Designer: Simon Jacomet Based in the beautiful monastic village of Disentis, Switzerland, Simon Jacomet and his team at Zai have established a gloriously understated reputation for designing and crafting the most advanced, high-spec skis in the world. Only 500 pairs are made a year. Innovation – indeed to blaze a trail for the whole skiing industry – has always been at the heart of their mission. These very special limited edition Spada (the Romanic word for sword) skis are the first ever made to have a heart of Grisons granite. Using stone in skis may sound incredible but stone has ideal characteristics for this application. Rendered bendable by Technocarbon of Munich’s new Carbon Fibre Stone technology, stone has enormous compressive strength (the same specific mass as aluminum) and resilience, retains its shape and dampens vibrations. The result is a ski with incomparable agility, grip and smoothness.

Architect 'Ensamble Studio' created a large stone wall for an office building for SGAE Offices in Spain. They used an interesting process of stacking the large Mondariz Grey Stone in the location that the stone was mined. They stacked the stone simply in the mine by using the dimensions of the facade as the guide. They then spray painted a grid across it and photographed the wall, and then transplanted it directly onto the site. The details are beautiful of how the stone is fixed using steel bars to 'tie' the stones together. The resulting lighting quality is incredible. Check out more of their work; http://www.ensamble.info/

This amazingly quirky house is in Portugal in the Nas montanhas de Fafe. The two large boulders form the walls of the house. It is unclear whether the stones inspired the house or if they were brought there. According to the webpage treehugger it feels like a real life Flinstone House, and even though it seems prehistoric it was actually built in 1974 and it has amenities such as a fireplace and a swimming pool. Apparently it has become a tourist destination and because of that the owner had to move to avoid them. I chose this image because I love the way architecture is built between nature rather than the opposite. Nature is beautiful just as it is and it has it's own uniqueness I admire people who realize this fact and incorporate it into their buildings, designs etc. It reminds me of the inspiration and imagination prehistoric men used to have in trying to find solutions with what they have around them. It might be more of a challenge today but I believe it is worth it. http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/01/real-life-flintstones-house-luring-tourists-in-portugal.php  

 

 

 

 

The image represents the Balisica of Maxentius in the Forum Romanum in Rome. I choose this image because everytime I look at this building I find myself thinking how huge and incredible it is. It was built more than 1700 years ago, and at the moment was the largest structure built. Still today the remaining structures give a vivid impression of the grandeur of the original edifice. The walls, in opus latericium (brick work), were originally with marble veneer. The semicircular vaults (78 ft high) are in opus caementicium (roman concrete) had a gilded stucco finish. The octagonal ceiling coffers show advanced weight-saving structural skills.

These ultra-thin cut sheets of natural stone allow the creation of design elements and furniture with without dealing with the issue of weight. Its thickness varies between 0.1 to 2 mm. In this photo, the material is being used in the kitchen's cabinets.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am very interested in the idea of bringing naturalistic elements into the interior. The aesthetic qualities of nature and the various textures that are prevalent in the exterior are very beautiful. This company Stone Forest makes products for the exterior in the landscaping sector of design as well as interior products, focusing mainly on kitchens and baths. The image of the natural bathtub illustrates how unique every stone is and how no two bathrooms will look alike, the natural stone tub becomes the focal point of the bathroom and provides a feeling of bringing the exterior into the interior. The image of oval bathtub shows the textural quality of stone, and how the relaxation element of outdoors can be brought into the home. I really enjoy the various products from this company and how they show the variety of ways you can take stones and elements of stone and re-imagine them for the interior.

By simply rotating the bricks these architects brought this facade to life. http://www.anagramarchitects.com/project-sahrdc.htm

A stone table by Lex Pott is made of Belgian Bluestone "which is dug from deep in the ground and usually cut clean and polished to a perfect shine – but this in this table the stone was stopped midway to leave the marks of the cutting tools along with natural edges behind. The shape of the finished table reflects the brutal-but-precise way in which massive blades cut into the quarried stone."

Q-bo makes precious-stone and marble wall and floor coverings created through specially developed equipment and technologies. An extensive process of sandblasting transforms Rugiada, in white marble, into irregular 3D rings of various sizes in a brushed or polished finish.

Loess Few years ago, loess house became a very popular building material over in Korea, Japan and other Asian countries. After the scientific research Chinese medicine scripts about loess, this material has been refocused and applied into many architecture and for living goods, such as dishes and furnitures. It was one of most common materials found in 14th century Korean middle class houses but it was faded away during the modernization (westernization) period. The flexibility of the material, as in shape and also the flexibility in aging process, loess still represents and suits the asian philosophy, lifestyle and the taste of modern houses and its users. Additionally, the detoxification characteristic of loess mentioned in many Chinese medicine documents attracts the contemporary users. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loess

Earth/Stone/Sand/Dust Bags made with discarded polypropylene rice sacks make a great, cheap, and environmentally sound structure in an emergency or just for fun.. The walls are massive and substantial, they resist all kinds of severe weather (or even bullets and bombs), and they can be erected simply and quickly with readily available components. Structured with barbwire and finished with Plaster this RiceLand experiment is a simple and smart shelter.

Rammed Earth homes and buildings are seeing a revival because of their environmental and sustainability qualities. Despite being one of the oldest housing practices, rammed earth is being used in many modern designs. Because of its inherent texture and layered design the walls do not need to be painted and only need minor sealants.

Paris studio Opus 5 Architects have completed this island house in Brittany, France, featuring a glazed facade with sections covered by stone screens. Obviously, stone walls are commonly used, but the correlation of the bulky stones next to the thin transparent glass panes creates a beautiful contrast. I think it makes the house look heavy during the day when the stones are clearly visible, and weightless at night time when the lights are lit and the glass panes seem illuminated.