Reimagining Cornwall’s Resources for a Regenerative Future

From landowners and builders to architects, artists and product designers, the room was filled with people who shared a common interest: rethinking how we work with materials – and how they reflect the land they come from. 

“My interest is in how materials need to change to face the climate emergency,” Architect Tom Ebdon shared, “but critically how materials that we use in Cornwall should relate to the place that Cornwall is – so that’s the topography, weather, people, culture and history.” 

The workshops created space not just for discussion, but for hands-on engagement too. Attendees were given a demonstration by Falmouth University Senior Lecturer MA Fine Art and Sculptor, Dr. David A. Paton, of working with granite – tracing its geological story, how it’s quarried, and how it might be used differently. 

These acts of making reflect the larger ambition of the project: research that leads to meaningful physical outcomes – shaped by the needs of local people. 

Will Hugh, Managing Director at Caradon Ltd, said, “I see this sort of collaboration as really beneficial - I'm here, talking to the right people, having the right conversations – and making sure that we’re being represented, as an industry, in the right way, to push local stone in a sustainable way.”  

The long-term goal is to create greater access to low-carbon, locally sourced materials for communities. A culture of buying local that is grounded in knowledge and care. And above all, a more accessible, resilient future for the region. 

“It’s really to ask: how might this resource be respectfully and environmentally utilised going forward into the future? And in what ways?” - Dr. David A. Paton 

These workshops may be just the beginning, but they’ve already begun to open up possibilities – a bigger movement to develop more regenerative local business and help shape a resilient future for the region.