From the Thames to Eternity: Re-using Stones From the Thames River Wall

This event is now fully booked, please join the waiting list and you will be contacted if any places become available. 

This symposium addresses the potential and challenges of stone re-use in London, focusing on two projects that re-use large granite stones from the historic Bazalgette Thames river wall, made available as part of the Thames Tideway Tunnel works. 

The two projects have been recently completed. One is a permanent re-use of the stones in the Becontree Estate by Nimtim Architects and the other, From the Thames to Eternity, is a temporary re-use at sites across the City of London, by Matthew Barnett Howland (CSK Architects and The Bartlett School of Architecture) and Oliver Wilton (The Bartlett School of Architecture) and featured in the London Design Festival.

The symposium discusses and contextualises the work, considering the history and geology of the stones, their removal from the Thames river wall as part of the Thames Tideway Tunnel project, and the broader challenges and opportunities of stone re-use today.

This symposium is organised by Clarisse Tavin, Matthew Barnet and Oliver Wilton. This event is organised in partnership with the City of London Corporation. 

Schedule:
 
18:00  |  Registration and drinks 
 
18:30  |  Welcome from event chair Juliet Haysom, fine artist and tutor at the Architectural Association 
18:35  |  ‘The history and geology of the Thames river wall stones’, Ruth Siddall, geologist, UCL.
18:50  |  ‘Thames Tideway Tunnel and the river wall stones’, Allen Summerskill, Stakeholder and Consents Manager – East, Tideway.

 19:05  |  10-minute break
 
19:15  |  ‘Re-using Thames river wall stones at the Becontree Estate’, Tim O’Callaghan, Director, Nimtim Architects.
19:30  |  ‘From the Thames to Eternity: re-using river wall stones in the City of London’, by Matthew Barnett Howland of CSK Architects and Oliver Wilton of The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL.
19:45  |  ‘Challenges of re-using stone’, by Alex Lynes, Associate Director, Webb Yates Engineers.
 
20:00  |  Drinks

This event is being held at Webb Yates Engineers, 48-50 Scutton Street, London, EC2A 4HH. Prior to the Symposium there is a guided walk of the From the Thames To Eternity installation sites by Ruth Siddall, Matthew Barnett Howland and Oliver Wilton starting at 17:00. Separate registration is required; please send your details to m.howland@ucl.ac.uk noting ‘Thames to Eternity walk’ in the header.
 

More information

• Register for Symposium
• Learn more about the London Design Festival  
• Read more about From the Thames to Eternity Project 
• Read more about the Becontree Estate Project 

Image: Clive Totman