2015 MIA Pinnacle Awards of Merit
Pinnacle Award of Merit: Commercial / Exterior
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MIA Member Company: Dee Brown, Inc. Garland, Texas Stone Erector Other Project Team Members: Gensler Architect Houston Museum of Client Linbeck Construction Co. General Contractor World Wide Stone Corporation IMC Stone Suppliers/Fabricators Stone: Mexican Travertine Absolute Black Granite |
Dee Brown, Inc.
Garland, Texas
Houston Museum of Natural Science
Houston, Texas
The Houston Museum of Natural Science has been a significant part of Houston’s cultural and educational fabric since 1909, having hosted millions of visitors. The current campus was opened in 1969, and several renovations and significant additions have updated the institution over its history. The most recent addition adds roughly 230,000 square feet of space dedicated to a paleontology theme.
It was decided that the façade material on the addition should be in keeping with the cladding on the adjacent existing building. A search was begun to seek out a suitable travertine material as the major cladding component. Varying size formats, thicknesses, and configurations were explored. Honeycomb-backed panels were found to be at too high a price point. Several travertine possibilities were eliminated due to cost, issues with physical properties, and availability of sufficient quantities.
Ultimately, the search led to the selection of vein-cut travertine sourced from Mexico. It was also decided that a granite base would be complementary, and Absolute Black was selected for that component. Stone panels were configured in several size formats, with the larger size range being around 5 feet 9 inches x 4 feet 5 inches and produced in a thickness of 6 cm. Stone was largely erected on aluminum anchors, which were supplied in continuous lengths. This anchorage method worked well with the engineering requirements associated with the backup wall, and also served to increase the erection rate of the stonework.
Prior to mobilizing for erection, there was significant time associated with finalizing material selections, processing shop drawings, generating engineering submittals, and tracking material production. Once erection began, a moderate-size crew spent roughly five months onsite to complete stone installation. All told, the exterior stone skin elements totaled roughly 21,000 square feet.
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The most recent addition to the Houston Museum of Natural Science adds 230,000 square feet. Vein-cut travertine, sourced from Mexico, with Absolute Black granite selected as the base makes a striking contrast. For this project, stone panels were configured in several size formats, with the larger size range being around 5 feet 9 inches x 4 feet 5 inches and produced in a thickness of 6 cm, erected on aluminum anchors. |
Pinnacle Award of Merit: Commercial / Exterior
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MIA Member Company: Dee Brown, Inc. Garland, Texas Stone Erector Other Project Team Members: HKS Architect Tarrant County Civil Courthouse Fort Worth, Texas Client Yates/Vendigm JV General Contractor Coldspring (MIA Member Company) Mezger Enterprises Stone Suppliers/Fabricators Stone: Sunset Red Granite |
Dee Brown, Inc.
Garland, Texas
Tarrent County Civil Courthouse
Fort Worth, Texas
The Tarrant County Civil Courthouse occupies a full city block and continues the expansion of the courts and municipals area of downtown Fort Worth. The design basis yields a relevant building complementary to adjacent structures, while displaying unique design character.
Elevations utilize granite as the key finish, with complimentary brickwork. Typical elevations begin with granite base panels of 2 inches and greater thickness. Continuing above are granite field panels, ledges, column wraps and copings. Significant to the design are the varied planes that create reveals and shadow lines.
The west elevation serves as the main entrance, and utilizes special features. Its curved facade begins with pitched-faced granite bellied-out to emulate cubic stonework common to historic Texas courthouses. Another configuration of granite panels in 8 x 2 feet creates a vertical visual element, and serve to border the radial portion of the west main entry.
Also utilized on the west elevation are two historic carved limestone angels. These historic elements were removed years earlier from an adjacent courthouse by the same stone contractor. The angels reuse required exploratory work to establish a restoration protocol to remove layers of paint, caulking, and decades of pollution. Some re-fabrication was also required.
Erection of the facades was challenging. The sidewalk-to-sidewalk construction inherently involved constraints. The varied planes as well as tolerance issues of backup walls resulted in use of more than 500 different custom anchors. The installation of the historic angels required a special crane permit and leave-out of the structure above to accomplish erection of the cubic limestone pieces into their recesses.
All told, the stone subcontractor’s onsite erection of the exterior skin materials spanned roughly 15 months and encompassed 57,000 square feet of completed stonework, not counting around 87,000 square feet of brickwork, interior stonework, and concrete blockwork completed by the same subcontractor.
