Archify Connect: Urblo by SAI Stone

Archify Live is our web series that responds to the increasing demand for virtual learning and networking. Our latest session was held on the 19th of October 2023 and was presented by SAI Stone. Below is a transcript of the presentation.

Our topic today will be on Urblo by SAI Stone.

Welcome, everyone, and thanks for joining us for during your valuable lunchtime. For today, we are introducing a brand called Urblo. I would like to take this opportunity to introduce what we have done. And more importantly, I would love to run this in the session in a collaborative way. So, we can gather, not only what we have done, but how we like a blog as a service to service the architect community.

So, in the Table of Contents, I will quickly run through the brand, the brand promise, a bit of introduction of the products, the projects, and the challenges that we would like to so and we can dig into this one later. You know, to hear from you guys, about the challenges when you're dealing with stone in particular, I will touch on the design flow. And that will be the end of today's session.

A quick introduction, Urblo.

So, to brand, we call it a blow, essentially, that's urban stone blocks where the stone is not pronounced in a block in the middle. That's how the brand formed is about stone urban landscapes and about the blocks that are forming landscapes. A quick introduction to myself as well. So my name is Hunter. I am the operation and marketing manager for SAI Stone. And now I'm working on a blog grant. I have a bit of background in Project deliveries as a big road and environmental engineer, I have a bit of experience in delivering commercial landscaping constructions, I have experience in supplying now. Today as of today, I also am servicing the architect community. So I sort of have a bit of interest in all different parts. Being saying that, I guess my career path is leading me into hopefully a down-the-track developer. And that's probably the last piece I don't have experience with. That that's right now I'm hoping with all my experience in the other areas, I'm able to provide my insights, and at the same time provide values to the defining community.

So Urblo started as a very interesting request, so SAI Stone started as a stone payments supplier when we were courting the cross-removal projects. During those projects, I realised Council as the government has this requirement to remove up to 25 to 30% of the nonstructural concrete due to the commitment to carbon offsetting in carbon-reducing skin. And it's quite natural that stone comes in as a replacement. And only two then I realized and did a bit of studying into it as an environmental engineer by trade. That stone is a greener alternative to concrete products on some of the most often nonstructural concrete jobs. From there, not only do we want to offer the replacement for a bit of compress, curving and pavers, but I'm hoping this is an opportunity for us as a brand or blog dedicated to service designing communities in multiple ways.

And that comes to our brand promises.

I want to use this cache, I see to illustrate our value and our vision and our blog brand is inclusive is their social awareness, the ethical supply chain and environmental consciousness. That is where we want to make ourselves a difference. I would like to I would show you a few different cases in which we see ourselves being able to influence not influencing but maybe contributing to results.

Aspects of our drive are culture function and also MRO. So, in culture, Melbourne if we're using a culture as an example, Melbourne is about basalts because we've got, we are built with ourselves, Sydney Isabel sandstone, if we go a bit further, they are very far away, Harris has got those limestones. And London has got its on stone. So white ones, a city is built by stone they used to, and they were and there is hopefully down the track as well. The stone is no longer really the mainstream. But at the same time, we would like to reintroduce stone into the urban escapes with a bit of extra purpose. So, if we're talking about functions, stones are non-industrial, I will touch on this point a bit later on, but stone is non-industrial, meaning you don't really always have the bulk production for the line. You can pick and choose some of the industrial products from life some of the breaks and timber wise stone on the other hand is very design driven, every single job can be different and can have its own individual aspects. That's sometimes from previous experience prevents designers from utilizing stone for like social related functions, my bike, dog parks, and playing areas, because he's not in this role is potentially not tested in some of the aspects and we would like to try our best to overcome all those hurdles and reintroducing stone into those aspects.

Offsetting has been one of the key driving forces for the Urblo projects, and it was initiated like that.

We have done the research on the offsetting part of the stone supply, and production installation. We issue this as a carbon offset at retirement certification we generated for the Australian Catholic universities’ projects. Unfortunately, for this particular slide, I could not click through the real ones that we generate for each project, you will be able to click through and see the details.

This means if any of our fellow designers wanted to have a particular influence on any of those in wire projects, you are more than welcome to dig into the Tasman environment of markers. Look at the projects that you are interested in, you want to if you want to participate, and the job will be able to get offset with those particular projects.

So that's, that's a quick introduction to the brand. Now I would like to quickly run through what we have done the products that we generated and the projects we delivered recently.

So, in terms of stone has are so many varieties, bluestone or Basalt is Melbourne or Victoria centralized. We've got granite that's really universally applicable through a lot of a lot of country to attain this something we started in the last two months’ time; we've been to Italy and visited a few batteries. There's one that we think probably best matches us with our concept inverter setup. They have very good control in terms of monitoring energy use, and their waste management is state of the art. So, we're now also able to offer the Italian travertine in the stone, stone street furniture category. On top of that, we are looking for those cost-effective strong enough marbles that can be used for the streetscapes and landscaping part of.

Quite simply put, the products can just so many different products that can be done with stone blocks, which are usually sizes from about three meters by three meters by three meters, or some of the smaller ones like bluestone are limited to about one meter one to 1.2 meter long, by about 500 by 500 is subject to the different availabilities, but they are pretty much usable for most of the applications. For example, for the boiler, and the planters we just bought, I want to quickly touch base on 1000 non-industrial aspects of stone is not the lungs, it's not is not industrialized, and it's not, it's a natural product. Meaning if we are talking about a safety bollard in the city and you want to have a function that's stopping the car from bumping into pedestrians, we will need a very big bollard to ensure that's happening. Or we can use the stainless steel or other techniques to reinforce the stones to make them semi-industrial. But stone itself, I want to highlight the visa board as a case study is not that by yourself. And that sometimes needs to be considered in our design.

