MP stone is defined by five design attributes. These differentiate MP stone from both traditional stonemasonry and modern non-load-bearing and/or non-DFMA stone methods.
There are three implementations of massive-precut stone.
MP stone is typically used in conjunction with other materials, notably for floors, as unreinforced stone is unsuitable for tensile spans. It has most often been used together with reinforced concrete floors, but plans are in place to use it with cross-laminated timber floors, and post-tensioned stone floors. Reinforcing massive precut stone with post-tensioning reinforcement would make it strong enough to substitute for reinforced concrete in a wide range of applications.
In 2024, UK industry group the Stone Collective was formed to promote construction with stone, and advance education in this area.
MP stone construction has five key advantages over non-massive stone and brick masonry, concrete, wood, and other conventional construction methods.
MP stone has been ignored and/or resisted by mainstream architects, engineers, and developers, for reasons including the following.
The history of construction with stone goes back thousands of years, to before the age of the pyramids, but these constructions used muscle energy to cut stones, typically with considerable fixer stonemasonry on site. In modern architecture, stone had been used in a number of contexts, even prior to the development of the massive-precut method.
After these efforts to include stone into modern construction, the large-scale use of massive precut stone was pioneered by Fernand Pouillon (1912-1986), a French architect who was active in post-war reconstruction. Starting in the 1940s, his innovative approach to stone led to the development of numerous noteworthy projects, with a particular focus on apartment complexes. Throughout his long career, Pouillon played a crucial role in the development and popularization of massive precut stone construction techniques. His pioneering work laid the foundation for subsequent architects to build upon and innovate, leading to the resurgence and expansion of this construction method in modern architecture.
The most recent MP stone housing typically uses a combination of materials, usually concrete plinths and internal structure, with load-bearing stone facades. Following the work by Perraudin and Barrault Presacco, a range of French architects adopted this method and applied it to projects across France.
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