Cover photo: Interior Photo showing Barrel Vaulted Forms of Mares Sandstone

 

Stephen Smith BArch(Hons) ACIAT

The Balearic Island of Mallorca offers a compelling precedent for the revitalisation of stone architecture in the UK today. Mallorca has a rich history with its local stone varietal; Marés sandstone. Like the UK, Mallorca has also seen a decline in using stone as a building material in recent years, with cheaper alternatives such as steel and concrete becoming mainstream methods of construction.

Mares Sandstone Quarry, Mallorca

 

The toll of these changes has had a devastating impact on the Stone Industry of the Balearic Islands, with only a few operational sites1 and over 1500 inactive sandstone quarries documented.2 Since its decline, Marés sandstone has been mainly associated with luxury resorts and holiday homes in Mallorca due to its social perception of high cost, lowering mainstream demand.

In recent times, Mallorca has taken steps away from this impression and proven the viability of stone architecture in a modern context at varying scales with the resurgence of quarrying in the region.

A housing project by the Balearic Social Housing Association, IBAVI, has used local Marés sandstone as the primary fabric and structural material, showcasing modern stone architecture and kick-starting change to perceptions of using locally sourced building stone in Mallorcan construction. Led by Architect Carles Oliver Barceló, the project focuses on low-carbon input through construction and low-carbon output through living, to give residents high-quality and low-cost housing.

 

IBAVI Project Team

 

The project uses Marés sandstone sourced only 18km away from the site, establishing local, low-embodied carbon for its construction.3 Cleverly using material properties of thermal mass and barrel-vaulted forms combined with natural ventilation, the dwellings achieve an A-rated building energy class. By comparison, the project consumes almost 10 times less energy demand than the average newly built dwelling in the UK.4 The benefits of using stone’s properties as a building material to lower energy demand and consumption are clearly demonstrated.

“One Mallorcan Marés quarry that was on the verge of shutting down is reportedly modernising its entire operation thanks to renewed demand generated by IBAVI’s programme of 250 dwelling units employing this material.”5

The demand and use of local Marés sandstone for the project has had positive knock-on effects on the island’s stone industry and this change in the attitude towards locally sourced stone in the region is driven by the aspirations and desire of IBAVI to take this carbon-conscious approach.

 

External View of the IBAVI Social Housing Units, Mallorca

 

How can the UK learn from Mallorca?
Mallorca, with its vast history of quarrying building stone, has many parallels with the UK, including its access to stone reserves and prominent stock of vernacular stone architecture.

Despite the decline and challenges presented for building stone in recent history, the IBAVI project in Mallorca demonstrates a carbon-conscious way to build in a world of climate emergency; with demand and desire offering opportunities for revitalisation of a nation’s stone industry. The project offers a proof of concept the UK should and can learn from.

There are currently hundreds of thousands of historic buildings across the UK, all of which require repair now or will in the future.6 But in stark contrast, the majority of quarries that built the nation’s towns and cities no longer operate, with only around two hundred active building stone quarries remaining in the UK.7

If the UK continues on its trajectory of the past, stone architecture could be under threat of extinction and may lose the ability to choose the material as an option.

However, with the climate-focused agenda for modern construction and the need to conserve national built heritage, there is an undeniable potential for stone to once again be a prominent building material in the UK.
The success of the IBAVI project in Mallorca utilising native, local sandstone for social housing shows the viability of using building stone in a modern context. The knock-on effects from the Balearic Social Housing Association’s desire to use locally sourced stone have changed prospects of quarry closures to now having an active stone industry in Mallorca; supporting employment and the local economy. This project provides evidence for the sustainable credentials that stone has and its ability to contribute towards lowering energy consumption when utilised as a prominent material. This IBAVI social housing project in Mallorca presents a strong precedent and real-world proof of concept for the UK of how to use their native stone resources in modern-day construction.

 

1 https://aarch.dk/en/case-study-mallorca-spain-mares/#:~:text=Because%20of%20this%2C%20mar%C3%A8s%20is,sites%20both%20abandoned%20and%20active.
2 https://divisare.com/projects/460661-miguel-nevado-alfonso-reina-antonio-martin-carles-oliver-xim-moya-jose-hevia-8-protected-public-dwellings-on-a-rental-basis
3 https://divisare.com/projects/460661-miguel-nevado-alfonso-reina-antonio-martin-carles-oliver-xim-moya-jose-hevia-8-protected-public-dwellings-on-a-rental-basis
4 ‘Planning Policy – Section 3F: Research’, 23 March 2021, https://www.gov.scot/publications/developing-scotland-wide-section-3f-planning-policy/pages/14 #:~:text=The%20average%20annual%20space%20heat,to%2093.4kWh%2Fm2.
5 Rafael Gomez-Moriana, ‘Social Housing in Mallorca, Spain by IBAVI’.
6 ‘Scottish Slate: Island Rebirth’, Urban Realm Magazine, 23 January 2024.
7 https://www.bgs.ac.uk/mineralsuk/minerals/building-stones/our-stone-heritage/