Rocky Mountain Stone Co., Inc., Albuquerque, NM
Rocky Mountain Stone Co., Inc., Albuquerque, NM
In the Residential Interior Category, Rocky Mountain Stone Co. of Albuquerque, NM, won the Award of Excellence for a master bath of intricate design and challenging installation. The Award of Merit for this category went to T & R Cut Stone & Tile of Canton, OH, which fabricated an installed stone in a broad range of applications for a residential kitchen.
In the Commercial Interior Category, Italian Marble & Tile Co. of Sylmar, CA, won the Award of Excellence for its work on the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and Courthouse in Santa Ana, CA. The Award of Merit was presented to Rugo & Carosi of Woodbridge, VA, for the Mother of Divine Providence Chapel in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
The Commercial Exterior Award of Excellence was presented to the David Allen Co. of Raleigh, NC, for the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science. The Award of Merit for this category was won by Granicor of St. Augustin, Quebec, Canada, for the McNamara Alumni Center at the University of Minnesota Gateway.
An Award of Special Recognition was presented to Bramco of Oman for the stonework done on the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque in the Sultanate of Oman.
The jury for the awards program consisted of Vincent Migliore, Technical Director of the Marble Institute of America; Paul Vigna of Artisan Tile & Marble in Somerset NJ; and Thomas A. Kligerman, of Ike Kligerman Barkley Architects in New York. The following is a rundown of this year’s award winners.
T & R Cut Stone & Tile, Canton, OH
Residential Interior --Award of Excellence
Bath Area - New Mexico Private ResidenceRocky Mountain Stone Co., Inc., Albuquerque, NM
Architect/Designer: Cooper, Robertson & Partners
General Contractor: Bradbury Stamm
Stone Supplier: New Mexico Travertine, Inc.
Stone Fabricator/Installer: Rocky Mountain Stone Co., Inc.
The design intent of the architect was to create a spacious shower/steam room, using native materials, that would allow the beautiful rolling hills of Northern New Mexico to become part of the space. The material used was Scheherazade travertine, vein cut, filled and honed. The designer required the entire job to be bookmatched, which given the space and the patterning of the material, required extensive planning and precise cutting to accomplish.
Judges’ Comments: We liked the use of local material. The bookmatching was very unusual, and the basketweave pattern on the floor was very effective. A very nicely done job that achieves the design’s objective.
David Allen Co., Inc., Raleigh, NC
Residential Interior --Award of Merit
Kitchen - Stimer ResidenceT & R Cut Stone & Tile, Canton, OH
Designer: Rose Stimer/Jeff Kohmann
Stone Supplier: Mont Granite, Inc.
Stone Installer/Fabricator: T & R Cut Stone & Tile Co.
The owners wanted an Old World appearance with copper accents incorporated into the project. They also wanted the buffet peninsula accented from the main kitchen countertops. The countertops and backsplashes are Juparana Classico, the flooring is tumbled cross-cut Noce travertine, and the stair treads, risers and stringers are honed Durango limestone. The copper accents were adhered and screwed to the walls prior to installing the stone with its broken joints.
Judges’ Comments: The broken and reassembled slabs accented with the copper inserts was a very unusual concept and refreshingly different. The stone complements the woodwork, and the design is appropriate for the environment.
University of Minnesota Gateway
Granicor Inc., St. Augustin, Quebec, Canada
Commercial Exterior --Award of Excellence
North Carolina Museum of Natural ScienceDavid Allen Co., Inc., Raleigh, NC
Architect/Designer: Robert Winston Carr, Inc.
General Contractor: Beers, David Jones Group
Stone Supplier/Installer: David Allen Co., Inc.
Stone Fabricator: Indiana Limestone Co. and North Carolina Granite
The museum building is the largest of its kind in the Southeast. The stonework covers more than 100,000 square feet and consists of thermal Green Country granite, variegated Indiana limestone and Georgia White marble. Impressive 20-foot-high round granite columns grace the main entrance, with 40-foot-high columns complementing the domed area. The entire exterior is limestone and granite, including many radius pieces. The exterior landscaping features paving of limestone and granite and 300 feet of granite benches.
Judges’ Comments: This is a job that every stone person would want to do. Every component of the fabrication, both heavy and delicate, is very nicely detailed, and the radius work on the rotunda is a fine example of excellent craftsmanship. This is a grand museum; strong but not overstated.
