The Measured Elegance of Reused Marble

Author: Gina Nala

Editor: Natalia Susanto

Marble has long symbolised permanence and refinement — yet its journey to becoming a luxury material carries a heavy environmental cost. Quarrying and processing marble demand high energy input, while studies show that 70–75% of extracted marble becomes waste, often as fragments, chips, or fine cutting dust (Tazzini et al., 2024).

In conventional construction, these remnants are rarely reused due to inconsistent sizing or slight aesthetic variations. The result is a cycle of over-extraction and waste where elegance often comes at the expense of the environment.

The Carbon Equation

According to the University of Bath ICE Database (2023), producing one tonne of new marble releases approximately 388 kg CO₂e (Ahmad, T. et al., 2022). This carbon footprint stems mainly from the energy-intensive stages of quarrying, cutting, transport, and finishing. When off-cuts are discarded, all the embodied carbon they contain is wasted while new quarrying restarts the cycle of emissions.

This linear pattern contributes to substantial avoidable embodied carbon in the built environment, highlighting the urgency for circular design strategies that extend material lifespans and reduce unnecessary extraction.

This pattern may result in increased avoidable carbon emissions in buildings, making circular design essential to extend material use and limit new resource extraction.

Turning Off-Cuts into Value

Circular design views leftover materials not as waste, but as opportunity. By repurposing marble off-cuts through adaptive techniques, designers can unlock new aesthetic and functional potential:

• Cut-to-fit reuse – trimming remnants for flooring borders, countertops, or wall cladding.

• Creative assembly – composing mosaic panels or decorative accents.

• Structural integration – incorporating smaller pieces into furniture or composite worktops.

Each approach keeps high-value materials in circulation and avoids the emissions tied to producing new marble — the single largest driver of its carbon intensity. Reuse doesn’t just reduce waste; it prevents emissions before construction even begins.

The Circular Alternative: Reusing What Already Exists

At LCI Corner, the Co-Working Lounge features repurposed Ivory Moon marble off-cuts, a demonstration of how luxury and sustainability can coexist. Rather than sourcing freshly quarried slabs, designers reused leftover marble from the cutting process. This decision reduced raw material demand and avoided up to 60–70% of emissions typically associated with new extraction and finishing (Firoozi, A. A. et al., 2024).

Elegance That Endures

Designed for a lifespan of over 30 years, the repurposed Ivory Moon marble will emit the equivalent of only 100 g CO₂e per day throughout its use phase. Each reused slab stands as proof that elegance and efficiency can coexist, a timeless expression of design grounded in environmental responsibility.

References

1. Tazzini, A. et al. (2024). Managing Marble Quarry Waste: Opportunities and Challenges for Circular Economy Implementation. Sustainability, 16 (7) 3056.

2. Firoozi, A. A., Firoozi, A. A., Oyejobi, D. O., Avudaiappan, S., & Flores, E. S. (2024). Emerging Trends in Sustainable Building Materials: Technological Innovations, Enhanced Performance, and Future Directions. Results in Engineering, 24(24), 103521. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rineng.2024.103521 

Ahmad, T. et al. (2022) ‘Environmental, Energy, and Water Footprints of Marble Tile Production Chain in a Life Cycle Perspective’, Sustainability, 14(14), p. 8325. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3390/su14148325