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Also utilized on the west elevation are two historic carved limestone angels.These historic elements were removed years earlier from an adjacent courthouse by the same stone contractor. Reusing the angels required exploratory work to establish a restoration protocol to remove layers of paint, caulking, and decades of pollution. |
Pinnacle Award of Merit – Commercial Exterior
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MIA Member Company: Las Vegas Rock Jean, Nevada Stone Supplier | Stone Fabricator Other Project Team Members: The City of Palo Alto, CA Client Group 4 Architecture Architect Flintco Construction General Contractor International Tile Stone Installer Stone: Metaquartzite |
Dee Brown, Inc.
Garland, Texas
Mitchell Park Library
Palo Alto, California
The Mitchell Park Library is 56,332 square feet of new construction on approximately 3.4 acres in a community park in Palo Alto, California. The approximately 40,000 square foot library is the newest and largest of six libraries in the Palo Alto City Library system.
Recognizing the potential for a more sustainable service model, the city of Palo Alto’s Library and Community Services departments developed an innovative and robust “omni-channel” vision of enhanced service in a shared destination for civic, cultural, educational, social, and recreational experiences.
To support this new vision, the city sought to replace its library and community center buildings with a new joint-use facility. Appropriateness, quality, and durability of materials were key. This project was designed to serve the community for generations. The building envelope is clad in stone, standing-seam metal, stucco, and other long-lasting materials.
The green roofs are designed to insulate the building, and are planted with grasses and drought-tolerant materials that require little supplemental water. Materials such as Las Vegas Rock’s Desert Blend metaquartzite stone cladding are regionally sourced, meeting LEED-NC’s standards of extraction. The project represents more than a decade of collaborative community-based planning.
The design process included multiple collaborative workshops with the design team, consultants, and client representatives to incorporate innovative and proven design strategies and systems for a high-performance, sustainably designed facility. The Mitchell Park Library and Community Center not only incorporates, but also strives to educate the community about strategies to conserve resources, protect ecosystems, and enhance the human experience. Environmental sustainability underpins every aspect of the project’s design.
Pinnacle Award of Merit – Commercial Exterior
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MIA Member Company: PICCO Engineering Concord, Ontario, Canada Stone Engineer Other Project Team Members: United Nations. Ark of Return New York, New York Client / Owner Rodney Leon Architects Architect Corsani Studios Master Craftsman Union Marble & Granite Stone Fabricator Precision Stone, Inc. (MIA Member Company) General Contractor / Stone Supplier ABC Worldwide Stone, Inc. Stone Supplier Stones: Olympia Danby Marble Mountain White Danby Marble Black Absolute Zimbabwe Granite |
PICCO Engineering
Concord, Ontario, Canada
United Nations, Ark of Return
New York, New York
The first permanent memorial erected at the United Nations in New York City, the Ark of Return is a touching tribute to the men, women, and children of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. It was erected to “acknowledge the tragedy and consider the legacy lest we forget.”
Shaped out of gleaming white marble to represent a vessel, it symbolizes a slave ship that has “returned” to stand as a reminder for future generations to never repeat this tragedy.
Various design elements incorporate facets of the voyage from Africa across the ocean. The triangular entrance of the structure into the interior space symbolizes the “Door of No Return” in the slave castle located on Gorée Island, Senegal, West Africa, where countless enslaved Africans were taken, against their will, and pushed upon the ships to endure the Middle Passage across the ocean, never to return again.
Visitors to the memorial are reminded of the horrific conditions that millions experienced on their journeys. A carving on one of the interior stone panels depicts the haunting interior of a typical slave ship. A map is also carved into the stone in the interior space depicting the triangular slave trade and those various routes across the Atlantic. As such, numerous triangular patterns of marble comprise the structure itself.
A full-scale hand-carved figure with outstretched hand made from Black Absolute Zimbabwe Granite, combined with its white hand-carved marble “robe” is a touching reminder of the humanistic element. It is fitting, therefore, that master carvers spent hours carving this “Trinity Figure” that embodies the spirits of the men, women and children that have perished. A tear flows from its eye that fills a white marble pool, utilizing water as a cleansing and spiritual element. Visitors to this stone Ark can thereby reflect on its return, which symbolizes a proud victory for the enslaved souls of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.
Pinnacle Award of Merit: Renovation | Restoration
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MIA Member Company: Rugo Stone Lorton, Virginia Stone Supplier, Fabricator, Other Project Team Members: Cosmos Club Client Turner Contracting Co. General Contractor Stones: Bianco P Marble Campan Vert Marble Antique Virginia Soapstone |
Rugo Stone
Lorton, Virginia
Cosmos Club – Historic Fireplace
Washington, D.C.
