Natural stone’s inherent attributes make it a great solution for many green building project goals. It is a durable, aesthetically pleasing, sustainable material used for indoor and outdoor applications. When selecting natural stone for any project, it is important to know how the stone was quarried and fabricated to understand the impacts on the environment, including the land.  Responsible stone quarrying and production practices are well defined, and third party verified, through the Natural Stone Sustainability Standard, Life Cycle Analyses (LCAs), and product labels such as Health Product Declarations (HPDs) and Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs). Because the metrics and impacts are quantified in these product labels and the Standard, it has raised awareness and spawned efficiencies and innovations at every step of the process. It also makes it easier to compare materials before selecting the most appropriate one for a project. Understanding this information will ultimately help you make better decisions and select a natural stone from a company that is working to continuously reduce their environmental impacts. 

Adhering to Ethical and Environmental Quarrying and Fabricating Practices 

The Natural Stone Sustainability Standard, developed through a holistic ANSI Standard process, measures and evaluates Environmental, Ecological, Social Responsibility, and Human Health issues and impacts. Specific issues addressed include energy, water, site management, excess process materials, and land reclamation and adaptive reuse of a quarry upon closure. Many quarries, often in operation over centuries, can produce millions of square feet of material while still adhering to the ethical and environmentally conscious practices required of them. In fact, many quarries were implementing sustainable practices long before they were defined in product labels and the Standard. But now, these labels and the Standard help to quantify those activities and impacts, which has also led to more innovation and improvement within the natural stone industry’s quarrying, fabrication, and transportation activities.  

The Water category of the Standard requires that minimal fresh water be used in the processing of the material and ensuring that any water released back into the environment is safe. Quarries are required to have plans for Water Reduction, Recycled Water, and Enhanced Water Treatment. Optional points can be achieved for recycling and reuse percentages, and enhanced sludge management. Most quarriers and fabricators already recycle their water and some use no water at all. The goal is to respect this natural resource and to use and manage it responsibly. 

This barracks on the West Point Academy campus used Charcoal Black granite for its long life cycle and ability to tie to West Point’s existing stone architecture.

The granite came from Coldspring’s Charcoal Quarry in St. Cloud, Minnesota, which has been in operation since the late 1950s and has a quarry reclamation plan in place that includes a small lake and park. Photos courtesy of Coldspring.

Implementing site-specific measurement plans ensures responsible management of environmental impacts in the Site Management category. Quarries are required to have a Site Management Plan and establish Ecosystem Boundaries. These plans include addressing storm water management, dust control, safety precautions, and proper storage of any chemicals in use. All relevant environmental considerations in the Ecosystem Boundaries which may include streams, rivers, riparian waterways, plants, and wildlife must be maintained and kept current during operations. 

There are many ways to address the Excess Process Materials category. Additional uses can be found for scraps and small pieces of stone that keep the material from ever entering a landfill. New markets and revenue streams for quarriers and the local economy have been created that include using scraps and remnants as rip rap, aggregates, sculpture, signage, small decorative objects, and more. The excess materials are also used onsite for roadways, safety barricades, and the eventual reclamation of the quarry site. 

The Land Reclamation & Adaptive Reuse category requires that a post-closure plan be developed and maintained. The quarry must also demonstrate that there is ongoing review and maintenance of each plan. When the local community is engaged in the process, the potential range of ideas for how the quarry can be reused expand exponentially, as you will see in the examples described below.  

Innovative and Inspiring Quarry Reclamation Projects

Upon closure of quarries, there are unlimited opportunities for them to be reclaimed, reused, or adapted to suit the needs of local communities and also have a positive impact on the environment. Quarries have been turned into everything from stadiums, hotels, data centers, and amphitheaters, to parks, botanical gardens, golf courses, and more. Talented and creative companies and communities who are committed to making a difference, while also celebrating the heritage of quarries, made these projects possible. 

