There is a key difference between cost cutting and value engineering. Cutting costs involves a decision as easy as choosing one brand over another to save a few dollars, without necessarily considering the long-term performance and outcome of the project. Value engineering, however, is a totally different discipline. This is a process that takes into account the materials, processes and products, but the end selection is made so as to achieve the desired function of the project at the lowest overall cost consistent with performance.

Recently, the process of value engineering was effectively used by Anthony Mion and Son and Einhorn, Yaffee and Prescott (EYP) Architecture during the installation of the “Wall of Memory and Hope” at the University of Albany, in Albany, NY. The project is a massive 25- x 18-foot wall designed to hold glass plaques honoring the passing of cancer victims, and the original plan was to clip and pin 35 slabs of marble measuring 1 ½ inches to the main structure. But this process, both costly and time consuming, exceeded the budget for the project by $20,000.

Anthony Mion and Son then considered using Laticrete's Latapoxy 310 Stone Adhesive, a two-component, high-strength construction epoxy adhesive for spot bonding large-format tile and stone on vertical surfaces. The idea was approved by EYP, and the costs were subsequently reduced.

“When we were confronted with this issue,” said Michael Roman, the project manager for Anthony Mion and Son, “we immediately thought of Laticrete. We do a lot of work with them, and they sent a representative right over with the new cordless mixing gun they developed.”

Anthony Mion and Son went to work redesigning the wall so that the aesthetics of the original design would not be altered. This was achieved by building a CMU block wall as the main structure, reducing the marble thickness to ¾ inch, and using Laticrete's cordless mixing gun to apply the Latapoxy 310 Stone Adhesive to the veneer of the new main structure. A major benefit of switching to the new plan was reducing the cost of labor necessary to complete the tasks. Latapoxy 310 is the fastest system available to clad vertical substrates, and is building code approved by ICC, BOCA, ICBO and SBCCI. “We were able to significantly cut labor costs, and still get more done per day,” Roman said. “We dropped the thickness of the marble, and were able to complete the job quicker and cheaper without compromising the original design.”

Located on the University of Albany Foundation's East Campus in Rensselaer, which combines university research in genomics and biomedical science with state-of-the-art technology in a new 117,000-square-foot building, The Wall of Hope and Memory was instrumental in raising the necessary funds to complete the facility.

With the marble pieces tightly adhered to the face of the block, Anthony Mion and Son finished the job off by using Laticrete's 255 MultiMax thinset mortar to wrap the sides of the wall in black granite, creating the final aesthetic. “There is a stainless steel vertical in the center and an LED light that sets up a beautiful dynamic,” said Roman. “It's just an impressive wall in an impressive lobby. The marble looks like its floating off the wall.”