Stone Panels UK – How StoneLite® Helped the Macdonald St. Paul\’s Hotel

When designers and developers have the foresight to recognize that choosing lightweight building materials can have major structural implications (like those on the Macdonald St. Paul Hotel project did), it can result in substantial, big-picture savings for construction projects. In the case of the Macdonald St. Paul\’s Hotel, the combined lightweight nature of the Protec steel framing and StoneLite® wall panel cladding reduced piling and the concrete frame of the building was able to be lighter than it otherwise would have been. Further cost-saving effects of choosing lightweight natural stone cladding panels from Stone Panels, Inc. also included no need for a tower crane to lift stone up to scaffold, nor a need for runner beams an loading bays on the scaffolding.

Lightweight building practices benefiting the bottom dollar line was only half of the impressive equation of contribution from Stone Panels, Inc. to the Macdonald St. Paul\’s Hotel project. The other part of the story is that Stone Panels, Inc. facilitated manufacturing the needed lightweight panels from stone which was native to the UK. Seventy tons of English sandstone had to be shipped stateside, to be processed at Stone Panels, Inc. facilities. The stone was subsequently returned across the pond (a mere 20 weeks later) in the form of lightweight natural stone composite panels; fabricated and cut to size for easy installation.

When a project has such special needs (like the Macdonald St. Paul\’s Hotel project did, it\’s the perfect opportunity for building material providers to showcase what their product can do and really come through for a client/customer. In the case of the Macdonald St. Paul\’s Hotel, Stone Panels, Inc was humbled to have the opportunity to be a part of both builders\’ forward-thinking, lightweight approach to design; as well as helping the building represent the nearby English sandstone of the region.