Braga Stadium

Photo courtesy of Leon from Taipei, Taiwan, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The Braga Stadium complex in Braga, Portugal is situated within the area of a former limestone quarry. There is both a reflection on the past with a connection to people’s ancestors who were a part of the quarry operations, while also firmly being enjoyed in the present. The contrast between the geometry of the concrete stadium structure and the roughness of the quarry gives the building a sense of monumentality. The stadium offers athletes and spectators alike a unique and exciting place to enjoy the venue and landmark that is part of transforming a marginal area of the surrounding city and urban fabric into a highly desirable destination. 

Butchart Gardens

A former limestone quarry, which is now Butchart Gardens in Vancouver, Canada, offers visitors millions of plants to view and enjoy. Jennie Butchart, whose family owned and managed the quarry starting in the early 1900s, envisioned transforming the former quarry into a beautiful garden haven, which is now overflowing with lush greens and colorful blooms. Butchart Gardens is a National Historic Site of Canada and is over 100 years old.

Quarry Park and Nature Preserve

Photo courtesy of Coldspring.

Established in 1992, Quarry Park and Nature Preserve in Minnesota demonstrates the creative possibilities that exist for quarries after their active use has ended. The reclaimed quarry site offers space for hiking, biking, picnicking, fishing, swimming, and rock climbing, and was named one of the top 10 swimming holes in the US by the Travel Channel.

Sourcing Responsibly Produced Natural Stone

Choosing natural stone is a smart first step towards ensuring that your project can meet green building goals. Selecting a stone that also has an accompanying LCA, HPD, EPD, or is certified to the Natural Stone Sustainability Standard shows your commitment to sourcing responsibly produced natural stone. Certification to the Standard is the ultimate validation of responsible and sustainable production practices in the natural stone industry. As of 2024, there are 24 quarries and 10 fabricator/producers certified to the Standard. The range of materials certified includes 11 granites, 19 limestones, 5 marbles, and 5 quartzites, making it easy to select and specify a natural stone that is the result of environmentally sound practices within the industry and that will also have a positive impact on the environment, including the land. 

Additional Resources

Natural Stone Institute Sustainability Resources

Natural Stone Sustainability Standard

Natural Stone Resource Library

Natural Stone Catalogue

Use Natural Stone Website 

Manufacturing Impacts article series 

• Natural Stone vs. Terrazzo
• Natural Stone vs. Engineered Quartz
• Natural Stone vs. Porcelain
• Natural Stone vs. Sintered Surface
• Natural Stone vs. Precast Concrete

Understanding Environmental and Health Product Declarations for Natural Stone

U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Rating System

International Living Future Institute’s Living Building Challenge 

SIMILAR ARTICLES:

Terrazzo has a long history, informed in part by the ancient mosaics of Egypt that were made of small or irregular pieces of stone, glass, or ceramic. Today, terrazzo is a composite building material that is poured in place or precast. It is typically used for flooring, wall treatments, and decorative items. Terrazzo often contains chips of marble, quartz, granite, glass, or aggregates such as metal. In the 1970s improvements were made to the manufacturing process that helped terrazzo become a popular building material suitable for large applications. These improvements made the material stronger and more lightweight. They also created a wider selection of colors and installation thicknesses.

Terrazzo is a durable, low maintenance material. It is nonporous and can be slip resistant. Some terrazzo is very slippery and can be a hazard when wet. Because of the wide range of materials used to make terrazzo there is a lot of design flexibility. Shapes and medallions can be fabricated onsite by using metal or glass divider strips which were created to prevent the cracking that was typical with earlier uses of the material. 

Terrazzo is positioned as a sustainable material because it often contains recycled content and is made with little-to-no volatile organic compound (VOC) materials. It does not off-gas or produce irritants. There are several types of terrazzo, but most of the terrazzo installed today is epoxy-based. A disadvantage of epoxy-based terrazzo is that it can only be used for interior applications. This type of terrazzo will lose its color and peel when used outdoors. Cracking is 

the most common form of failure. However, the cracking is usually not caused by the terrazzo itself. Instead, it is caused by the structural support system, which may be wood or concrete.  Contact with alkalis or acids can cause deterioration of the bonding agents used in the terrazzo. The multi-step and energy intensive processes involved in manufacturing terrazzo result in a much larger environmental footprint than natural stone.

