Stone Demonstrator at Earl’s Court featured by the BBC
Albion Stone and Hutton Stone are delighted to see our Heritage Portland Stone Bricks and Darney Heritage Stone Bricks showcased in the BBC’s recent coverage of the Stone Demonstrator.
The Stone Demonstrator has been created to inspire builders, designers and developers to consider natural stone as an elegant, durable and genuinely sustainable alternative to more carbon‑intensive materials. The seamless pairing of the two brick types reflects the close collaboration between Albion Stone and Hutton Stone and underlines our shared commitment to promoting natural stone in contemporary construction.
Why the demonstrator matters
Positioned beside a modern tower block at the former Earl’s Court Exhibition Centre, the Stone Demonstrator illustrates how stone can be deployed in modern urban developments to reduce embodied carbon compared with steel, concrete and clay brick solutions. The project shows that a standard-looking building facade can be both beautiful and low carbon.
Design and engineering
Designed by Amin Taha of Groupwork and engineered by Steve Webb, the demonstrator proves that natural stone is a technically viable, low‑carbon building material for 21st‑century construction. The project demonstrates how contemporary methods can revive the sustainable practices that were commonplace two centuries ago while meeting today’s performance and aesthetic expectations.
Context and ambition
The site sits within a wider redevelopment that aims to deliver 4,000 homes, 12,000 jobs and 2.5 million square feet of workspace. The Stone Demonstrator is intended as a practical example of how future developments can exceed net zero ambitions while retaining long‑lasting architectural quality.
We congratulate everyone involved in the Stone Demonstrator and welcome the BBC’s spotlight on natural stone’s role in low‑carbon, long‑life construction. Albion Stone remains committed to working with partners across the supply chain to expand the use of responsibly sourced natural stone in sustainable urban development.
Read the full story here
Photography by Bas Princen
Albion Stone, a fourth generation family business pride ourselves on having a helpful and skilled workforce as well as modern and traditional manufacturing process to enable us to produce the highest quality Portland Stone with minimal environmental impact.
