THEY BUILT A HIGH-RISE OUT OF STONE. LIKE, STRUCTURALLY.
The future of lower-carbon construction might involve a material humans have been stacking for thousands of years.
THEY BUILT A HIGH-RISE OUT OF STONE. LIKE, STRUCTURALLY
Petra Heights in north London is showing that one of architecture’s oldest materials can do a surprisingly modern job.
WHAT HAPPENED
Designed by Groupwork with engineer Webb Yates, Petra Heights uses an unreinforced stone exoskeleton to carry the building’s weight and wind loads. The project has no concrete stability core or concrete columns and no steel reinforcement bars in that structural system, though it still uses concrete for basement foundations and floor slabs.
WHY THIS IS HOPESLOP
Progress does not always look futuristic. Sometimes it is engineers realizing an ancient material can replace part of the carbon-heavy system we assumed was mandatory.
ORIGINAL SOURCEDezeenRead the original report