Veronafiere offers this course to help architects learn advanced techniques in the use of marble, granite and other stone materials. It is an ideal way for members of the stone trade to educate architects they work with about stone design.

The program is a unique combination of classroom lectures, guided architectural tours, and field trips to local quarries and natural stone processing facilities. This comprehensive approach enables architects to better understand stone’s full life-cycle — including how marble is quarried, cut, processed, finished, selected for specific jobs and installed — all using the latest technologies and products.

The 2011 edition will include visits to a nearby quarry and stone processing plant, a case study on stone use in the Canadian Museum of Human Rights and an architectural tour of Verona. Sustainable Design (SD) became a principal focus of the course in 2008. A minimum of four AIA SD credits will again be offered, including case studies of sustainable projects in stone. In addition, the course provides time to explore Marmomacc, with its more than 1,500 exhibitors of stone and stone-related products from around the world.

“Designing with Natural Stone” has been recognized by the AIA as a “Best Practices and Trends” educational program. Comments from last year’s students support this judgment:

• “The program was great for me; just what I needed. I love the craft of building and there is no better material to express a sense of permanence with than natural stone.” - Earl Jackson, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (New York, NY)

▪• “This was such a positive experience, and I would recommend it to any designer…I now know how to talk about stone, and to understand the issues related to stone.”- Peter Birkholz, Page & Turnbull (San Francisco, CA)

Participants earn approximately 20 AIA/CES learning-unit hours. Many classes also count as HSW credits and four as SD credits. The class is limited to 30 architects, including 16 from the U.S., and others from Canada, the U.K., South Africa, India, Singapore and Hungary.

Scholarships — covering tuition, hotels and meals — are awarded on a competitive basis, based on a candidate’s demonstrated interest in the field, responsibilities within their firm and experience with stone. Participants are responsible for their own transportation to Verona as well as a $480 registration fee. Those interested should fax or e-mail to the address below their curriculum vitae and a cover letter specifying why they wish to take part in the course. The deadline for submitting applications is July 15.

The course is co-sponsored by Stone World magazine and supported by the Marble Institute of America, which donates a copy of its MIA Dimension Stone Design Manual to all participants.

Please send applications to: Toni Paniagua, The Consultants International Group: 1616 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20006, Fax: (202) 393-4655, E-mail: info@cig-dc.com