Natural stone can be called the primal building material, used widely over millennia, until the advent of reinforced concrete. In recent years, architects have been rediscovering how this timeless material can create buildings of unrivaled durability. Structural stone provides excellent thermal mass and has a low carbon footprint when locally sourced.

This publication assembles perspectives from builders, quarry owners, architects and craftsmen. Stone has a reputation for being a capricious material and in a collection of nine stories from Switzerland, Spain and England, the author highlights the expertise of the artisans working with stone. Based on interviews and case studies – a social housing project in Plan-les-Ouates, housing in Mallorca and a student centre in Cambridge – the book offers a kind of ethnography of the professional field surrounding stone.

• Stone in architecture has made a comeback in recent years
• Structural stone connects contemporary design with the depth of the natural landscape and vernacular tradition
• The attractive volume explores the rich and complex praxis of building with stone in Europe