SUN-B04: Stone in the Age of Green: Mitigating Environmental Impacts of Stone Use

Sunday, November 13, 2022

2:00pm – 3:15pm PT

Location: Moscone Center, Room 211-212

1.25 PDH, LA CES/HSW, AIA/HSW, AICP, 1 GBCI SITES AP, FL, NY/HSW

Lead Speaker(s)

Meg Calkins, FASLA

Professor of Landscape Architecture
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, North Carolina

Speaker(s)

Laura Solano, FASLA

Partner
Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc.
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Sarah Gregg

Marketing Director
Natural Stone Institute
Redfield, South Dakota

Stone is overlooked as a sustainable construction material. It is durable, recyclable, nontoxic, easily maintained, and has lower embodied energy. Still, over 50% of dimension stone is imported, and current quarrying practices produce substantial waste. This session examines stone’s sustainability scorecard, design opportunities, and the industry’s environmental practices.

Learning Outcomes:

Understand the environmental and human health impacts of dimension stone quarrying, fabrication, use and transportation.
Identify ways to design with dimension stone to take advantage of its inherent aesthetics while also considering its cost, performance, durability, and environmental footprint.
Compare the benefits and challenges of sustainable stone specifications.
Understand the new Natural Stone Council Stone Sustainability Standard, and the way it supports LEED and SITES credits.