On Monday 19th June, we had the pleasure of organising the Technical Day for the Natural Stone and Granite sector, along with Roca, member of the Spanish Chamber, and the Granite Cluster Association.
The event was hosted in the magnificent Roca Gallery, an outstanding space designed by Zaha Hadid Architects in Chelsea, and was the perfect occasion for gathering some relevant companies within the construction, interior design and architectural sector.
On this occasion, our Foreign Trade Manager, Abel Plasencia, gave a warm welcome to the attendees on behalf of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain and introduced the four speakers of the morning: Mr. José Ángel Lorenzo, Managing Director at the Granite Cluster Association; Pablo Menéndez, architect and co-founder of MAM Architects; Igor Russo, associate at Flanagan Lawrence and David Bromell, Manager at the Roca London Gallery.
To kick off, Mr. Lorenzo gave a brief summary about the many possibilities of granite as a construction material. In this regard, he highlighted its quality control assurance and named the Galician granite as the “best in the world”.
After this speech, Mr. Menéndez began his presentation explaining some of the different uses of the granite and said this material is part of the culture of Spain. In addition, he reminded that some of the most important buildings in Spain, such as the Cathedral of Santiago, are entirely made from granite. Mr. Menéndez continued his presentation showing some relevant architectural projects made with granite like a cemetery in Finisterre or a family villa in Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, Mr. Russo gave some examples of relevant architectural projects made with natural stone and explained the use of granite and natural stone in the UK. Before concluding, Mr. Bromell gave a brief summary about the history of Roca and highlighted that the company has been settled in the UK for more than 20 years and has over 120 employees.
To conclude the technical day, participants were invited to enjoy breakfast, whilst given the opportunity to discuss the session’s ideas and concepts further with the speakers.
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