Manufacturing Natural Stone vs. Terrazzo

Several raw materials are required to manufacture terrazzo, including limestone, marble, glass, or quartz. These materials are mined or quarried out of the ground and then transported to a manufacturer or plant to be sorted. The cement or resin binders and additives such as pigments, sealers, and fibers also need to be manufactured. The products are all mixed with the aggregates and additives are incorporated. The mixture is poured onto a surface such as concrete or into a mold. Then the material must dry and cure before it is grinded with a terrazzo grinder. If there are depressions left by the grinding process, they are filled with a matching material for a smooth, uniform surface. The final product is then cleaned, polished, and sealed.

Manufacturing steps in the process of making terrazzo.

In contrast, natural stone requires only quarrying, fabricating, finishing, and transporting. No additional materials or chemicals are required to create natural stone. The Earth naturally forms the material over time. This means natural stone really is a natural material and has many other attributes, including its durability, recyclability, and wide range of aesthetics. Natural stone can be used in many different types of indoor and outdoor applications. It is a healthy material and contains no VOCs, which means it does not emit any harmful gases.

Manufacturing impacts of natural stone.

Natural stone can be used for both interior and exterior projects to create unique patterns that feature the natural variations in color, veining, and texture of the material. 

Sustainability Concerns

From an overall sustainability perspective, natural stone has a lower environmental footprint than terrazzo. This is due to the minimal resources used to quarry, fabricate, finish, and transport natural stone. As the table and chart below demonstrate, the manufacturing of terrazzo has a higher global warming potential (GWP), ozone layer depletion, and smog formation than natural stone. Each step in the terrazzo manufacturing process requires the use of energy, which contributes to the total GWP. The larger the GWP, the more that a given gas warms the Earth compared to carbon dioxide (CO₂) over the same timeframe. The natural stone industry is sometimes criticized for utilizing raw materials that are not rapidly renewable. However, natural stone is abundant within the Earth. Other industries also utilize the supply of natural stone as it is a significant ingredient in terrazzo, concrete, porcelain, and other manmade products.

The impacts of these processes have been documented and systematically compared against other materials using the same environmental criteria. This information is a valuable resource when selecting a sustainable material for a project.

Sample environmental impacts for a terrazzo product versus a granite from Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs).

These characteristics and attributes also make natural stone a great choice when seeking a green building rating certification within the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) or the International Living Future Institute’s Living Building Challenge (LBC).  The different manufacturing processes and impacts of building materials are being documented in product labels such as Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and Health Product Declarations (HPDs). These labels make it even easier to qualify for points and credits within LEED and other green building rating systems using natural stone. The labels document and quantify environmental information on the life cycle of a product and allow you to make comparisons and informed decisions on materials that fulfill the same function.  The product labels are also intended to demonstrate that the health and environmental claims are transparent, accurate, and meet defined standards. Industry-wide EPDs are available for natural stone cladding, flooring/paving, and countertops. HPDs are available for common natural stone types used in the dimension stone industry including granite, limestone, marble, quartzite, onyx, sandstone, slate, travertine, and more.  (See also: Environmental and Health Product Labels for Natural Stone.)

To further advance these issues, the natural stone industry has been working diligently to make continuous improvements in each area and step of the process. This includes reducing water use, energy use, improving the efficiency of the transportation of natural stone, and properly managing and adaptively reusing quarry sites.

Technology advancements in the natural stone industry help reduce the use of energy and water and create strategies that use every part of a stone block. Photo Credit: Stephanie Vierra

The natural stone industry also created a certification system that determines if a quarry or fabricator meets defined sustainability standards in key areas of importance. This makes it easier to find and use natural stones that meet the standard, simplifying the process of choosing the right material that not only looks and performs well, but also has the least amount of impact on the environment. The standard is also accepted within the LBC, further ensuring its use in sustainable building projects. The metrics of the Natural Stone Sustainability Standard can be used to vet stone suppliers even if they have not yet achieved certification.  More information is available via the Natural Stone Institute or NSF International.

