Sustainability is a defining topic for the new decade. This is where stone is very well placed to benefit: as a construction material that is ready to use in its natural form, it ideally fulfils the conditions for sustainable materials. Obtaining stone and processing it consume much less energy than concrete, glass or ceramics. Reiner Krug, Managing Director of the German Natural Stone Association (DNV), comments: “Natural stone is sustainable and authentic, with firm local roots, and it’s the answer to current megatrends in design, construction and interior decoration! This momentum is something the entire sector can profit from.”The range of products and services at Stone+tec and its programgive the sector the tools it needs to successfully take stone in new directions.
Local natural stone: more than just obvious!
Local, European stone offers the best sustainable balance for construction, interior design, garden and landscape design, and gravestones. This was the belief that led Stone+tec, in collaboration with DNV, BIV (the Association of German Stonemasons) and the magazine Naturstein, to initiate the special show “Our natural stone–together for a sustainable future”in 2018. In 2020, this special show will feature some 15 quarries and natural stone suppliers centered on the German-speaking countries, which Stone+tec 2020 focuses on sustainability and design Press release –February 2020 Page 2/4will exhibit their materials in the form of rough slabs and worked objects in Hall 9 at the trade fair.
New: special design show “Stone for Future”
Designers and interior designers are increasingly turning to natural stone as a material for unique, long-lasting and functional designs. In 2020, Stone+tec will be dedicated to the subject of natural stone design for the first time, and will include a special show on the subject. Visitors can experience brands like Favius and Sigur, which create functional, market-ready, everyday objects of marble, granite, sandstone, etc. The special show offers inspiration for designers and stone masonry firms in equal measure. Measured by materials used, product design is a market with strong margins; everyday objects with an economic valueal so appeal to new target groups and familiarize them with stone as a material. The theme of the special show, Stone for Future, emphasizes the image benefits that design can offer.
Take part and have your design produced!
For the first time in the natural stone industry in the German-speaking countries, Nürnberg Messe will hold a design competition for natural stone objects produced using CNC technology. Projects are accepted in the four categories of bathroom design;street furniture and garden design elements;interior accessories;and religious architecture. Participation is open to journeyman stonemasons, natural stone mechanics, stone technicians, master stonemasons and sculptors, and certified businesses and professional natural stone operations in Germany and Austria. The winning designs in the four categories will be executed in natural stone by cooperation partners using CNC machines ahead of the trade fair, and will be presented at the special design show at Stone+tec 2020. The deadline for submissions is 12 April 2020. The cooperation partners are BIV and DNV. All information and documentation on participating in the Stone for Future competition are available at www.stone-tec.com/stone-for-future.
Join in and shine at Stone+tec
What the sector can achieve is also evident in the other competitions and special shows at Stone+tec. At this year’s fair, BIV is once again announcing the “Nachwuchswettbewerb”(Competition for Young Stonemasons) for all apprentices, young journeymen and master’s students. In line with the theme of “Stone –as diverse as life itself”, the young stonemasons will spend three days working on an open design on the covered exhibition forecourt. Attractive monetary and non-monetary prizes will beckon after the jury does its rounds on Day 3 of the trade fair. Applications can be submitted until 30 April 2020.On Day 1, the DNV, together with the Association of German Architects (BDA) and Nürnberg Messe, will present the coveted German Natural Stone Award for Architects and Landscape Designers. Submissions for this award have already closed. In addition to design themes, practical tips for day-to-day working activities are also on the agenda at Stone+tec: the “Technology”special show, spread over various locations throughout the venue, will focus on machines and tools designed for working with large ceramics this year. The Construction Chemistry Partner Workshop at Stone+tec will include live presentations on bonding, caring for and sealing natural stone, quartz composite and ceramics. And last but not least, there will also be plenty of scope for the subject of gravestones and cemeteries. Stonemasons can look forward to a wealth of inspiration and powerful arguments here.Stone+tec 2020 will focus on ideas for the future for a craft industry rich in tradition, and is aimed at all workers in stone dealing with monuments, construction, cemeteries and design. For more information please visit: www.stone-tec.com/en.
