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.  

Perched along Jersey’s exposed western coastline, Wishing Well is a three-bedroom house shaped by the raw character of its setting and a deeply material-driven design approach. Designed by London-based Fieldwork Architects, the project transforms a dilapidated dormer bungalow into a contemporary coastal home anchored by locally quarried granite and stabilised rammed earth, materials selected both for their environmental resilience and their strong connection to place.

Designed for a client returning to the island after several years in London, the house deliberately departs from Jersey’s conventional domestic language. Instead, it embraces an elemental architectural expression, grounded in the textures, tones and geology of its surroundings. “We wanted the house to feel rooted in its environment,” says James Owen, director at Fieldwork Architects. “The arrangement connects closely with the land and sea, framing views and using natural materials throughout to create a sense of protection and belonging.”

The site occupies a dramatic position overlooking St Ouen’s Bay, where Atlantic swells meet long expanses of sandy beach, backed by the rising hills of Jersey’s National Park. Strict planning regulations required the architects to retain part of the original bungalow structure, submitting the proposal as an extension rather than a new build. This constraint became a defining conceptual driver. The new house was conceived around the footprint of the former building, its rectangular plan traced by a two-storey stabilised rammed earth wall that encases the remnants of the original structure.

The rammed earth core establishes both architectural character and environmental performance. Handcrafted and highly tactile, the walls draw directly on the island’s geology while offering significant thermal mass, moderating internal temperatures through Jersey’s variable coastal climate. “Wishing Well sits on Jersey’s most exposed coastline and gave us the opportunity to balance contemporary design with the rugged surroundings,” says Tim Gibbons, director at Fieldwork. “Working closely with the client, we were able to create a home that celebrates both the landscape and local craftsmanship.”

At ground level, the rammed earth is wrapped in an additional layer of locally quarried Jersey granite, forming a robust perimeter that shields the interior from prevailing winds and driving rain. A sheltered colonnade runs along two elevations, creating a covered terrace that mediates between inside and out while maintaining uninterrupted views across the landscape. The granite itself plays a dual role: structural, protective and expressive, its natural pink hues echoing the tones of the surrounding cliffs and coastal light.

In a further refinement of material integration, granite dust produced during stone processing was incorporated into the rammed earth aggregate, creating a bespoke stabilised earth mix developed specifically for the project. This process, undertaken in collaboration with Rammed Earth Structures and structural engineers Elliott Wood, involved extensive testing to achieve the desired texture, colour and performance. The result subtly embeds the stone into the fabric of the building, reinforcing the material continuity between structure and surface.

Internally, a section of the rammed earth core is left exposed, revealing the layered construction while establishing a sculptural focal point within the home. The layout is deliberately inverted, with private bedrooms positioned at ground level, cocooned within the thick granite walls, and living spaces elevated above. The primary suite faces the sea, its sheltered character softened by arched openings and a vaulted ceiling that appears carved from the building’s mass.

Entry is via a generous utility space, known as the “boardroom”, designed for life by the coast, complete with shower facilities, surfboard storage and direct access to the outdoors. A central stair forms the organisational spine of the house, rising alongside the exposed rammed earth wall and drawing daylight deep into the plan. Carefully positioned openings maintain constant visual connections with land and sea, shaping the experience of movement through the building.

At first-floor level, the atmosphere shifts markedly. Beneath a large rooflight, the main living spaces open into a bright, expansive environment, with panoramic views framed by extensive glazing and east- and west-facing terraces. A timber-clad dining pavilion, introduced later in the design process, provides spatial balance while offering shading and a softer counterpoint to the mineral mass of the granite and earth walls.

Material continuity between floors is reinforced through the use of cream-coloured limestone, employed for external window reveals before reappearing internally as a continuous band rising up the stair and flowing around the floor opening. It also forms the kitchen worktops and frames bespoke timber cabinetry designed by Fieldwork. The stone’s finish shifts according to use: flamed underfoot to reveal fossil textures, and polished smooth for working surfaces.

For the client, Amber Warner, the material choices were fundamental to shaping atmosphere and experience. “It was very important to frame as much of the view as possible from all parts of the house,” she says. “I wanted spaces that felt cosy during the dramatic winters but cool and open in summer. The granite reflects the pink tones of the sunsets, while the earthy textures inside mirror the sand and landscape outside.”

The project exemplifies Fieldwork’s collaborative design process, developed alongside Singh Studio and shaped through close engagement with engineers and specialist contractors. By integrating structural logic, material research and craft expertise, the team delivered a building in which architecture, surface and setting are inseparable.

Through its disciplined use of granite, rammed earth and limestone, Wishing Well presents a compelling case study in contemporary coastal architecture — a house rooted in its geology, climate and culture, and shaped as much by material performance as by spatial ambition.

All images courtesy of French + Tye

BMI Redland has released an on-demand webinar to help specifiers make informed choices when selecting slate roofing, as natural stone and engineered alternatives continue to shape contemporary roof design. Titled Natural Slate and Slate Alternatives: A Specifier’s Guide, the session is presented by Mat Woodyatt, Product Manager at BMI Redland, and is aimed at architects, contractors and others responsible for long-term material decisions.

Natural slate remains one of the UK’s most enduring roofing materials, valued for its geological character, subtle colour variation and proven longevity. But the webinar makes clear that successful specification involves more than choosing a traditional product. Sourcing, standards compliance, workmanship and system design all play a critical role in how a slate roof performs and ages. Woodyatt explores how these factors influence appearance, durability and whole-life cost, positioning slate as a material system rather than a single material choice.

Alongside natural slate, the webinar examines the growing range of slate alternatives, increasingly specified to address issues of availability, cost certainty and sustainability. Rather than framing engineered products as simple substitutes, the session presents them as part of a broader material palette that can deliver a slate aesthetic while responding to contemporary technical and environmental requirements.

Key topics include design suitability, structural implications, fixing and detailing, and compliance with British Standards. Sustainability forms a clear thread, with discussion around responsible sourcing, embodied carbon and how alternative slates can help reduce pressure on finite geological resources. The webinar also introduces BMI Redland’s 10-point checklist, designed to help specifiers align product choice, detailing and installation standards from the outset.

“There’s a growing demand for the traditional slate aesthetic, not only in heritage refurbishment but also across new-build developments,” Woodyatt notes. “This webinar provides practical insight into achieving that look, whether through natural or engineered materials.”

BMI Redland forms part of BMI UK & Ireland, the only roofing systems provider in the region offering both flat and pitched roofing, bringing together the heritage of Redland and Icopal. Backed by around 180 years of industry experience, BMI positions roofing as more than a protective layer, seeing it as an integral part of buildings that can support living spaces, green roofs and renewable energy systems. Through the BMI Academy in Gloucestershire, the company also delivers training to architects and contractors, reinforcing the link between material choice, workmanship and long-term performance.

The webinar is available to watch on demand via BMI Redland’s website.