, immersive medium creates a deliberate juxtaposition,” Saavedra notes. “Audiences encounter textures and forms that feel primordial and familiar, yet they are rendered through real-time technology at monumental scale.”

Rather than distancing viewers from material history, the digital medium is intended to reframe it. “This tension between the geological and the digital reinforces one of the central ideas of the work: that intelligence, creativity and expression are not fixed in a moment in time, but are continuously evolving through new environments and tools,” Saavedra continues. “The digital medium doesn’t distance us from these materials; instead, it reframes them, allowing viewers to experience deep human and natural history through a contemporary technological lens.”

Commissioned specifically for Outernet London’s 360-degree LED environment, The Intelligence Garden demonstrates how immersive digital installations are increasingly operating with the conceptual weight of architecture. By foregrounding stone and geological processes within a cutting-edge digital context, the project positions material memory as a vital part of contemporary cultural production — and suggests new ways in which ancient materials can continue to shape how we understand human creativity today.

Founded by Adam Weismann and Katy Bryce, Clayworks has built a reputation for placing natural materials and traditional building knowledge at the heart of contemporary construction. The company’s clay plasters and surface finishes reflect a commitment to environmental responsibility, craft and performance, offering architects, designers and contractors alternatives to conventional mineral and synthetic systems.

The origins of Clayworks lie in Cornwall, where Weismann and Bryce ran a specialist natural building company working with cob, stone, timber, clay and lime. Alongside this practical experience, they travelled extensively to study traditional earthen construction methods, developing a deep understanding of clay as both a structural and finishing material. This period of research and experimentation laid the foundations for their later work, which sought to translate vernacular techniques into robust, modern systems suitable for contemporary buildings.

That ambition was formalised through the publication of their books, Building with Cob (2006) and Clay and Lime Finishes (2008), which explored the technical, environmental and aesthetic potential of earth-based construction. The research underpinning these titles also catalysed the development of Clayworks’ ready-to-use clay plaster finishes, combining centuries-old knowledge with modern materials science. This synthesis of tradition and innovation remains central to the company’s ethos.

Today, Clayworks offers a comprehensive range of clay plasters and natural finishes designed to meet the performance demands of modern construction, while retaining the tactile and environmental qualities of earthen materials. Alongside its core product lines, the company operates a bespoke design service and sample studio, working closely with architects and designers to develop custom finishes that respond to the specific spatial, material and atmospheric ambitions of each project.

Sustainability is embedded not as an adjunct, but as a defining principle. Clayworks’ plasters are recyclable, repairable and compostable, contributing to circular material strategies and long-term building adaptability. Environmental Product Declarations, Health Product Declarations, VOC emissions testing and fire performance certification underpin the technical credibility of the range, while independent assessments confirm ultra-low VOC emissions and exemplary indoor air quality performance. For specifiers seeking surface finishes that combine environmental responsibility with proven technical standards, this transparency is central.

Equally important is the contribution these materials make to occupant wellbeing. Clay’s inherent hygroscopic properties allow walls to regulate internal humidity levels, helping to stabilise indoor environments and improve comfort. The material’s softness, depth and textural variation further enhance spatial experience, offering designers a nuanced palette that responds to light, shadow and touch.

Underlying Clayworks’ technical and environmental focus is a broader commitment to responsible practice. The company’s ethos emphasises respect for natural systems, creativity grounded in material understanding, and collaboration with like-minded practitioners. This philosophy extends beyond product development into education, research and community engagement, positioning Clayworks as both manufacturer and advocate for more thoughtful construction methodologies.

In a sector increasingly shaped by the need for low-impact materials and circular construction strategies, Clayworks demonstrates how traditional knowledge can inform contemporary innovation. By combining earthen craft traditions with rigorous material science and transparent performance data, the company has created a suite of surface finishes that challenge conventional approaches to interior architecture, while offering specifiers robust, practical and sustainable alternatives.

