“Designing With Natural Stone” Course Open

Workshop/tour program centered around MARMOMACC trade show in Verona, Italy, enters 14th year.

WASHINGTON – Architects looking to get a better feel for natural stone can go straight to the

source with the latest edition of a popular program scheduled around the international MARMOMACC

trade event.

The 14th annual “Designing with Natural Stone” workshop/tour is set for Sept. 24-30 in the

Italian cites of Milan and Verona, with scholarships available.

Veronafiere, the producers of MARMOMACC in Verona, offers the course to help architects learn

advanced techniques in the use of marble, granite and other stone materials.  It’s a combination

of classroom lectures, guided architectural tours, and field trips to local quarries and

natural-stone processing facilities to better understand stone’s full life-cycle of quarrying,

processing, finishing, specifying and installation.

This year’s program include visits to a Verona-area Rosso Verona quarry and stone processing

plant, as well as case studies on stone use at the Canadian Museum of Human Right in Winnipeg,

Manitoba, and the first certified passivhaus (energy-efficient) building for a railway company.

In addition, the course provides time to explore MARMOMACC, with its more than 1,500 exhibitors

of stone and stone-related products from around the world.

MAPEI, to celebrate its 75th anniversary, will host the group in Milan for two full days,

including visits to MAPEI’s plant in Mediglia, Italy; its R&D labs in Milan; and the City Life

residential and business district currently under construction in Milan.  

City Life – designed by architects Arata Isozaki, Daniel Libeskind, Zaha Hadid and Pier Paolo

Maggiora – is the redevelopment of the historic area originally occupied by the Fieramilano

trade-fair facility until 2005. MAPEI’s involvement includes specifying and supplying various

construction products that have contributed to the sustainability of this project and assistance

with specifications for the stone installation.

“Designing with Natural Stone” has been recognized by the American Institute of Architects (AIA)

as a “Best Practices and Trends” educational program.  Sustainable design (SD) became a principal

focus of the course in 2008.  

Five AIA SD credits will be offered, including case studies of sustainable projects in stone.  

Participants earn more than 20 AIA/CES learning-unit hours.  Most classes also count as HSW

credits and five as SD credits.  

The course is co-sponsored by Stone World magazine and supported by the Marble Institute of

America, which donates a copy of its MIA Dimension Stone Design Manual to all participants.
 
The class is limited to 30 architects; 16 from the United States, with the remainder from Canada,

the United Kingdom, South Africa, India and Singapore. Participants are responsible for their own

transportation to Verona as well as a $490 registration fee.  

Scholarships – covering tuition, hotels and meals – are awarded on a competitive basis, based on

a candidate’s demonstrated interest in the field, responsibilities within their firm, and

experience with stone.  

Those interested should submit their curriculum vitae and a cover letter specifying why they wish

to take part in the course.  The deadline for submitting applications is July 15.
 
Please send applications to Wafa Ghnaim, The Consultants International Group: 1616 H Street NW,

Washington, DC 20006; FAX 202-393-4655, e-mail: info@cig-dc.com

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