The sustainability of structural stone is dependent on how and where it is quarried and its reputation as an infinite material is misleading, warns Slovak-British architect Natalia Petkova in this Stone Age 2.0 interview.
"I would caution against claims of stone being a revolutionary sustainable material ? we miss the opportunity to think critically when we reduce materials to 'good' and 'bad' ones," she told Dezeen.
"The virtue of solid stone construction is case-specific and depends on where the stone comes from and how it is employed."
Petkova is an architect and researcher who recently completed a PhD thesis exploring the structural use of stone in projects under construction in Spain, Switzerland and the UK, which is awaiting publication. Dezeen spoke to her as part of its Stone Age 2.0 series, which is investigating the potential of the material as a viable, low-carbon, modern structural material.
Transportation of stone can offset carbon benefits
Petkova cautioned against claims that stone is a "limitless material" that can readily be extracted from the Earth's crust and transported to construction sites. Instead, she believes accessibility to stone at a given site should be considered before using it.
"In an absolute sense, that's true, but in reality, there are many limitations to its actual access," said Petkova.
"Sometimes the appropriate stone is not locally available with respect to a given construction site."
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