Manufacturing Impacts Series: Read More

The Importance of Material Transparency

Natural stone has a great reputation for environmentally friendly qualities such as its durability, low embodied energy, no volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and being a nearly complete material in its natural state. Mother Nature does most of the work, making natural stone a single ingredient material suitable for many interior and exterior applications that perform impeccably over time. Most other building materials require additional ingredients and a more complex manufacturing process. Because these added materials and processes can have a negative impact on our health and the environment, they should be considered when selecting a material for a project. 

The different manufacturing processes and impacts of building materials are being documented in product labels including Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and Health Product Declarations (HPDs). These labels are intended to demonstrate that the health and environmental claims are transparent, accurate, and meet defined standards. These labels can then be used to select and specify building products like natural stone to ensure the well-being of a project’s occupants and the planet. 

Natural stone flooring options are limitless and can also support a healthy interior environment.

“Natural” and “environmentally sustainable” do not mean the same thing. These product labels are significant for the stone industry. They provide independent data to show how using natural stone in projects can support lower embodied carbon goals, providing specifiers with the information needed to make more effective material decisions. These labels also reinforce the important work the natural stone industry has been doing for many years to improve the processes of quarrying, fabricating, transporting, and installing natural stone, which are assessed through the Natural Stone Sustainability Standard.

Impacts during the life cyle of natural stone including raw material acquisition, transportation, manufacturing, use, and end of life are documented in EPDs and HPDs

EPDs and HPDs for Natural Stone Explained

EPDs and HPDs were developed in response to the growing green building movement and requirements that a product’s life cycle impacts are defined and transparent. Just like nutrition labels make it easy to compare ingredients, calories, preservatives, and other information about food products, EPDs and HPDs simplify the process of comparing building materials. The labels themselves do not necessarily tell you if a product is more environmentally friendly than another on their own—rather, they allow you to compare materials using the information provided in the labels to get a more complete understanding of their sustainability claims. To understand this better, let’s discuss these labels in more detail and consider how to use them in your next building or remodeling project.

EPDs

An EPD is a registered document that quantifies environmental information on the life cycle of a product to enable comparisons between products fulfilling the same function. EPDs define the environmental impacts throughout the product’s life cycle. Impacts that are recorded and provided in an EPD include: a product’s global warming potential, eutrophication, acidification, ozone layer depletion, whether the product contains carcinogens, and many others. An EPD may be used for many different applications, including green building design. For example, within LEED, BREEAM, and other green building rating systems, EPDs are used to encourage the purchasing of low carbon products with life-cycle information. Industry-wide natural stone EPDs are available for cladding, flooring/paving, and countertops, making it possible to meet health and environmental goals for any type of project with ease. The natural stone EPDs consider impacts that occur during the quarrying, fabrication, installation, care and maintenance, and disposal of the stone.

Natural stone countertops can play an important role in the health and well-being of an interior and its occupants.

HPDs

HPDs offer greater transparency of material ingredients and their potential human health impacts.  HPDs provide a full disclosure of the potential chemicals of concern in products by comparing product ingredients to a wide variety of “hazard” lists published by government authorities and scientific associations. The HPD should provide 100% disclosure of known ingredients and/or 100% disclosure of known hazards down to 1,000 ppm. All versions of the HPD are recognized within LEED v4 Material Ingredient credits. Within the LEED v4.1 Materials and Resources credit: Building Product Disclosure and Optimization: Material Ingredients, HPDs can also contribute to earning points. Through a special exception for geological materials, HPDs representing dimension stone materials worldwide were developed by the Natural Stone Institute. The HPDs are for common natural stone types used in the dimension stone industry including granite, limestone, marble, quartzite, onyx, sandstone, slate, travertine, and more. There are now 13 HPDs for natural stone that can be found in 15 different MasterFormat classifications, a trusted source for designers. Companies and design teams throughout the industry can take advantage of these industry-wide disclosures.

