Natural stone and sustainability: a perfect combination? | Ciprian Şipoș, PIATRAONLINE

Yes, it’s a perfect combination, especially since it implies durability. And when we talk about zero waste pyramid we talk about sustainability, which is the most important.

Interior design and circular economy

Have you studied interior design through the lens of the circular economy and sustainability? As you see the use natural stone in this context? Is it a sustainable choice?

It is first of all because we perhaps cut down fewer trees, and first of all the stone – yes – which in almost all sectors is obtained in a more natural way and is produced by Coana Mare, Big Mama or Mother Planet, is a sustainable choice and then by default it is also sustainable.

And then what makes the stone not only durable, but more recently versatile – and perhaps this could also combat and help sustainability.

Minimalism and natural materials

Minimalism and zero waste seem to go hand in hand, but we don’t think that minimalist is practically sterile or that we eliminate many materials or combinations, but rather the opposite. Interior design is about integrating these natural materials that contribute to our well-being. Additionally, the diversity we work with now is much more beneficial.

Applying zero waste in stone landscaping

As I said before and I also said in previous videos, from now on diversity will no longer be a problem: we have it. And then we have a choice and how to insert them.

Let’s put them together: this is how it is marblethat’s all travertinethat we combine them with a bit of wood, that we create this part of the design where stone returns to dominate the sectors, as it was in the past, yes?

When we talk about stone, it is present and omnipresent in all design cycles and if we go into the history of design, we will see that it was a very important factor.

And once again I keep repeating it, talking about durability: the durability of stone is unbeatable. It is one, perhaps, much more resistant than what we would say is concrete. It has much greater resistance and is produced by Coana Mare, by Mother Nature, over hundreds, thousands and millions of years.

Emotion, aesthetics and natural materials

How do natural materials influence our well-being?

It affects her to the maximum. Our mood is influenced by materials, it is influenced by colors and above all by materials, like, and let’s go back to it natural stone – from natural light.

In contact with natural light, the stone – if you look, we look outside, we look into nature – and then we see what the effects are. Then he works: first with natural light, then with artificial light.

Do you think natural materials have an impact on people’s emotional state?

as much as I can natural stone and other authentic materials to create more harmonious spaces?

I can. This is where the design thinking part comes in, right?

And everyone, whether they are an architect or a designer, or a buyer who goes a little towards this side of aesthetics, must take into account that harmony arises from combinations. It depends on how we put them together. It comes from the surface: which has been cut, which is small, which is large and, first of all, from these combinations which have the factors of well-being and the psychology – yes – of colour, the psychology of matter, and everything to produce a much more beautiful result. This means, first of all, harmonious.

Creative reuse of stone waste

A future without waste. What is the most innovative solution for reusing stone waste?

Not only of the stone, but also the reused remains come from the thought process, from the planning. If when we take a particle, whether we make a stereotomy of the first and have no loss, or even that some loss is generated, it would be good to use it in various ways: be it a counterplate, be it a small plinth, be it a surface, a corner, a table. Whatever we can do with waste depends on how we use creativity.

The most innovative thing, first of all, comes from this type of zero waste design that I use. For me there is no more waste. There is always reuse, reuse – and not even the word waste.

When I do a project, for me every remaining stone is used in another sector: whether it’s a small detail, whether I put it somewhere like Intelligentplinth, who make a piece of furniture out of stone waste or place them in a more alandala floor – yes, in a good way.

Collaboration for zero waste

The natural stone industry inevitably generates waste. What creative solutions do you see for reusing leftover pieces?

Either we collect them, or we take them back, or we can use them in another project. From stone you can create, so to speak, a food chain. If in a project there are some pieces taken from someone – yes – reused in another sector, what if we started this zero waste collaboration?

What can you do with a little leftover?

A small multiplied remainder can lead to a minimum level. I also created eight thousand square meters of an office, flooring materials and recovered stone waste. Reinterpretation, yes? Here we go again. Let’s use our brains, let’s use our imagination and, why not, innovation. And then we have less construction waste.

The dream project: a zero waste creative center

If you had unlimited resources, how would you integrate? natural stone in a 100% zero waste project?

To top it off, I’m now working on a zero waste creative hub and I want it to get bigger and bigger. I have several capsules, but now I consider them a large multifunctional building, where all the remains take on a different visual connotation.

And then it is not necessarily obsolete, but the leftovers can acquire a very important language in this sector. Whether it’s architecture, whether it’s interior design or whether it’s this reuse that we consider increasingly important.

Inspiration for the future

If you could create a project for the future, for a sustainable future, what materials would you use and what would the integration of natural stone be like?

Pretty much all of my projects or all of the projects I’ve worked on have used these RRRs. A sustainable future means we create less waste. And when we use a resource, we use it responsibly. I trace it: where did it come from, how did I cut it, how did I use it?

And this is where good planning and good orientation come into play, where Big Mama, Coana Mare or Mother Nature are part of the project, part of the thinking table: design thinking with its present.

What do we convey to designers and architects?

What is your advice for architects and designers who want to combine aesthetics and sustainability?

This is beautiful. First of all, it is about climate education. Let’s open, let’s innovate. Innovation involves RRRs, which are very important programs for us.

Let’s take a look at what green material means, what sustainable means, which one they use first, where they use it, where it helps and how it helps. Is it tactile? Is it a vertical wall? Is it a floor?

My advice is: plan. Where does it come from? I have something left: what can I do? How can I innovate on this side? How can I become more responsible?

How can we make sure that our projects include responsibility: towards us, towards our well-being, but first of all towards the resource.

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