For its work on behalf of Denver’s World Trade Center Plaza, Design Workshop received the Prism Award of Merit and $1,000 cash prize in the commercial category at Coverings O6 expo in Orlando.
Granite was the material of choice for this landscaping assignment because it so effectively endures the harsh climates with its high compressive and flexural strength. The extensive color options were another plus for granite, allowing the formation of a pattern of vibrant color blocks inspired by Piet Mondrian’s paintings.
The plaza palette is gold, black and green granite, and it’s a “user friendly” composition that encourages tenants to sit and enjoy the outdoors area for lunch, impromptu meetings and people-watching. Every piece of the split-faced wall was matched by hand, leaving no sawn edges exposed. As the judges remarked, “It is a fresh, elegant and simple solution to an otherwise mundane urban plaza.”
The recent expansion of the Albuquerque Museum of Art & History has yielded a stunning study in stone and a First Prize Prism Award plus $2,000 cash prize for Rocky Mountain Stone’s involvement in the project.
A variety of materials including travertine stone, copper, colorful stucco and glass contributed to creating a fresh new identity for the museum which is nearly three decades old. There was a strong integration of the building’s design and the materials with the local landscape and it successfully complements the expanded sculpture garden, as well. The judges found “bold, inventive, dynamic counterpoints of texture and modern form” throughout the project.
Inside and out, stone was instrumental in the design of the Michigan Hall of Justice in Lansing, MI, and this outstanding example was acknowledged with the Award of Merit going to the Miami-based architectural firm Spillis Candela DMJM.
The six-story buff colored Indiana limestone building with its gently curved façade and arcades defines a generous civic plaza. Black granite forms the base at ground level. More than 14,000 decorative cut panels were used, including 42-inch diameter solid pieces for the entry columns. Above the front entrance, the shallow glass dome caps the Supreme Court lobby. Interior lobby spaces were designed to incorporate a spirally radiating checkerboard stone paving.
The pattern is a contemporary interpretation of the stone flooring across the way in the State Capitol building. It was formed by alternating pieces of a select grade of white Callacata marble from Italy and Black Pearl granite quarried in Angola. As the judges noted, “It is classic use of material. Simple and elegant.”
A Special Award of Merit for Detail and $1,000 were presented to Rugo Stone, LLC, Natural Stone & Mosaic Contractors of Lorton, VA, for its installation work on the Commodore Uriah P. Levy Center in Annapolis, MD. “This is a brilliant use of multiple finishes to create an exiting look in shear walls,” explained the judges. A massive amount of Jerusalem Stone was used in this project in a variety of unique ways.
The concept was to create a scaled down 1,500 sq. ft. replica of the sacred Wailing Wall of Jerusalem and chapel. A variety of hand-chiseled finishes that the architect saw in the original were skillfully recreated by the fabricator in Israel and also on site by DC-area stone masons.
Additional Jerusalem Stone was used for 3,000 sq. ft. of wainscot around the chapel and 8,750 sq. ft. of radical-cut-to-size flooring reminiscent of the outdoor areas near the Holy Land site. The greatest challenge in installation was to master the large amount of mosaic used in the chapel, including 700 sq. ft. on the inside of the dome ceiling. Additionally, 2,500 sq. ft. of mosaic was used in the flooring, and there are two artistic mosaic medallions decorating the altar, as well.
