A project with nature as the classroom

This time, 22 students and 2 tutors visited Lundhs as part of a design project centred on the development of a nature school. The school is being designed for 30 students aged 16–17, who will live and learn on site for two weeks, with geology and an understanding of the natural environment as central themes.

Larvikite as part of the semester project

As part of the assignment, the students will explore how Larvikite can be used as a building material. During the visit, they surveyed quarry areas and brought samples back with them to Denmark, where they are now beginning the planning phase of the project.

The nature school will form a key part of their work throughout much of the semester, and the visit to Lundhs has given the students a concrete foundation for the next stages of the project.

Strong engagement with materials and landscape

The students showed great enthusiasm throughout the visit, asking questions about everything from technical details and material properties to biodiversity, landscape intervention, and the political perspectives surrounding resource extraction and building materials.

For Lundhs, this kind of dialogue is highly valuable. When students experience natural stone in the very place where it is extracted, they also gain a deeper understanding of the material’s origin, qualities, and potential in architecture.

“If natural stone is to play a more prominent role in the architecture of the future, students need to engage with the material during their education. That is how we build knowledge, interest, and new perspectives on future material choices.”

Why does natural stone have such a limited place in architectural education?

The visit also highlights a broader issue: natural stone still occupies a limited place in many architecture programmes. If more architects are to use the material in the future, they must be introduced to it early in their education.

This is important for the stone industry. When future architects learn to see natural stone as an aesthetic, durable, and long-term material, they carry that understanding with them into their professional lives.

Insights from an active quarry

During their stay, the students also visited an active quarry, where they were able to see machinery in operation and a freshly exposed quarry face. This gave them valuable insight into the processes behind the material and a tangible understanding of the relationship between geology, extraction, and use.

An important meeting point between education and industry

For Lundhs, visits like these are an important investment in the future. They allow us to share knowledge, open up new perspectives, and help ensure that the next generation of architects recognise natural stone as a relevant material in the built environment of tomorrow.

We look forward to following the students’ work and seeing how Larvikite is interpreted and incorporated into their proposal for the nature school of the future.