"Brick From A Stone" is featured in The Financial Times

Brick From a Stone has featured in the Financial Times!

Keir Starmer’s Labour government is pushing for the construction of 1.5 million homes in the UK over the next five years, marking a significant increase in social and affordable housing. The focus is on sustainability, aiming to use materials that promote climate resilience and respect local heritage. However, traditional clay bricks, with their high carbon emissions and reliance on imports, are becoming increasingly unsustainable.

An alternative is emerging in Dorset, where Steve Moore has built a house using bricks made from Heritage Portland Stone instead of clay. These "unloved stones," typically considered too irregular for facades, offer a low-carbon, durable option. When crafted into bricks, the stone's natural variations create a striking visual effect, described as a "tapestry" by Moore.

In the UK, large quantities of this unloved stone are available, often as offcuts from premium quarrying/mining.  Albion Stone and Hutton Stone have invested machinery to produce stone bricks, which have a 75% lower carbon footprint compared to traditional fired clay bricks. Stone bricks require minimal processing, reducing the energy needed for production and offering a more sustainable building material.

Architect Amin Taha, argues that widespread adoption of stone bricks could significantly reduce the UK's carbon emissions. Despite some concerns over cost and perception, suppliers like Albion Stone and Hutton Stone are working to reframe stone as a practical, low-cost building material. As stone brick production scales up, it could play a crucial role in meeting the UK’s housing targets while also supporting regional economies and reducing the carbon footprint of construction.

Read the full article in The Financial Times here

Credit: Financial Times

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