Scottish cleantech company Kenoteq has steadily established itself as one of the UK’s most forward-thinking materials manufacturers. Its K-BRIQ is an ultra-low-carbon masonry brick made almost entirely from recycled construction and demolition waste, and is now moving from research to widespread adoption.

Developed over more than a decade at Heriot-Watt University, the K-BRIQ represents a practical response to two of constructions biggest environmental pressures: embodied carbon and material waste. Each brick is unfired, made from nearly 100% recycled material, and produces 95% less embodied carbon than a conventional clay brick.

At Kenoteq’s East Lothian facility, the company now produces around two million K-BRIQs a year, with capacity to double output as demand grows. Plans are underway to replicate the model through regional production hubs, both in the UK and abroad, using local waste sources to reduce transport emissions and strengthen circular supply chains.

The K-BRIQ has also achieved British Board of Agrément (BBA) certification, confirming its performance in strength, durability, and fire resistance, and enabling it to be specified for use across a broad range of structural and architectural applications. The product achieved the highest durability classification and an A-class fire rating for its Medero Dark Grey variant, although the full range includes 12 colours, all produced from recycled pigments.

Beyond the certification, Kenoteq’s innovation lies in its low-energy process, which allows waste streams such as crushed brick, plasterboard, and mortar to be formed into a new masonry material without the need for high-temperature kiln firing. This approach not only reduces emissions but also diverts significant quantities of construction waste from landfill. The company’s co-founder and executive director, Sam Chapman, explains:

“Our aim was to create a technically robust, sustainable brick that performs to the same standards as traditional products. The K-BRIQ shows that circular materials can be commercially viable, scalable, and durable — not experimental.”

Kenoteq’s work has drawn recognition from across the construction and environmental sectors, winning awards from BE-ST, Zero Waste Scotland, and The Royal Academy of Engineering, among others. Early adopter projects already include Scotland’s National Retrofit Centre (BE-ST), Oaklands College in St Albans, and Kaufland’s sustainability-focused hypermarket in Germany.

As the construction industry intensifies its focus on embodied carbon and resource efficiency, Kenoteq’s approach demonstrates how regional waste recovery, precision engineering, and rigorous certification can combine to create viable building materials for a low-carbon future.

“We’re not just cutting emissions,” Chapman adds. “We’re closing the loop — transforming waste into a valuable, high-performance product that can be manufactured locally and used globally.”

Facade and Materials Design Consultancy (FMDC Ltd) is a specialist façade consultancy bringing together design, engineering, and material expertise to deliver well-considered building envelopes. From concept to completion, they work collaboratively with architects, clients, and contractors to ensure façades perform as beautifully as they look. With deep knowledge across stone, glass, and metal, FMDC combine technical rigour with a clear understanding of materials — shaping solutions that are practical, elegant, and built to last. We spoke to FMDC's Lisa Nunn to discover what a typical day in her life looks like:

My day starts…

At the moment, my mornings involve reading my book and a nice warm bowl of porridge with honey. 

I am usually found working…

We have an office in London, really nicely located, so most of our projects are around the corner; however, you won’t often find me sitting at my desk. Most of our projects will require visits to site, be that an inspection of existing stone, viewing slabs for selection at a factory, or even visiting a quarry. These visits are often abroad, and I have been fortunate enough to travel around Europe, South America, the Middle East and China for work. 

My typical day involves…

One of the best things about my job is that there is no typical day. For the last two and a half years, I have been on-site most days and nights! I have actually just completed a job whereby I had to do mostly nightshifts, which involved inspecting stone façades from a BMU or MEWP. I had the most amazing views of St Paul's at night and saw many Supermoons! I do enjoy a day where I can be in the office and catch up with my colleagues; sometimes I don’t see them for weeks on end. Being in the office usually involves writing up the work I have done on-site or reviewing stone technical data and designs from our façade team. All in all, my days are varied and I love that. 

The thing that surprises me most about my job…

I am still learning new ways of how people are using stone; it is an ever-evolving process. We are currently researching the use of structural stone, alongside our façade team, and how elements of the design can reduce the embodied carbon of a project. There are many components to successfully using stone and I am really enjoying my encounters with such a variety of people and projects.

