Stone & Tile: Architecture Design & Trends

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In May of 2025, the Michael C. Rockefeller Wing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET) in New York City reopened to the public after a four-year renovation project, which included reviving and matching its historic Stony Creek granite flooring.

With project owners focusing more on sustainability and contractors addressing increasingly demanding applications, specifiers must understand the fundamentals of quartz as a design material within the broader context of modern construction goals and expectations.

Dry-Treat demonstrated how to prep and seal quartzite for a successful installation.

Braewind by Vadara Quartz was honored with an ADEX Award for Design Excellence.

CMS North America is implementing artificial intelligence (AI) across its stone machinery lineup to help fabricators monitor equipment performance and anticipate maintenance needs before breakdowns occur. Alex Bores, western sales area manager for CMS North America, said the company is combining AI with proprietary algorithms to collect machine data from customers worldwide, with their permission, to provide proactive support.

Leadership and neuroscience expert René Rodriguez urged stone industry professionals to embrace a systematic approach to sales during StoneBiz on the Beach, a two-day workshop held in Puerto Rico this past fall and organized by the Stone Fabricator’s Alliance (SFA). He warned that emotional self-regulation and consistent prospecting matter more than the latest technology.

René Rodriguez, a veteran sales trainer with over 30 years of experience, delivered a comprehensive presentation on sales methodology and overcoming procrastination at StoneBiz on the Beach, a recent stone industry event in Puerto Rico organized by the Stone Fabricator’s Alliance (SFA), emphasizing that sales success depends more on consistent activity than innate talent.

Homeowners who clean their marble countertops with vinegar are unknowingly damaging their investment, according to Emily Dodds, founder of Immaculate Collective. Dodds, who holds IICRC restoration certificates and has logged more than 50,000 hours in the field over the past decade, said chemical misuse is one of the most common causes of countertop damage and can immediately void a manufacturer's warranty.

Evaluating minimally destructive methods for detecting concealed damage on dimension stone exterior wall cladding.

LX Hausys, the South Korean-based building materials manufacturer, is betting big on sustainability and domestic production as it prepares to launch new quartz surface technologies in 2026, company executives said. The company, part of the LG Group, operates three Viatera quartz manufacturing lines and one HI-MACS solid surface line at its Georgia facility, making it the only U.S. manufacturer producing both quartz and solid surface materials domestically.