This past weekend, I returned from the CarraraMarmotec stone trade fair, which takes place every other year in the historic stoneworking center of Carrara, Italy -- the same region where Michelangelo selected White Carrara marble for some of his most famous works. The event is not only a stone industry exhibition, as it also incorporates a range of events and initiatives to bridge stone producers with the architecture and design community.
 

Among these events, the Marble Architectural Awards were presented to major works using natural stone from Italy. Top honors were presented for the Oslo Opera House in Norway, designed by the architectural firm Snøhetta AS of Oslo. This project utilized White Carrara marble in a range of different formats and finishes, and the completed facility has bolstered Oslo's cultural status on an international level.
The Marble Architectural Awards also honored Richard Meier and Partners, LLP, for its design of the Museo dell'Ara Pacis in Rome, Italy, which utilizes Roman travertine as a primary building element. The material, which was also used for Richard Meier's design of the J. Paul Getty Center, was quarried and processed near Rome.