When I was younger, I wanted to be…

I was torn between geology and acting. I loved fossil hunting and volcanoes as a child (I still have my rock collection on display), but I also loved performing on stage. Luckily, I managed to do both - I became a geologist, but have done lots of amateur theatre, and I even have one professional credit to my name!

Something you might not know about me…

I volunteer as a leader with Girlguiding and am our District Commissioner. We run several units weekly, go on days out and residentials, including camping! It’s quite intense, but I like to think we are challenging girls to do their best and giving them skills for the future. 

My most memorable moment at work…

There have been several pinch-me moments in my career, but a few that have stuck with me are flying in a private jet to a quarry in Brazil, speaking at the ZAK World of Façades last year, and winning the Emerging Talent Award at the Stone Show this year.

If I could give one piece of advice to someone considering a career in the stone industry…

My advice would be, do it -  join us! There are many different roles; you can learn new skill sets and develop existing ones. Working in stone will constantly surprise you; there will be opportunities you never even dreamed of, and you’ll be contributing to an industry that has sustainability at its heart. 

For more information about the work Lisa and her team do visit: www.fmdc.co.uk

A collaboration between London-based design studio OZRUH and ETH Zurich, ANTI-RUIN is a new research-led project exploring how stone waste can be transformed into structural architecture through 3D printing. 

At its core, ANTI-RUIN uses a novel binder jetting process to turn marble dust—specifically the byproduct from the Lasa Marmo quarry in South Tyrol—into freestanding stone elements without the need for moulds or support structures. The process involves no toxic binders or post-processing, offering a sustainable and scalable alternative to conventional stone construction. Developed under the direction of Dr Pietro Odaglia, this neoteric technique has allowed the team to create the world’s largest 3D-printed stone structure.

But the project also demonstrates how stone’s life cycle can be extended through reuse and recomposition. Instead of resisting decay, the system is designed to adapt over time, allowing components to be reassembled and reconfigured. ANTI-RUIN proposes a circular model where construction byproducts—such as marble, brick, or concrete dust—can be reclaimed as new architectural material.

Structurally, the installation also challenges traditional balance and load-bearing conventions. One column stands independent, while the slab it supports is offset, creating an asymmetric but stable configuration engineered by formDP. This demonstrates how digital fabrication allows precise internal geometries to control weight and stability within each printed element.

Accompanied by a twenty-minute film documenting its development—from quarry to fabrication and installation—the project positions itself as a test case for sustainable stone innovation. Having shown iterations during Venice and at the Barbican in September, future phases are planned for 2026 and beyond, where ANTI-RUIN will continue to investigate how digital technologies and natural materials can combine to create adaptable, low-waste architectural systems.

It’s not often that you’d say marble dust, recycled paper, wood shavings and casein in the same sentence. But you can’t describe designer Arturo Spardaro’s new material, Marmolatte, without mentioning all four elements.

It came about as a result of Arturo’s participation in The Material Way, a new educational course with a very unique relationship to materials. Carried out over an intensive nine-month online program, the course is billed as “a new collaborative platform for material-based studies focused on supporting curious creators who strive to craft a more holistic, local, and nature-minded future.”

Image Credit: Philip Vile

While the first three waste substances listed are increasingly commonplace in the world of materials, casein, the main protein found in dairy products, is far less customary, and indeed, seldom used outside of food production. When mixed, the ingredients form a paste, which is moldable, and once set, creates a solid composite surface. The resulting material can be cut, sanded and drilled like wood or stone, with the potential to create objects and furniture, as well as being used as a surface covering.

The Worktop Fabricators Federation has partnered with Asthma + Lung UK to introduce members to the range of support that the charity provides. Asthma + Lung UK are a leading lung health charity, dedicated to fighting for the 1 in 5 people who will develop a lung condition during their lifetime. 

Worktop fabricators can be at risk of developing occupational asthma, COPD, pneumoconiosis, and silicosis, particularly when adequate Respiratory Protective Equipment (RPE) is not worn, or worn incorrectly. In recent times, the industry sector has been maligned by critics, with attention-grabbing headlines calling for a ban on silica-based worktops. The WFF has long been an invaluable resource for those in the industry, along with all forms of worktop specifiers, and the team are campaigning to help raise awareness and clarify the risks and potential precautions available in tackling such work-related lung conditions.

