Organisers of UK Construction Week (UKCW) have announced another major coup for the show's 10th anniversary year, with the news that UKCW London will be co-locating with the 14th edition of The Stone Show & Hard Surfaces, the principal industry event for surface design.

Established 26 years ago, the show will bring together around 200 top suppliers, showcasing the latest products and trends in the fast-moving field of surface design. It is a must-attend for architects, designers, developers, fabricators, specialist contractors, installers and KBB outlets.

Running from 7-9 May at ExCeL, London, The Stone Show & Hard Surfaces, supported by show partner Stone Federation Great Britain, will be three days of inspiration and innovation for the entire supply chain, engaging specifiers, designers, architects, stone masons, wholesalers, fabricators, installers, stone maintenance services and beyond.

Confirmed exhibitors include among others Stonegate, Mapei, Waters Stone, Marble & Granite Centre, Keope Ceramiche, Stone Cladding Systems (SCS), Gwrhyd Specialist Stone Quarry, Arcturus Stone, Stone Automation, EC1 Progetti, Dimpomar and ParCa.

The show will feature expert-led seminars, recognise emerging industry talent, and showcase award-winning projects from the last 24 months. It will also shine a spotlight on the latest stone and hard surface design trends, finishes, fixing systems, and technology impacting the UK's construction environment.

Key highlights of The Stone Show & Hard Surfaces include:

The chance to network and improve specialist knowledge from three days of insightful and free-to-attend seminars . The full speaker programme will be announced in March. In addition to the three sessions featuring awards, the following themes driving the natural stone sector will also be covered through a series of presentations and panels:

• Natural Stone: The Low Carbon Construction Solution: This brings together some of the leading voices around the topic of using natural stone to decarbonise the built environment and explore some of the resources and studies that demonstrate the impressive sustainability credentials of natural stone.


• Using the Standards to Deliver Sustainable Projects: This will look at the how the latest updates to the British Standards and industry best practice guidelines can help architects, designers and specifiers deliver more sustainable projects, and will cover recent revisions to paving design and internal cladding guidelines.

• Uncovering the UK's Forgotten Stones: The UK is home to perhaps the richest geology on the planet, and this session will look at some of the schemes in place and being developed to fully utilise our indigenous natural stone as well as discussing the challenges faced of the commercial growth of the UK stone market.

• Natural Stone and Retrofit: A Natural Fit: As part of the efforts to reduce the carbon impacts of the built environment, there is a fresh drive for clients to prioritise the retrofitting of existing buildings over demolition and rebuild. This session will explore some of the key topic around this conversation.

• The Changing Face of UK Quarrying: Exploring how modern technologies and efficiencies have enabled the UK quarrying operation to deliver some of the lowest carbon products available globally. It will ‘myth bust’ some of the preconceptions that people might have about the practice of quarrying and UK quarrying and introduce some of the new products being produced by the quarries.

• Structural stone: The New Horizon: Over the past few years there has been a growing momentum of research, conferences and articles around the impressive sustainability credentials of load-bearing or structural stone projects. Amin Taha's 15 Clerkenwell Close project undoubtedly brought this way of using stone to the headlines. This session will unpack some of the exciting developments around this conversation.

The Stone Federation Village will once again showcase the best of UK stone, with companies across the full breadth of the natural stone industry, from British and international quarry operators and stone suppliers through to sealant manufactures, design consultants and technical experts, making this hub a comprehensive source point for architects, developers, interior designers and clients, as well as stone companies.

The Stone Show & Hard Surfaces will once again host a variety of key industry awards:

• Emerging Talent Awards - recognising and rewarding five individuals at the beginning of their career in the sector, the awards also shine a spotlight on the organisations that are helping develop and foster the future of the industry.

• Industry Choice - in partnership with Stone Federation Great Britain taking place as part of the Seminar Theatre programme, the Industry Choice Award session will explore a selection of the award-winning projects with insights from the architects and the principal stone contractors. Categories include Repair & Restoration; New Build Cladding - Rainscreen; New Build Traditional Load-Bearing Stonemasonry; Interiors – Commercial and Residential; Landscape – Domestic/ Private; Craftsmanship and many more.

• Stone Federation Student Architect Prize - a new award for 2025, this has been launched to inspire the next generation of architectural talent to utilise the beauty, sustainability and versatility of natural stone. The Stone Federation Student Architect Prize will celebrate those designs which demonstrate the use of natural stone to deliver a sustainable project, grounded in its locale that addresses a current challenge faced by the built environment.

Richard Bradbury, Managing Director of The QMJ Group, Organisers of The Stone Show & Hard Surfaces, commented: "Co-locating with UK Construction Week presents a fantastic opportunity for The Stone Show & Hard Surfaces to connect with a vast, high-quality audience of building professionals. It will allow exhibitors and visitors alike to benefit both from our specialist focus, and a wider construction event that delivers 300+ seminars, 20+ live demonstrations and 400 exhibitors."

UK Construction Week divisional director, Sam Patel, added: "The theme for this year’s UKCW London show is ‘growth’, so it’s fitting that we are expanding our offer by co-locating with such a prestigious event as The Stone Show & Hard Surfaces. Along with our other new features, it really is a one-stop shop for the whole industry, whatever your specialism."