‘How will we be judged?’’ was a challenge put to me by a very wise (younger!) friend*. Even for those without the vested interest of children, how will future generations view the state we have left this beautiful blue marble for them to inhabit? It is a fair challenge. And it’s personal. 

Nearly 40% of global carbon emissions are created by the built environment, with 11% coming from the construction of new buildings. For so long, and for good reasons, there has been a large focus on operational energy. But it's the energy we use – and the carbon emitted - in making all of the ‘stuff’ in the built environment - the bricks and the mortar - that is our battle. Embodied carbon is our net present issue, and when allied with circular economy aspirations, very difficult to address. 

Throughout my career I have always been interested in doing things differently, of pushing boundaries, trialling new ideas. And I’ve not been fussy if they are a process, a material, a programme….whatever! So long as it reduces our impact on the planet. Designing and delivering in mass timber became a deep interest, culminating in several pivotal projects such as Google’s HQ at King’s Cross and even the station at Brent Cross Town. 

At Earls Court, we have the largest cleared development opportunity in central London to work with, and this blank slate can facilitate the trialling of new ways of working that tread more lightly on our planet. We have also been keen to participate in wider research projects and have been testing new ideas and innovations with the likes of Imperial’s Undaunted team and the Royal College of Art, with several installations already benefitting from our site. Alongside the team at ACME and engineers Heyne Tillet Steel, we have been exploring options with hybrid timber frame solutions including load bearing stone facades for some of our commercial plots.  

In parallel, our Head of Design Sharon Giffen, was approached by tutors from Harvard Graduate School of Design, Hanif Kara (AKT II) and Amin Taha (Groupworks) to use the Earls Court site as a testbed for student projects exploring the use of low carbon and regenerative materials for flexible buildings. At the same time, Groupworks was developing a research project for the Design Museum’s Futures Observatory programme with Justin McGuirck and looking for a site to locate their stone protype. Earls Court was selected as the home for this concept - the Stone Demonstrator. 

Funded by the UKRI Arts and Humanities Research Council, it provides the basis of research on how stone can be used as a load bearing, low embodied carbon option for buildings. 

Working with engineers Webb Yates and Arup, suppliers The Stone Masonry Company, Bamburger Natursteinwurk and others (see full list below), the project developed into much more than just a stone frame. It shows how stone and timber can work together in a range of ways, that is also a kit of parts that can be used for commercial as well as residential; for interiors and exteriors, facades, and even the public realm. 

So why does this interest us as developers? Well, at Earls Court we aim to deliver around 4,000 new homes, and 2.5m sq. ft of sustainable workspace, retail, culture venues and more. And we need to do it safely, rapidly, with minimal impact on the planet, the environment and communities around us. Currently, carbon offsetting tax only covers operational energy; it will be coming for embodied carbon at some point soon, so we need to get ahead of the curve. The Demonstrator ‘kit of parts’ can be made off site and delivered in fewer vehicle movements, the components can be made to suit a range of heights, and scales. Even the foundations are stone blocks.  And at a fraction of the embodied carbon. What is more, the materials can be re-used and re-purposed again and again, whilst the structural elements can be taken apart and re-used too. Imagine the carbon saving and circular economy efficiencies. Designed for manufacture, assembly, disassembly and re-purpose. 

How is it made? The frame consists of stone blocks that are connected by steel tendons and compressed to create pre-tensioned beams and columns. The floorplates are a mix of pre-tensioned stone slabs, combined with timber joists and a roof of dowel-laminated timber (DLT). The structure has a self-supporting facade – for up to four storeys- further reducing the componentry required - of stone bricks, which are at least 90% lower in carbon emissions than London’s vernacular of fired clay bricks. 

Simply put, The Stone Demonstrator shows how we can save up to 90% of the embodied carbon in the frame and stone facades alone.

And still, we have not touched on the social benefits that using these materials has on people’s health and well-being: the proven ‘lift’ people get from being in a timber environment, the amelioration of temperatures that the thermal mass of the stone will bring – the benefits go on. Speed of construction, time saved, robustness, value….and delight. 

People get stone. 

People get timber.  

There is (sorry for the pun) an inherent natural beauty to both. 

So, how will we be judged? Will we, as an industry, become the living embodiment of the definition of insanity, doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results? Or dare we try something new? Let us see. This….is a start. 

*Sam Liptrott of Olsen Fire and Risk (OFR)