Stacks and slabs of natural stone ready for use as paving, flooring, or countertops.

Natural Stone Versus Other Materials* 

Let’s compare natural stone to a few other building materials to understand how stone stacks up within these product labels. For example, natural stone countertops were determined to have a global warming potential (GWP) of 46.8kg of CO2e/m2 (weight of carbon dioxide equivalent emitted per square meter) versus engineered quartz, which has a GWP of 102.6kg of CO2e/m2. The EPD demonstrates that natural stone can result in a 54% reduction of embodied carbon.

If you are considering natural stone for the exterior of a project, knowing that its GWP is only 21.4kg of CO2e/m2, versus precast concrete cladding which has a GWP of 62.3kg of CO2e/m2, makes the decision much easier. Choosing natural stone means that your project can have up to 66% less of an impact on the Earth.

While terrazzo is a popular flooring material, it has been shown to have a GWP of 82.2kg of CO2e/m2 versus natural stone which has only 22kg of CO2e/m2. Using natural stone for this same application can support a 37% embodied carbon reduction.

The HPD for marble demonstrates that only marble is present in the material. If you compare that to an HPD for a wood laminate, there are additional ingredients present such as phenol formaldehyde and formaldehyde resin. Exposure to these products is known to irritate the skin, throat, lungs, and eyes. Repeated exposure to formaldehyde can possibly lead to cancer.  

Sample HPD material content summary for marble and a wood laminate product.

How to Use EPDs and HPDs

To begin, make it a priority to select materials that will have a measurable positive difference on your health and the environment such as natural stone. Explore the EPD and HPD labels and familiarize yourself with the terms to effectively make comparisons across different materials.  Spend time discussing the various material impacts and options with your designer, material supplier, and installer to optimize the features of the material while also ensuring its long-term use and care. Knowing that you have chosen an environmentally sustainable material will keep you and the planet healthy while also contributing to your peace of mind. 

Natural stone has been used throughout history in iconic structures that symbolize beauty, strength, durability, and permanence. Other materials may strive to mimic these characteristics, but genuine natural materials connect us with the planet and its future in a unique and undeniable way. EPDs and HPDs will only serve to further the thoughtful use of natural stone in environmentally friendly, low carbon building designs for many years to come.

Additional Resources

To find EPD and HPD labels for natural stone, visit the Sustainable Minds Transparency Catalog.
For more information on Environmental Product Declarations and Health Product Declarations see:

environdec.com and The Health Product Declaration® Collaborative (HPDC).
BREEAM USA
LEED Rating System
MasterFormat

*NOTE:  The embodied carbon quantities displayed were estimated based on the following: 

Functional Unit: 1m²  

Scope: Raw Material Extraction, Transportation, Manufacturing (A1-A3)

Natural Stone: Industry-Wide EPDs

Pre-Cast Concrete Cladding: Industry-Wide EPD, 150 lbs per ft³, 4” thick

Engineered Quartz: Average of three individual manufacturer EPDs

Terrazzo: Average of three individual manufacturer EPDs

SIMILAR ARTICLES:

Designing for Health and Well-Being

The last few years have put a laser focus on the importance of our health and well-being. With so much time spent working from home, tending to our basic needs, and finding a new balance, it is essential that the places where we spend our time also support our physical and emotional health and well-being. How can you design or remodel your home to achieve these goals? Biophilic design can help you tap into an innate connection with nature to achieve these goals successfully.

It has long been known that time spent in nature can reduce stress, increase creativity, improve well-being, and even expedite healing. Biophilic design uses this knowledge in the building design process. Biophilic design concepts have been applied to projects for many years, but the research and body of evidence demonstrating its effectiveness are growing rapidly. Even green building rating systems have added biophilic design to their programs because of this expanded understanding. Knowing there will be real benefits and positive results makes it easier to implement these concepts in your own project. This article will explore a few of the concepts and research behind this movement and showcase ways natural stone can be used in biophilic design, whether as a main design feature or a supporting element.