In a tightly constrained Highbury plot, DGN Studio has reworked a Victorian terrace into a light-filled family home whose architectural character is defined by a carefully calibrated progression of materials – from robust stone and mineral textures at ground level to refined metalwork and glazing above.

At the base of the scheme is a stone-brick extension, capped by a lightweight stainless-steel and glazed roof structure. The approach allows the house to remain grounded in the earthy tones and textures of its London context, while opening the interior to sky and light. Throughout, the architects pursued a material language in which mass, tactility and weight gradually give way to lightness and precision, producing a spatial sequence that mirrors the vertical journey through the building.

Stone plays a central role in establishing this character. Sandblasted and split-face sandstone bricks form the external envelope of the new ground-floor volumes, their rusticated finish anchoring the building firmly to the site. Above, a smoother sandblasted texture begins a gradual refinement that continues through ground-back concrete detailing and into the fine stainless-steel elements of the upper storeys. This progression is echoed internally, where thick stone walls, clay finishes and lime plaster create a grainy, tactile backdrop to everyday family life.

The decision to use stone brick in place of conventional clay alternatives was also driven by environmental considerations. By substituting a carbon-intensive material with stone, the architects were able to reduce the embodied impact of the extension. This approach is reinforced by a fully breathable wall build-up incorporating hemp insulation, wood-wool boards and internal lime plaster, allowing the building fabric to regulate moisture and contribute to a healthier internal environment.

Working with minimal external space and a compact north-facing garden, DGN limited the depth of the rear extension in order to preserve outdoor amenity. Instead, the practice exploited vertical volume, creating a double-height dining space that brings daylight deep into the plan. High-level clerestory windows framed in stainless steel introduce a band of light across the rear elevation, lending a sense of generosity and scale that belies the modest footprint.

At ground floor, the stone brickwork is expressed internally as a thickened threshold between old and new. Niches carved into the masonry provide space for display and storage, fitted with bespoke steel shelving. Underfoot, hexagonal clay tiles define the kitchen zone, while the central island combines high-gloss cabinetry with a metal framework beneath a curved concrete worktop. The exposed aggregate finish of the concrete introduces subtle texture, creating a natural focal point for gathering, while trowelled surfaces to the working side provide a smoother finish for food preparation. Bespoke stainless-steel cabinetry and splashbacks reinforce the kitchen’s functional character, their folded detailing echoing the chamfered stone sills and mullions of the clerestory windows.

Sleek steel-framed pivot doors and casement windows are set deep within the stone walls, framing controlled views into the newly planted courtyard garden. This thickness lends the openings a sense of solidity, while emphasising the contrast between weight and lightness that runs through the project.

Beyond the kitchen, a centrally positioned drawing room acts as a hinge between spaces, accommodating family circulation and daily rituals around a much-loved heirloom dining table. Large sliding wall panels allow surrounding rooms to be opened or closed as required, enabling the house to adapt to changing patterns of use as the family grows.

Upper floors focus on subtle spatial refinement rather than radical alteration. Sloping staircases and uneven floors have been carefully reworked to accommodate new oak flooring, while light-filled front rooms provide workspace for a resident fashion designer. Bedrooms occupy the quieter upper levels, where privacy increases and views extend across neighbouring rooftops.

As the stair rises, the material language shifts decisively towards lightness. Offset from enclosing walls, the staircase is traced by a fine metal balustrade, drawing the eye upwards to a final clerestory opening that floods the stairwell with soft north light. At half-landing level, a door opens onto a newly formed roof terrace, offering long views across the city. Above, the loft is conceived as a calm retreat, its white-painted timber floorboards and powder-coated metal reveals forming a serene, gallery-like interior, complemented by a top-lit microcement bathroom.

