Holistic Masonry Construction: A Specification Framework for Re-Assigning Value

The research investigates at micro and macro scales, the socio-economic, environmental, geological, and technical potentials of stone in enabling sustainable economic development and placemaking within a UK context.

It will reframe the way in which we interpret, value, design and specify masonry constructional assemblies, advancing whole-life environmental performance of new-build dwellings.

In partnership with HES and Hutton, it will establish a complex-systems framework for holistic architectural specification of indigenous building stone, that: enables resourcefulness through minimising quarry waste and maximising material inclusivity, and economises on stone's capacity for longevity (through defining measures of maintainability, adaptability, and reuse) relative to context.