This beautiful setting in northern Italy is also the location of a granite quarry that is operated in harmony with these natural resources. Photo courtesy of Stephanie Vierra.

What is Biophilic Design?

Biophilic design is a way to connect people and nature through design with elements that nurture the innate human-nature connection¹. Good biophilic design respects the mind-body systems as indicators of health and well-being in the context of what is locally appropriate and responsive². It draws from many perspectives to create spaces that are inspirational, restorative, heathy, and functional. Most importantly, biophilic design should nurture a love of place, something natural stone projects have been doing for thousands of years.

We must first look to nature to understand some of these principles. In the context of biophilic design, nature is defined as all living organisms and non-living components of an ecosystem; from the sun, moon, forests, and plants, to animals and even urban raingardens.

Nature-Health relationships help explain how people’s health and well-being are impacted by their environment. Strong or even routine connections with nature provide opportunities for mental restoration, improving mental agility, memory, and the ability to think and learn. Research also shows that time in natural environments provides greater emotional restoration and improves mood, concentration, and adaptability. It also lowers tension, anxiety, anger, fatigue, and confusion. Our muscles tend to relax and blood pressure goes down when spending time in nature.

Nature-Design relationships provide a framework for understanding and the thoughtful incorporation of various strategies into the built environment. Whenever possible, the design should provide direct connections to nature through views and stimulus such as sounds, plants, water, the air and temperature, light and shadows, or an entire ecosystem. If there is no direct access to nature, beneficial results can still be achieved using materials, shapes, colors, sequences, and patterns found in nature. The materials can also reflect the local ecology or geology to create a distinct sense of place. Other design patterns can be used to create mystery, refuge, or the feeling of risk in or around a space to create a sense of excitement and wonder. These approaches can help you create a quiet place to retreat or encourage deeper travel into an environment.

Immersion in nature is experienced via a natural stone staircase from the Hyakusaiji Temple in Japan.

Using Natural Stone to Achieve Biophilic Design Goals

For centuries, natural stone has been used for its durability, strength, and aesthetics. Natural stone was often quarried near a project, so people associated the material with the specific place. Some of the oldest stone buildings are still sought after for the effect they have on people and their strong sense of place. Ancient stone buildings were constructed using patterns in nature that were translated to mathematical proportions. For example, the Egyptian Pyramids, the Parthenon, Notre Dame, and the Taj Mahal all incorporated aspects of the Golden Mean, a ratio that shows up in plants like sunflowers and the spiral of seashells. The patterns and arrangements of these buildings became symbolic representations of the natural world.

The spiral, a pattern commonly found in nature such as in sunflowers and seashells, is often incorporated into building design.

Research demonstrates that people prefer real materials over synthetic variations because human receptors can tell the difference between them. Natural stone has different patterns, veining, and textures, and many contain fossils, which also help make connections to nature and its processes. These same qualities can also be achieved or simulated through fabrication and finishing techniques to include interesting textures, patterns, and elements that mimic nature.

These are all great reasons to use natural stone to meet biophilic design goals. Whether you are designing a terrace, home library or office, spa-like bathroom, outdoor fountain, garden, or retreat space, biophilic design principles and patterns can be applied no matter the size, type, or location of the project.

To begin, the project needs to be well defined and include biophilic design as a goal. The health priorities of the intended users should be considered. Will the space directly connect to nature, or will the project incorporate elements and patterns of nature? How will the space be used: is it meant to restore, calm, stimulate, or some combination of these things?

Natural stone can play an important role in connecting to nature. Consistent use of natural stone for exterior and interior flooring can create a seamless connection between spaces and blur the distinction between inside and out, further enhancing the link and access to nature. If there is no view to nature available, the design should include natural materials and other elements that evoke nature. Take advantage of stone’s wide range of natural textures or create them through the fabrication process.