Italian Marble & Tile Co., Inc., Sylmar CA
Commercial Exterior --Award of Merit
McNamara Alumni CenterUniversity of Minnesota Gateway
Granicor Inc., St. Augustin, Quebec, Canada
Architect/Designer: Antoine Predock—Korsunsky Krank Erickson
General Contractor: M.A. Mortenson
Stone Supplier/Fabricator: Granicor, Inc.
The building is a large facetted, rock-like structure clad in 40,000 square feet of Granite Acajou panels and referred to as "The Geode." It is comprised of nine surfaces at several different angles intersecting each other. There are several skylights and 12-inch strips intersecting the surfaces. Wind loads, snow loads, deflection of the structure and construction loads all needed to be considered in designing the granite panels and connections.
Judges’ Comments: This was a very unusual job for a client with a vision. The glass used as stone, wrapping through the building, is beautifully done. A very detailed and challenging design and engineering project.
Italian Marble & Tile Co., Inc., Sylmar CA
Commercial Interior --Award of Excellence
Ronald Reagan Federal Building and U.S. CourthouseItalian Marble & Tile Co., Inc., Sylmar CA
Architect/Designer: Gruen Associates/Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership
General Contractor: Ray Wilson Co.
Stone Supplier/Fabricator: Mariotti Carlo e Figli srl
Stone Installer: Italian Marble & Tile Co., Inc.
The stone used on both the exterior and interior walls and floors is honed Classic travertine and honed Noce travertine. Radiused stone was used on both the interior and exterior serpentine walls of the piano-shaped entrance pavilion. The architectural design included solid stone at the interior corners, an elliptic-shaped grand staircase, solid stone door jambs at courtroom entrances, solid panned stone sills, honeycombed stone panels at exit doors, 40-foot-high clad columns and hardscape solid bollards and mow strips. The travertine has a total of 17 federal seals in sizes ranging from 18 inches to 16 feet in diameter carved in bas-relief and accented with 24-karat gold leaf.
Judges’ Comments: The simplicity of the curved wall is elegantly understated, while the more mundane parts of the structure are treated beautifully. The radius-cut travertine is integrated inside and out and flows and melds very nicely.
Rugo & Carosi, LLC, Woodbridge, VA
Commercial Interior --Award of Merit
Mother of Divine Province ChapelRugo & Carosi, LLC, Woodbridge, VA
Architect/Designer: Anthony J. Segreti, AIA
General Contractor/Installer/Supplier: Rugo & Carosi, LLC
Stone Fabricator: Vicentina Marble
The chapel is the last of over 60 chapels and oratories constructed in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception over the last 70 years. The previously unfinished space held a Portuguese limestone statue of Mary and the Infant Jesus, sculpted by Theodore Barbarossa. The space was designed to be consistent with the Byzantine Romanesque character of the Narthex of the Upper Church. Bookmatched polished Botticino Classico was used for the wall cladding. A contrasting marble, matching one of the columns in the Upper Church, was used for the polished and bookmatched vertically fluted background for the statue. The marble was the last of four Skiros Nicol blocks and was also used for the turned and tapered columns flanking the statue. The polished marble bases and architraves of the columns were fabricated from Botticino Fiorito and support an illuminated domed ceiling feature above the statue.
Judges’ Comments: This is a well-done, well-executed beautiful job, and the carving and capitals show exquisite craftsmanship. This was an installation challenge that was masterfully completed.
M/S Bramco WLL, Ghala Seeb, Oman
Commercial Interior & Exterior -- Award of Special Recognition
Sultan Qaboos Grand MosqueM/S Bramco WLL, Ghala Seeb, Oman
Architect/Designer: M/S Quad Design, London and Oman
General Contractor: M/S Tarmac Alawi
Stone Supplier/Fabricator/Installer: M/S Bramco WLL
The Grand Mosque is the central place of worship in the Sultanate of Oman and is also a center for Islamic culture, civilization and literature. With the Main Prayer Hall, a separate hall for women, and the exterior spaces, the mosque can accommodate over 20,000 worshippers, making it one of the largest in the world. Stones used throughout the complex include Navona Classico travertine, Noce travertine and Persiano. Fabrication of the mosaic panels was done in a studio in Bahrain, especially built for this construction. The panels included stones in green, beige, orange, brown, mahogany, white and yellow sourced from India, Italy, Spain and Oman.
Judges’ Comments: This project was absolutely stunning. All the materials were used in the appropriate places for the right reasons. It was a very challenging installation, and coordinating the fabrication of the panels, pavers and mosaics was a monumental task.
