Coverings Marble and Stone Awards- Part I

Orlando, FL—April 6, 2006--The $10,000 Grand Prize in this year’s Prism Stone in Architecture Awards was presented to a survivor of 9/11. The 90 West Street Building, which took a direct hit as the collapsing North Tower of the World Trade Center ripped through its granite façade, earned the distinguished honor for the impressive restoration achieved by Conventional Stone & Marble Corporation. The Prism Awards for outstanding use of marble or stone in architecture and design were announced at the Coverings tile and stone expo in Orlando. Constructed in 1905 by Cass Gilbert and known as the Coal & Iron Building, 90 West Street was designated a historic landmark in 1998 and actually was in the midst of a restoration and repurposing project for residential apartments when the fateful 2001 attack occurred. The façade is famous for its ornamentation, with sculpted busts of lions, eagles, American Indian chiefs and other symbolic Americana that all were favorites of Gilbert. Around the 18th floor of this 23-story structure he placed colonnade finials and finished the undersides of the arched windows with mosaics of yellow, green, blue and red terra cotta tile. What swayed the judges to award 90 West Street the top Prism prize was the “brilliant engineering feat” the restoration represented as timing and location constraints were overcome while preserving the historic integrity of the building all within the parameters of the Landmarks Commission. Original granite was reused wherever possible. The team developed a method of removal and reinstallation of nearly all of the north elevation. In just eight weeks that was completed, along with hand setting pieces and infill, using a panelized system. The building, always an architectural gem, has been renewed with a reverence for the original materials and now shines in lower Manhattan among a neighborhood whose destiny is still being determined. Architect Hugh Newell Jacobsen wowed the judges, taking First Prize for his design of a picturesque stone house in Snowmass Village, Aspen, CO, that the judges said “connected with the landscape and became part of the site in the most natural way.” Sandstone exterior walls lend the house a sense of performance. The palette is a deliberate choice to complement the wonderful color of the Aspen trees in the autumn months. This color coordination, both inside and outside the house, works together with a multi-pavilion plan to reduce the visual massiveness of the house and allow it to visually blend into the mountain. All of the upper level terraces are surfaced with stainless steel grating (the snow melts through it) and are framed with glass railings so as not to interrupt the phenomenal views which are fully exploited by the various terraces and cantilevered decks. Olean Stone from Denmark was client specified for all of the interior floors, while exterior walkways are paved with natural cleft Pennsylvania Bluestone. For his achievement, Jacobsen received a $2,000 cash prize along with the Prism sculpture. The Award of Merit and $1,000 was conferred upon an extraordinary yellow limestone construction dubbed “The Rain Catcher,” submitted by Nayana Currimbhoy. The gazebo-like observatory featuring four pillars topped by a dome was fabricated in India by Sana Stone and installed in Ghent, NY. It is completely modular with interlocking notched pieces that assemble on site using mortise and tenon joints. No mortar is necessary, though copper pins have been used for additional security. The lintels, which hold up the dome, distribute the weight to the columns and then to the foundation. To add to its mystique, the yellow limestone turns golden when wet. “This is a wonderful garden folly that proves simplicity can be satisfying,” commented the judges. More Prism Awards in story continuation...

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