Touching the texture of a natural material like stone can bring tranquility. Incorporate natural stone into a fireplace or firepit to support the connection to the sensations experienced with a crackling fire. Consider selecting a natural stone that includes fossils to provide a connection to natural processes.

This outdoor fire pit using natural stone provides both the texture and feel of a natural material and the presence of fire which can be very captivating. Photo Credit: PaveStone Brick Paving, Inc.

Spaces need to feel comfortable, and research has shown that thermal comfort is a great bridge between biophilic design and sustainable design. Because many natural stones perform consistently through wide temperature changes and store and release heat slowly, they can help improve thermal performance to create this sense of comfort. Stone can also warm or cool feet and hands through conductance, which is when heat moves between two objects that are in direct contact with each other. Use stone for walls, an exterior façade, and flooring materials for this passive solar design strategy and combine it with daylight strategies to create comfortable spaces. Light colored stones reflect light and heat and can help achieve this level of comfort as well. This is especially useful in areas with extreme temperatures or little water since lighter colored stone can also reduce water loss through evaporation.

Another aspect of biophilic design is connecting to natural systems. This can include seasonal or temporal changes that make the user aware of the seasons and cycles of life. The experience is known to be relaxing, nostalgic, and even profound. Natural stone can help support this goal because of its visible geological features. The natural patina of stone, especially an exterior stone that is allowed to weather naturally, can also support this idea. Patina can also be simulated through the fabrication and finishing of the stone.

Research demonstrates that people have a visual preference for organic and biomorphic forms, which are contoured, patterned, textured, or numerical arrangements. These forms and patterns that persist in nature are a great way to create biophilic spaces that feel interesting, comfortable, contemplative, or even absorptive. Even though the brain knows that these forms in design are not living things, they appear to be symbolic representations of life and have a positive effect on people. Incorporate natural stone to achieve this goal by taking advantage of the many ways that natural stone can also be cut, fabricated, and finished.

For example, nature typically does not have right angles or straight lines. Consider a soft smooth edge or a curved form instead of one with all straight lines. Create a sequence of design elements that repeat in a rhythmic manner or incorporate natural elements into the material such as flowers, shells, or leaves. These strategies should be applied on 2 or 3 planes or dimensions, for example on floors and walls or windows and soffits, giving the user more exposure to the patterns and forms. This frequency of exposure helps reduce stress and enhance concentration.

Interestingly, research also demonstrates that there needs to be a balance between spaces being boring and overwhelming in order to feel engaged and visually nourished. Natural stone achieves this by its very nature and is another reminder that synthetic materials with little or no pattern, veining, or texture will not have the same positive psychological or cognitive response. The desired balance is very personal and requires some experimentation to determine what feels right for the design and users of the space.

These uniquely curved and rhythmic patterns with natural stone were achieved through the fabrication process. Waves in the sea inspired the design of the stone panel in the middle.  Photos courtesy of Stephanie Vierra.

Combining biophilic strategies can have an even greater impact on the effectiveness of the design. Many of the strategies complement or support the others. The strategies will also be more cost-effective if they are introduced early in the design process. That gives you time to consider all the options and plan for the long-term use and care of these design elements. Now more than ever, it is important to reconnect to nature. Our health and well-being depend on it. Biophilic design can help us make great strides in restoring this innate human-nature connection. Natural stone has been a part of this approach throughout history and will continue to support the need to be in touch with our relationship to nature and the many benefits it provides.

Left to Right: The Parthenon, Pantheon, and Notre Dame; examples of ancient natural stone design that incorporated elements and patterns in nature; among the reasons they still have such a powerful and positive impact on our senses.

These are just a few of the ways in which natural stone can support biophilic design. To further explore the possibilities, check out the resources below, which informed much of this article and offer more detailed explanations of the concepts and research supporting this movement.

Endnotes  

¹⁾ Biophilic Design Initiative of the International Living Future Institute

²⁾ 14 Patterns of Biophilic Design: Improving Health & Well-Being in the Built Environment

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