Natural Stone Guide for Architects

The English edition of Mimarlar İçin Doğal Taş Rehberi (Natural Stone Guide for Architects), published in 2023 by STONELINE Publications, Türkiye’s first publishing house dedicated to natural stone, has now been published.

The book serves as a reference guide for architects, interior designers, engineers, natural stone practitioners, academics and students who need essential information on the process that begins with the selection of natural stone for use in buildings.

Written by experienced architects, academics and industry experts, Natural Stone Guide for Architects aims to provide the right answers to the question: “Which natural stone should be used where?”

Natural stones are among the most important building materials, widely preferred and used from antiquity to the present day, primarily as structural, flooring and cladding elements in buildings.

In addition to their rich variety of types, colours and patterns, natural stones add significant value to the architectural and aesthetic identity of buildings thanks to their durability and long service life. Drawing on historical references, the book covers the essential knowledge needed for the use of natural stone as a building material in architecture.

In Natural Stone Guide for Architects, the formation, production and processing of natural stone from block to cladding; landmark buildings in architectural history and the place and importance of natural stone within that history; criteria for selecting natural stone in architecture; its areas of use in interior and exterior spaces, from residential buildings to public spaces; design methods and construction principles; deterioration, cleaning and conservation principles; methods of evaluation in terms of sustainability; numerical data on natural stone resources on a global scale; and much more are presented through texts written by specialists. The section “Natural Stone Types” features examples of commonly used natural stones of various types and origins, together with their technical properties. At the end of the book, there is also a comprehensive glossary explaining technical terms related to natural stone.

The book’s Publishing Director was led by architect Gülçin İpek, with Dr O. Serkan Angı as editor and Cem Günübek responsible for graphic design. The chapters covering the process from the selection to the use of natural stone were written by Dr O. Serkan Angı, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Demet Arslan Dinçay, Prof. Dr. Genco Berkin, Prof. Dr Deniz Aslan, Prof. Dr. A. Nil Türkeri, MArch Canan Baş and Prof. Dr. Seden Acun Özgünler. Evren İyigönül and Nuray Saatçioğlu Uygur from the expert team of STONELINE Yapı Ürünleri also share their practical experience with readers. The book concludes with a comprehensive glossary of technical terms related to natural stone, prepared by Prof. Dr. Emin Çiftçi.

Accompanied by nearly 1,000 photographs and technical detail drawings, the book informs readers about the use of natural stone in architecture.

Publisher: Stoneline Publications
Publications Manager: Gülçin İpek
Book Design: Cem Günübek
Translation: Kathryn Kranzler İzgi
Technical Consultant: Neslihan Güçmen
Contributors: Kadir Akyıldırım, Mustafa Odabaş