Throughout the project, stone is deployed not simply as surface finish, but as an active architectural element – shaping thresholds, defining structure and anchoring the house to its urban setting. In combination with steel, concrete and carefully controlled glazing, the stone brickwork establishes a material hierarchy that allows the house to feel simultaneously grounded and expansive, robust and refined.

All images courtesy of Tim Crocker

In Ground Truths, multidisciplinary artist and designer Mie Kim turns her attention to one of the stone world’s most overlooked by-products: waste limestone. Typically shunned in ceramics for its volatility and tendency to fracture or deform in the kiln, the material becomes the conceptual and physical core of this work. Through experimental glaze applications and a series of suspended sculptural forms, Kim tests the limits of limestone’s structural and aesthetic potential. The resulting works carry visible traces of instability, with pitting, blistering, and subtle distortions embraced not as flaws but as evidence of material truth.

Kim’s broader practice is rooted in a desire to stay connected to the origin of things. Primarily creating sculpture and limited design objects, she works in a spontaneous dialogue with her natural surroundings, often sourcing indigenous organic materials such as tree ash and wild clay harvested from riverbeds in nearby mountain ranges. These elements find their way into her glazes and bodies, binding each piece to a specific landscape and moment in time. Her approach reflects an effort to reclaim a kind of ascetic intentionality in an era of perceived abundance, where objects are frequently divorced from their source and means of production. In this context, limestone, especially in its discarded, industrial form, becomes a potent symbol of both neglect and latent potential.

Materiality remains the driving force of Ground Truths. By working with wild clay, industrial waste, and foraged minerals, Kim foregrounds slow, hands-on processes that resist standardisation and permanence. Rather than imposing strict control, she allows the inherent behavior of the materials to shape the outcome, inviting collaboration with what she describes as “unruly matter.” 

Ground Truths reads as both an inquiry into secondary material streams and a meditation on how value can be redefined through imperfection, unpredictability, and constraint.

Set within the familiar rhythm of brick-fronted terraces in Dulwich, Komorebi is a layered, light-filled family home that reinterprets the existing structure through a carefully orchestrated sequence of voids, surfaces and material contrasts. Designed by London-based architecture and interiors practice ConForm for a father and his two sons, the project is defined by spatial connection, filtered daylight and a restrained palette in which stone plays a quietly anchoring role.

While the front elevation retains its original character, the rear of the house has been entirely reworked, allowing the interior to unfold as a series of interlinked levels bound together by light. At the heart of the scheme is an existing central rooflight, an unusual feature for a London terrace, which the architects expanded into a multi-storey void. Rather than infilling above, the volume is extended vertically, forming the project’s architectural core and allowing daylight to penetrate deep into the plan.

This central space is defined by open stair treads, perforated steel floorplates and carefully aligned openings that allow light, air and sound to filter between levels. Whitewashed brickwork lines the void, its softened surface reflecting light while retaining the texture of the original masonry. Together, these elements create a dynamic interior landscape in which shifting daylight becomes a constant presence throughout the day.

The plan is arranged vertically to reflect patterns of family life, with shared spaces cascading downwards from the central void. At ground level, kitchen, dining and living areas are unified through a continuous counter, encouraging fluid movement and visual connection. Upper floors accommodate more private spaces, including a heavily glazed study housed within a first-floor infill extension and a second-floor pod room offering the teenage sons a retreat.

Material continuity underpins this spatial organisation. Oak joinery, perforated steel, whitewashed brick, concrete downstands and lime mortar establish a cohesive backdrop, while ceppo di gre stone introduces moments of density and tactility. Used for internal flooring and threshold elements, the stone’s mottled texture and mineral depth provide visual weight within the otherwise light-filled composition, anchoring the interior and tempering the openness of the vertical arrangement.

Externally, the rear extensions draw on the varied roof forms and angled outriggers characteristic of the surrounding streetscape, while their concrete-framed construction and carefully detailed glazing establish a contemporary identity. At the lowest level, a pivoting glazed door opens directly onto a sheltered terrace, where stone paving continues the internal material language into the garden, blurring the boundary between inside and out.