An example of bad practice

As Nigel Fletcher, WFF Operations Director, reveals, the new shared initiative aims to promote safe practices and support for anyone affected:

"We're delighted to partner with Asthma + Lung UK, an organisation that is very close to our hearts. The Worktop Fabricators Forum was set up to support those working in the stone industry, and we are always striving to make the industry safer. We acknowledge that dust poses a major issue in this sector and Asthma + Lung UK work tirelessly to provide not only support to those affected, but also funds studies into how lung conditions are prevented, diagnosed, and treated."

Handy QR codes have been set up to take you to information about symptoms, tests, and treatments, as well as condition-specific resources, links to groups and support, and practical advice on health in the workplace.

Speak to Asthma + Lung UK’s helpline on 0300 222 5800. You can also contact corporate@asthmaandlung.org.uk to discuss how your company can best engage with the charity.

What do Nelson Mandela, King Harald V of Norway, Sir Bobby Robson, Alan Shearer and Jackie Milburn have in common? 

As Freemen of the City of Newcastle, they have their names carved upon the historic banqueting wall at Newcastle Civic Centre, alongside the city’s former Lord Mayors, Sheriffs and several skilled sculptors and stone carvers who helped shape the Civic Centre’s legacy. One of the latter names is Terry Moody, the man behind the original carvings produced in 1968 for the building's grand opening. 

Opened by King Olav V of Norway, Newcastle Civic Centre is a landmark of modernist architecture and civic pride. Designed by city architect George Kenyon, the building replaced the old Victorian Town Hall and quickly became the heart of Newcastle's local government. Based in North Tyneside, Terry and a colleague meticulously carved the 26,000 letters to honour the city's most distinguished figures. 

Nearly 60 years on from that original commission, Terry's son, Mike, has continued the family tradition. As managing director of Classic Masonry, he has worked closely with senior stonemason Paul Bennett to create precise lettering for the building's most recent project. With over thirty years of experience across all sectors of the construction industry, Mike explains that this commission means more than most:

“It is not just about craftsmanship, it’s about honouring the legacy of those who have shaped the city, helped it prosper and added to the Geordie pride. We are honoured to uphold the standards set by those before us and to continue Classic Masonry’s role in marking Newcastle’s historic milestones.”

Mike’s own son, Michael, has followed in his father's footsteps and heads up the design team. So while Classic Masonry specialises in stonemasonry and architectural precast concrete, it now offers a comprehensive range of services, including design development, stone sourcing and selection, cutting, profiling, carving, and fabrication. It also undertakes both new build masonry construction and restoration and conservation projects, which include cleaning, decontamination, and facade consolidation. 

This recent commission, which brings the family story full circle across three generations, underlines a rich legacy that has served as the foundation for the company, which continues to go from strength to strength. 

As clients and specifiers alike look to material reuse as a means to help turn the tide on the client crisis and reduce environmental impact, it’s vital that novel but functional approaches to recycling continue to come to the fore. 

That’s something that London-based Studio TIP knows all too well.

The brainchild of design duo Katie May Boyd and Charlotte Kidger, the studio was born out of a shared drive to help fix the West's broken relationship with materials by tackling the ways that we deal with post-industrial waste. Working in collaboration with architects, engineers, and demolition companies at building sites, including 124 Theobalds Road and 180 Piccadilly, they have extracted and categorised waste with reuse in mind. 

But doing something with these materials is a core component of their practice, and the perfect vehicle to showcase the rich potential of the circular economy. This is underlined by their original use of stone in creating a series of benches. Various offcuts of stone, including marble and portland stone, have been harvested from demolition sites and selected for their inherent structural qualities and unique sculptural forms. The design principles deployed are simple but highly effective in creating functional seating with a value far beyond that which we relegate such materials to in the existing system. And the pair are not afraid to let the circular nature of their work shine through, as they explain about the benches:

“These pieces lent themselves to study seating, so we created a stacked design, drilling through each piece and assembling them on a threaded rod. All of our work follows the circular design principle to enable disassembly and reuse, so fixtures like bolts, lashing straps, knots and screws visibly feature in our design aesthetic. In the stone bench, we bolted and strapped a metal floor grill to the stone to create a seat, then added a softer element with plastic carpet tiles.”

