A historic stone yard faces demolition with over two thousand square metres of usable stone in danger of being destroyed. ’Liberation from Landfill’, a project launched by the design practice Leleni Studio, is on a mission to rescue and reuse as much of the material as possible.
 
The stone at risk was collected by Lazaro Alvaro de Torre after a lifetime working in the stone trade. He began his career in the quarries of Empordà, Girona in the early 1960s, before starting his own stone masons, De Torre Marmoles. For over 40 years the business supplied stone to all manner of projects across Catalonia. Perhaps best known for his collaboration with the architect Lanfranco Bombelli Tiravanti, together they produced many notable projects such as the Immaculate Church in Figueres, the Dalí Museum and the fountain of the Mexicans in St Joan les Abadesses.
 
Over the decades Lazaro amassed a vast collection of stone, saving offcuts and the leftover materials from projects which would usually be disposed of. For instance, the yard houses over 1000 oval-shaped sink cutouts, the remnants of many stone worktops. After his death, the stone yard closed and remained unused for 5 years. The site was scheduled for demolition for redevelopment before Leleni Studio stepped in to negotiate a 6-month lease with the ambition to prove the reuse potential of the stone.
 
‘Liberation from Landfill’ is the first project of the Barcelona based studio which was formed at the beginning of this year. A collaboration between architect Alessandra Monarcha and designer (and Retrouvius alumni) Charlie Paddick, who shared the same vision of championing the reuse of materials in design.
 
Alessandra had previously used stone offcuts from De Torre Marmoles for a project, but it was a serendipitous visit to the yard in January that sparked the campaign. Overwhelmed by the sheer scale and beauty of the materials, the pair seized the opportunity to actualise the studio’s vision. This September Leleni Studio launched their crowdfunding campaign to raise money to further delay the demolition, allowing them more time to find suitable channels for the stone to be reused.
 
Believing a change in attitude and approach to waste is long overdue for all industries, they explained; ‘this is the perfect opportunity to raise awareness among professionals and the public about the fundamental issue of waste management ... changing how we perceive leftover material and proving the sustainability of reuse in architecture and design.’
 
One of our earliest building materials, stone is recognised for its great durability which you can see in the ancient stone structures that still stand today. Its strength makes it an ideal material for continual reuse. There is a large palette of stone available for use; marble, granite, fossil limestone and travertine in many variations of colour, texture and character. I am particularly drawn to the Pedra de Girona, historically used throughout Catalonia, once polished it reveals details of 40 million-year-old nummulite fossils.
 
Alongside supplying the stone the studio has developed a product range which is available via a reward system for support on their crowdfunding page. The creations are functional yet characterful pieces of homeware; refashioning the sink cutouts into placemats and utilising the translucence of the Rosa Aurora stone to produce beautiful lighting.
 
To read more about ‘Liberation from Landfill’ or support the campaign please see their crowdfunding page below.