At Empress Place in Earl's Court, Amin Taha's Groupwork, Webb Yates and Arup have built a three-storey, 6.5-by-6.5-metre open-air prototype from stone bricks and pre-tensioned stone columns and beams. It is a one-to-one research object arguing that structural stone can displace fired-clay brick, steel or reinforced concrete in suitable buildings, rather than being added later as a finish.
The ground floor and adjoining park are open to the public, and the project is free. Go after the light rain if the west-London route is convenient; 30 minutes is enough to see the joins, spans and different stones. Future Observatory · Current FT report