The duo hopes that such interventions and reimagings of a system that is clearly broken can inspire on a local and global scale, and are on the hunt for more industrial waste, as well as those in the industry and beyond who are willing to join their material revolution.

Okay, it may only be October, and the sound of sleigh bells barely a distant ding, but due to popular demand, some Christmas events simply need flagging this early in the annual calendar.

We’re excited to announce the return of the Women in Natural Stone Christmas Party 2025, a festive evening to celebrate another fantastic year!

This event is always a highlight in the WINS calendar and a great opportunity to network, reconnect, and celebrate with colleagues across the natural stone sector. 

The evening will begin with welcome drinks and informal networking from 6pm. Co-chairs, Tamsin and Becca, will say a few words to round up the activities of the year, while also sharing exciting news of the plans for 2026. Food will be served throughout the evening, with plenty of time to catch up with familiar faces from the industry and meet a few new people too. Places are limited, and like all WINS events, this is a hot ticket - so booking is essential!

To reserve your place, please email sara@stonefed.org.uk

Date: Wednesday 3rd December
Time: 18:00-22:00
Venue: Corvo, Leonardo Royal Hotel London City
Address: 8 Cooper’s Row, London EC3N 2BQ
Cost: £20 plus VAT
Nearest stations: Fenchurch Street and Tower Hill

There are also opportunities to sponsor this event and show your support for the initiative. WINS has a national reach with 350 members and events taking place across the country. For sponsorship packages and details on how your company can become involved in WINS please email wins@stonefed.org.uk

By now, it’s plain to see that we have a waste problem, not least in the construction industry, which is said to produce 62% of the UK’s waste alone. We need seismic, yet focused changes throughout the industry. But how do you even begin to go about tackling the pressing problem of, say, the many tonnes of ceramic and glass waste generated by foundation industry factories?

That was the very specific but prescient question posed by Professor David Binns and Dr Alasdair Bremner when commencing their research project while working at the University of Lancashire.

Their work led to the development of a pioneering material, Silicastone, which repurposes industrial waste streams, capturing their embodied energy to create new, low-carbon architectural surfaces. From here, Alusid was born, and the company has continued to extend its research, develop new surfaces, and pioneer even more sustainable manufacturing processes ever since. The product portfolio now includes eight tile ranges, including Mas, which is made from between 95-98.5% recycled content. 

One of the benefits of the process the team has developed is that the raw materials have already been processed by other industries. This allowed a key technological breakthrough: Alusid’s dry granulation process, which eliminates water use during a key stage of tile production. This approach avoids the need to add large amounts of water and regrind virgin raw materials that the traditional spray drying process requires. These ‘standard’ methods need to be dried using energy-intensive methods—often consuming nearly as much energy as firing the tiles themselves at over 1,200°C. Whereas Alusid’s dry granulation process allows for a low-temperature sintering method, cutting energy consumption and carbon emissions, and making Alusid’s tiles among the lowest carbon options available.

As the company and the portfolio have expanded with demand, so has the need for greater volumes of materials, as Alaisdair explains, “While Alusid started with a hyper-local approach to sourcing materials, it was clear from the start that to make a wider impact and to supply large, ambitious commercial projects, it would require volume production.” In 2019, the team opened a research program to adapt the production of its materials to existing lines in Spain, where approximately a third of all the tiles sold in the UK are made, and where there are literally mountains of waste material. While many of those original tiles may have used a global supply chain to bring raw materials such as Feldspar, Ball Clay and Kaolin into the country, Alusid gathers and recycles materials within a 100km radius of its Spanish sub-contracted factories.

But Alusid’s appeal comes not only from the materials it recycles, and the reduction of carbon they create, but also from the way those materials influence the final design. Alusid products have a unique aesthetic that is informed by the recycling process itself; the different sizes of particles, leftover glaze and glass in the raw materials give each tile unique textures, colour differences and finishes. The resulting material palette is rich in tactility, character, and colour, defying uniformity and alluding to a deeper material narrative. 

Having started with a simple yet determined idea for positive change, the team has since entered strategic partnerships with Parkside Tiles and the Topps Group, taking them from artisan to commercial scale production. But what remains is a commitment to tackling waste, cutting carbon emissions, and reducing waste usage, and with it, lowering the environmental impact of the ceramic industry.