Throughout the house, bespoke joinery is integrated into the architecture, with timber-framed windows, concealed lighting and sharply defined stair balustrades guiding movement and sightlines. These elements work in concert with the stone, brick and concrete surfaces to create a restrained material palette that supports both functional living and spatial clarity.

Rather than maximising floor area, the project focuses on extracting generosity from the existing volume, using sectional complexity, carefully positioned openings and material consistency to create a sense of connection and openness. In doing so, Komorebi demonstrates how strategic architectural interventions, anchored by thoughtful material selection, can transform a modest urban terrace into a richly layered family home.

All images courtesy of James Retief

As the construction industry faces mounting pressure to reduce carbon emissions, cut waste and preserve finite resources, circular methodologies are rapidly shifting from aspiration to necessity. Nowhere is this more evident than in the growing movement to reclaim, reuse and repurpose materials already embedded within the built environment. At the forefront of this shift is Material Index, a London-based platform and services company dedicated to enabling material reuse at scale through a combination of digital technology, technical expertise and logistics support.

Founded by architect Morgan Lewis and engineer Rob Smith to tackle the systemic inefficiencies that see vast quantities of valuable materials sent to landfill, Material Index works collaboratively with building owners, contractors and design teams to unlock the latent value within existing buildings. By integrating pre-demolition audits, materials passports, digital marketplaces and storage and logistics services, the company provides a joined-up approach to circular construction that bridges the gap between ambition and delivery.

At the heart of Material Index’s offering is its proprietary digital platform, which underpins every stage of the reuse process. Through best-in-class pre-demolition, pre-redevelopment and material reclamation audits, the company captures highly detailed, component-level data, providing accurate insights into material condition, quantities, embodied carbon and waste potential. This granular approach allows project teams to identify opportunities for reuse early, enabling circular strategies to be embedded within design and procurement workflows rather than treated as an afterthought.

This data-led methodology delivers tangible results. Material Index reports a project reuse rate of 19%, significantly outperforming the current industry average of around 4%. By diverting materials from waste streams and reintegrating them into new construction and fit-out projects, clients benefit from reduced disposal costs, lower embodied carbon and a demonstrably lighter environmental footprint.

Beyond audits, Material Index has established one of the UK’s largest business-to-business marketplaces for reclaimed materials. Through its network of more than 300 trusted trade partners, spanning manufacturers, specialist contractors and reclamation businesses, the platform enables surplus materials to be exchanged, stored or sold with full traceability. Logistics coordination ensures that collections align with demolition and strip-out programmes, while environmental reporting provides transparent documentation of carbon and waste savings. The ever-evolving online resource is well worth a visit for anyone on the lookout for interior and construction materials, with stone, flooring products, lighting and furniture regularly updated and available at the click of a button.

The company has also developed a dedicated materials specification service, supporting designers, engineers and contractors in sourcing refurbished and reclaimed materials suitable for high-performance projects. This service is particularly relevant to stone and surface materials, where longevity, inherent durability and embodied carbon profiles make reuse an increasingly compelling proposition.

Another cornerstone of Material Index’s offering is its Materials Passports: secure, digital records of every material installed within a completed building. Drawing together information from BIM models, site audits, project documentation and supply chain data, the passports create a spatially searchable material directory that preserves knowledge long after project completion. In doing so, they transform materials into long-term assets, ensuring that when buildings are adapted, refurbished or dismantled, valuable resources can be efficiently recovered and reused.

For larger estates and portfolios, Material Index offers a portfolio management solution, enabling asset owners and contractors to track materials across multiple buildings, facilitate internal exchanges and manage storage and resale. This approach supports strategic planning at scale, reinforcing circularity as a core operational principle rather than a project-by-project exercise.