This wonderfully-executed fireplace surround was carved over 100 years ago. At some point in the time of the Cosmos Club’s existence, the fireplace was dismantled and casually stored in the crawl space below the private club’s main level. A building manager discovered it and asked Rugo Stone to help salvage and restore the fireplace to its original grandeur.
Rugo Stone’s team entered the three-foot crawl space and carefully removed the pieces, which were covered with dirt and filth. Adding to the challenge was the fact that there were no drawings to identify the piece locations in the assembled fireplace, creating a puzzle. The pieces were taken to the studio at Rugo Stone and dry set to determine what was missing and what needed to be re-carved.
After five weeks of careful and intensive cleaning, technicians were able to remove almost all of the filth and refinish the marble to bring back the bright white luster hidden beneath decades worth of dirt. The stone was identified and re-carved using Bianco and marble from Rugo Stone’s inventory of rare and precious stones.
The hearth was broken into many pieces, requiring it to be reassembled, cleaned, and re-polished. New pieces of a rare French marble, Campan Vert, were required to complete the hearth. Again, the match was found in Rugo Stone’s inventory of rare stones. The firebox itself was originally built in Virginia soapstone, which had to be cleaned and restored.
Rugo Stone’s skilled masons performed the installation of the marble and decorative cast iron surround in its original location in the main foyer of this grand traditional building. The result is that a classic treasure of marble craftsmanship has been saved and restored for many to enjoy for years to come.
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In this project, the historic hearth was broken into many pieces, requiring it to be reassembled, cleaned, and re-polished. It required new pieces of a rare French marble, Campan Vert to complete the hearth. |
Pinnacle Award of Merit: Commercial Interior
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MIA Member Company: Kenneth Castellucci & Assoc. Lincoln, Rhode Island Stone Supplier | Stone Fabricator Stone Installer Other Project Team Members: Shawmut Design & Construction General Contractor Brennan Beer Gorman Architect Northwood Hospitality Owner Euromarble Srl (MIA Member Company) Stone Fabricator Stone Suppliers Stones: Bianco Carrara Marble Nero Marquina Marble Rosso Verona Marble Salome Marble Port Laurent Marble Limestone Chenille Portoro Marble Belgian Petit Granit Calacatta Borghini Marble |
Kenneth Castellucci & Associates
Lincoln, R.I.
The New York Palace Hotel
New York, New York
In 1882, Henry Villard, one of the nation’s most prominent railroad financiers, commissioned McKim, Mead & White Architects to create a residence at 455 Madison Avenue, New York, New York.
These structures became known as the Villard Houses. The structures and land eventually became the property of the Archdiocese of New York. In 1970, the Archdiocese sold the property to Harry B. Helmsley, who successfully managed to blend a contemporary 55-story hotel tower with the existing historic Villard Houses. It was called the Helmsley Palace. Today known as The New York Palace Hotel, this landmark New York City luxury hotel has become the premier venue for weddings, business gatherings, and social events. The hotel was owned by Northwood Hospitality, who in 2013 commissioned the all-encompassing $140 million dollar renovation to upgrade the public spaces and guest rooms. The process was undertaken while the hotel was fully operational. The intent was to incorporate modern design elements, state of the art technology, and new accents that would match and enhance the existing appointments of this stunning architectural masterpiece. The lobby spaces were transformed by using natural stone. The walls and portals are trimmed in molded and carved classic white marble and the floors are inlaid with intricate broad sweeping repeating patterns using multiple colors of richly contrasting marbles. Through this perfect blend of past and present, the legacy of this historic New York City hotel continues, providing guests with a distinctive experience at a truly iconic luxury New York hotel. Early in 2015, the hotel was sold to Lotte, a Korean company. The name is now Lotte New York Palace.
The Slippery Rock Gazette congratulates all the recipients of the Pinnacle Awards.
We will wrap up our coverage with these three international projects and more, next month:
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Top Left: Commercial / InteriorPICCO EngineeringConcord, Ontario, Canada Project: Canadian Museum of Human RightsWinnipeg, Manitoba, Canada |
Top Center: Commercial / InteriorGrassi Pietre SrlNanto, VI, Italy Project: Zýme WineryCariano, Italy |
Top Right: Commercial / ExteriorEclad LimitedDublin, Ireland Project: Eaton HouseDublin, Ireland |
For complete coverage of the 2015 Pinnacle Awards visit www.marble-institute.com/awards/pinnacle-awards.