Large areas – The stone in April 2024

In STEIN 4/24, we present the Calwer Passage, a green lighthouse project from Stuttgart. The listed arcade with its spacious granite surfaces is the city’s new “place to be”. We also show a theater in London that is lit up inside with marble-glass-laminate panels and take a look at Vienna, where the German Embassy is setting its very own accents with Krastal marble.

Are you also a boomer? According to the definition, these are people born between 1955 and 1969. They are supposed to be particularly determined, strong-willed, ambitious and disciplined. According to the Federal Statistical Office, almost 13 million of these hard-working employees will retire by 2036

A demographic development that poses major challenges for the German economy, not only in terms of securing skilled workers, but also in the search for successors for craft businesses. The SME succession monitoring of the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) estimates that 125,000 businesses will be handed over each year by the end of 2027 alone.

But do the young have what it takes to replace the boomers? After all, the next generation is often said to be more leisure-oriented than performance-oriented. As is so often the case in life, the key to a successful handover is a good dose of confidence in the future and a good measure of advance praise. The old entrepreneurs should have confidence in their young successors and give them time to grow into their tasks. Read how good handovers of stonemasonry businesses work from page 44 onwards.

The story of how the @sohoplace theater in London came about shows that good things often take time. British star architect Simon Allford, British construction giant Derwent and London-based theater producer Nica Burns worked on this project for over twelve years. The result is a theater that makes you feel like you are under a starry sky. Read more on page 12.

It took much longer, namely 20 years, for the staircase to Heidecksburg Castle in Rudolstadt, Thuringia, to finally become accessible again. With 39 tons of Seeberg sandstone, the staircase is now a worthy ascent again. Read more from page 24.

We hope you enjoy reading STEIN.

Your stone editors

The magazine is available here in the store.

In our March issue, we look at sophisticated bathroom designs, whether in marble or quartzite. Read more here.