Pinnacle Awards Point to Stone’s Excellence
Commercial Interior – Award of Merit
District Attorney’s Office Building
Riverside, Calif.
Click photo to enlargeStone Installer/Fabricator: SMG Stone Company Inc., Sun Valley, Calif. (MIA honoree)
Architect: Langdon Wilson Architects
General Contractor: Snyder Langston
Stone Supplier/Fabricator: Morgan Italia S.R.L.
Stone: Antiqued Turkish Classic travertine, Sunset Beige granite, Impala Black granite, Black Absolute granite
For the nine-story building – the first high rise to be built in downtown Riverside in more than 20 years – the six stone columns feature mechanically attached Antiqued Turkish Classic travertine in pieces ranging from 3’ to almost 7’ high to create one column from floor to ceiling. Interior floor paving is a combination of Sunset Beige granite and Impala Black granite with sizes ranging from 3’ to 6’ and 1-1/4” thick. The rotunda pavers are on a radius design using the same granite as the interior floor. The solid round corner pieces incorporated with the elevator lobby walls are of Antiqued Turkish Classic travertine.
Click photo to enlarge
A challenge included the polished Black Absolute Granite 30’ reception desk and base which followed the radius of the lobby. SMG matched the joints on the face of the reception desk to the joints on the pavers. The lobby benches are composed of polished Black Absolute granite and the custom display pedestals are Polished Absolute Black granite. Other challenges include design change and a tight construction schedule.
Commercial Interior – Award of Merit
Mr. Chow
South Beach, Fla.
Click photo to enlargeStone Supplier/Fabricator/Installer: Marmol Export U.S.A., Miami (MIA honoree)
General Contractor/Client: KM-Plaza Construction Services
Architects: Flex Design Inc., Lor PA
Design: M Chow Design Group
Stone: Crema Beida limestone
The project involved using only one type of material; a light-cream-colored limestone. Crema Beida from Spain was chosen and had to be special ordered from the quarry to fulfill the specifications of the owners. The design of the location had to observe the rules of feng shui; the tiles used for the floor and columns had to be special ordered to the dimensions required to satisfy both good gortune and a balance of Ying and Yang in Chinese numerology. The floor tiles measure exactly 26” X 26”; as the sound of the number 26, in Chinese, translatedto “easily profitable.” The column tiles were cut to 17” X 17” in order to accommodate the request that the columns be split to show three rows running up and down. The numbers 1, 3, and 7 represent unity, growth, and certainty, respectively. It was noticed that the summation of the numbers in the tiles (2+6 and 1+7) equal 8, which is considered the most powerful lucky number.
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Another unique aspect of the project is the column design, with tiles set to create a monochromatic checkerboard pattern and every other tile raised to create a relief effect. Also, the edges of the columns were covered with a rounded edge to eliminate all corners. Both the relief effect and rounded edges are a way to keep good energy (ch’i) from leaving or dispersing, forcing it to bounce back and flow continuously.