Some can be used as planters, and benches quite naturally and also have different features. This is arc gate that was supplied to Canberra, China, China Town, water features etc.

Project-wise, we've done a few jobs in the Melbourne CBD area clean splice investor places, I would like to welcome everyone to go and have a look at how a stone looks. And you know, you want we may want to compare with a concrete set up or you just need to have a feeling in the real sizes, how it works.

About the non-industrial ones. In fact, when we were developing the products and product categories, for Urblo as a brand, we had this debate, thinking internally about whether to start we want to introduce something like a universal I have a module and that designers could just copy and paste through the city. We also discussed that potentially this is not what the design architecture community wants. Stone, if I'm utilizing this non-industrial character of stone, stone, means the stone can be used in a very small design or a big design and is pretty much linear scalable. It's not because we've done 10 planters, so it's half price, you'll be the same, it's a linear, but that means when we are looking at smaller things like for example, this best vessel place, the bollard is a small stone base, that can be done. Whether it's too small or should be it can be done with stone and we can tailor the design and delivery individually. I want to reinforce this point because from our point of view, the stone it's great to see stone everywhere. But sometimes that little touch probably works really well in a lot of the jobs. And that's what stone really can offer.

Challenges and a little bit of case study. So, some paper we start I started delivering and installing some paper and now delivering some paper and now working on a few designs with designers to deliver a few designs and I see the challenges.

I want to highlight it here and hopefully, I can share that same experience with everyone. Feel free to participate and write your virtual hands. As a designer, you don't have direct access to all the stones available, it probably could be too much anyway it’s too much for me already, when I was in Verona Italy there was to die nonstop walking without really stopping and digesting for four days show to so many things, so many different songs, every single one is different, as well. So, it's very challenging if you want, if you have something in your mind that you want to realize, you probably need to talk to someone who can narrow it down.

So right now, Urblo has narrowed stone categories into three stones, bluestone, basalt, grinders, and the Travertines are asleep, we assess three categories, you will then have flammable, Blue Stone nonflammable blue stones, the darker ones, the less stuff, there's lighter ones, with different finishes, there's a lot of things you can play and tweak just to realize a design. I think is probably a fair call to have a design and then we have someone like us or another stone specialist that can help you to give you some options instead of hoping that something will work and we can magically find the one. The connecting with Urblo wants to not only deliver we also want to connect the query to the production and the design community means, we are talking to a few parties just before I come back from Italy and I want to have a regular setup update about the quarry blocks they have got. This sounds like a fast crash. And in fact, that is from design to realizing to production is a long time. And a lot of times I probably will not be able to keep that quarry block for you and love that then touching words as the project does not get cancelled. Okay. But I believe by setting up that link, having that understanding of how it looks like in theory, what it can realize in real life, it will give you guys a bit of inspiration, a bit of idea, you know, and that's something small matric or something slightly more meaningful. So, that's what's Urblo, we'll have eventually rolled out hopefully within a couple of months’ time, a bit of Oregon base for everyone to have access to. We want to make the design happen. This is, a real case study is the reason that was about a reason why I went to a Verona show. I've been dealing with stone for seven years, I always wanted to go to Italy. But I never really had a chance to chill. Early this year, we received a request. One architect wanted a red travertine, but also needs to be done in the foot block, not by slabs. I don't have access; I can call someone or email someone to give me something. But I took the chance to fly over for five days and hours without too much jetlag to find the manufacturer to know how to find a block to really touch it and be able to deliver something that I'll have confidence in. Obviously, I'm not going to fly over for another red block. But I have by doing that sort of sort out one connection that we'll be able to deliver most of the Travertines for our Melbourne and Australia designer community. So hopefully there's something meaningful that's a service meaningful to everyone.

Design flows. So how does it work?

We were subjected to you guys, right? I mean, this is from me, this is from the last half years, talking to different studios. What do you guys want? How do we want to be together? I'm not here to say, okay, I need you to give me everything and I'll give you price and delivery texts, I want to be able to work with you to realize the line because a lot of times the initial design may not work for someone you need to know is a certain limitation that I probably need only realized after talking to the factories with like, the strains, the cables, and the sizes available with the colour the vein, everything. So, I designed this workflow by starting with inspiration. As soon as I have the inspiration, even as a hand sketch, I love those casket hand sketches, even those hand sketches. As soon as I receive that, with a few selections of colours and textures, I'll be able to have some draft CAD drawings. And the same time samples I mean, I've made me to taken time to gather them from different artists, but I will be able to gather them for you to finalize the design to give you guys a little bit of insight into how much will cost. So, one linear one millimetre of travertine bench probably costs about $4,000.

Doesn't sound too bad but then we start adding sayings. Okay, I wonder, a bit of curved as the light seems to make heads up, but I'm able to have some cost upfront. So always, if there's something achievable, we move on confirming the material will be great if I call the query and secure block for everyone, or I will say okay, as long as it's something that we have consistent access to, let's leave it for now, down to the end, that I am able to deliver the products not only the product, I am also in discussion that we suffer installation teams that we work before that from Urblo parts, we are able to supply and install the full carbon offset package. I don't have the calculation right now, which will be subject to the installation, actual installation and energy consumption. There are a few things that we need to iron out. But this is something that we would love to commit and we are working on at this stage. So that's the workflow and the design and inspiration don't need to start as what I just showed everyone the bylaws, the features the planters, it could be bike racks, it could be rubbish bins, it could be dog park equipment, and anything small should be as I said stone is non-industrial. I do one job and I do 10 is pretty much the same. So, we can always play on that one. And here we go. That's a red block I found which is being cut into a round, round ottoman. Nice.

So this is pretty much it. I want to thank you everyone for the time.