2010 Pinnacle Awards: Intercontinental Excellence
Grande Pinnacle Award
Fortaleza Hall and Commons Building
Racine, Wis.
Click photo to enlargeStone Supplier, Stone Fabricator: Mankato Kasota Stone Inc., Mankato, Minn. (honoree, MIA member)
Client: S.C. Johnson
Architect: Foster + Partners
Architect of Record: A. Epstein & Sons
General Contractor: Gilbane Building Co.
Stone Installer: Arteaga Construction
Stone: Dolomitic limestone, Kasota Rose Blend limestone
Built as a tribute to the late SC Johnson company leader Sam Johnson and his father, H.F. Johnson Jr., the hall features dolomitic limestone from the same quarry tapped by Frank Lloyd Wright for copings at the company’s famous Administration Building. It’s part of the architectural team’s desire to honor and incorporate Wright’s design principles, such as bull-nosed curves on the end of the building, while still maintaining a modern design.
Click photo to enlargeThe Commons building has a stone mass that curves around to envelope the east side of the glass pavilion. It uses solid Kasota stone walls and forms a visual separateness to the steel and glass structure of the hall.
Award of Excellence | Commercial Interior
Tesoro Headquarters
San Antonio
Click photo to enlargeStone Supplier: TexaStone Quarries, Garden City, Texas (honoree, MIA member)
Owner: Patrinely Group LLC
Design Firm: Gensler
Landscape Architect: Clark Condon Associates
Civil Engineer: Pape Dawson Engineers Inc.
General Contractor: D.E. Harvey Builders
Stone Installer: American Stone Company of Texas LP
Stone: Texas Pearl limestone, Texas Hadrian limestone, Permian Sea Coral limestone, Breche Oriental marble.
The design for the new corporate-campus headquarters used local Texas materials to both reinforce the regional flavor and target a sustainable design goal of LEED® Silver certification. Native Texas Pearl limestone highlights major architectural features on both the exterior and interior of the project; a limestone structure forms the main “Stonehenge” entrance and leads into the grand double-height lobby that connects two buildings.
Click photo to enlargeAlso accented in limestone are the employee entrance from the outdoor courtyard and a dramatic “architectural slot” that extends 14 stories high along the building’s side and is visible from the highway. A stunning three-level monumental stair is one of the campus’ most spectacular design features, with an elliptical shape to mimic the curves of the building, which includes Permian Sea Coral limestone floors.