With sustainability targets tightening and regulatory pressure increasing, the role of intelligent material management is only set to grow. By combining digital innovation with practical, on-the-ground expertise, Material Index is helping to redefine how materials flow through the construction industry – turning waste into opportunity and circular ambition into measurable action.

Rather sadly, in contemporary culture, the term ‘Apprentice’ is more likely to conjure images of suited bafoonery and surly finger-pointing old men than young people learning an array of skills through hands-on training.  

As underlined by a host of events last week, UK Apprenticeship Week is a national annual campaign that celebrates the true value of apprenticeships. Bringing together employers, educators and industry bodies it offers a showcase of how structured training and hands-on learning help people develop skilled careers while supporting businesses to grow and address skills shortages across the UK.  

In an industry confronting a deepening skills shortage, the continuity of traditional craft knowledge has become as central to the future of stone conservation as the technical challenges of the work itself. DBR Limited, one of the UK’s foremost historic building conservation specialists, has placed apprenticeships and training at the core of its long-term strategy, recognising that tomorrow’s skilled masons, carvers and conservation technicians must be nurtured today. As part of its broader commitment to social value and craft succession, DBR champions hands-on training, on-site mentoring and structured vocational progression, including formal apprenticeships for every project exceeding a year in duration and a new three-year partnership with the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST) to support annual craft scholarships. 

We spoke to DBR Executive Director Adrian Attwood during the event to find out more about the company’s approach and the significance of modern-day apprenticeships.

SS: Set the scene for us; what is the story behind the skills shortage we are seeing in the stone industry?

AA: Stonemasonry is an ancient craft and industry, yet it is potentially facing extinction. To become a true expert in the craft, a master stonemason requires up to ten years of experience. Yet across the entire United Kingdom, there are only four dedicated diploma Level 2 courses available. For a profession that’s essential to maintaining everything from parish churches to palaces, this training provision is woefully inadequate.

SS: Can you put into context what effects a continued skills shortage like this might have in the near-future?

AA: This skills crisis threatens Britain’s £16bn heritage sector at precisely the moment we have secured unprecedented financial backing. The government’s announcement of 50,000 new youth apprenticeship places represents genuine opportunity. It’s backed by £725m in funding and the removal of the 5% levy for under-25s, combined with £1.5bn in cultural sector investment and £230m for heritage protection. This is most welcome. Yet, money alone cannot repoint medieval walls, conserve ashlar masonry or restore ornamental stonework. These skills require human hands, trained over years through rigorous apprenticeships.

SS: You are coming at this from lived experience, so you must be feeling such effects firsthand?

AA: This is a slow-moving crisis. Over the past decade, we have seen a 40% decline in young people starting apprenticeships. At DBR, where we employ scores of skilled specialists working on everything from facade conservation, roof repair & replacement to historic interiors, attracting new talent grows more difficult each year. Our masonry workforce is ageing and soon many are retiring, and with nearly one million young people aged 16 to 24 not in work or learning, the disconnect is painful. Many talented young people have no local route into the profession.  

JB: So what are the barriers in cultivating a new, younger workforce of trained, and skilled people? And what can be done to help overcome them?

AA: The barrier is partly cultural. Our education system maintains a bias towards academic routes, leaving vocational careers in stonemasonry, leadwork and decorative plasterwork significantly undervalued. Teachers and careers advisors simply do not have heritage trades on their radar.  

The stone industry must step up now. At DBR, we have invested in our own craft skills centre in the South Downs and offer school taster days. But individual businesses acting alone cannot solve this industry-wide problem. The stone sector needs coordinated action: training providers must expand diploma courses, public sector frameworks must provide a healthy pipeline of work, and traditional masonry crafts must receive equal priority in the apprenticeship framework.  

Unless we act as a collective, we risk losing centuries of irreplaceable masonry knowledge. The government has provided increased funding. We now need the heritage industry to invest in the next generation, ensuring the skills that built Britain’s architectural legacy survive into future generations, to protect it.