In light of the climate crisis, the materials that make up our built environment need more than ever to prove their worth. Stone has serious sustainability credentials, with the ability to reduce a project’s embodied carbon by an incredible 90 per cent compared to typical steel or concrete frames.

Pierre Bidaud will discuss 15 Clerkenwell Close — a love letter to structural stone, with its limestone façade and fallen Ionic columns, where the fossilised coral, ammonite shells, quartz pockets, and seams of the material remain visible. The building is widely recognised as a new London landmark.

Pierre aims to broaden the discussion about stone, acknowledging past architectural and engineering achievements from Soufflot to Peter Rice’s Padre Pio Church and Séjourné’s bridges, while also introducing a new generation of architects and engineers who are pushing the boundaries of what is possible with a material that combines practicality and beauty.

Through a journey spanning the last 100 years of stone architecture and engineering, Pierre will make the case for a healthier architecture in stone, bringing together the latest engineering developments with low-tech systems.