CASE STUDY

Dewey Ballentine LLP

Upon entering the lobby of the Dewey Ballantine law offices, located inside of the Carroll Square building in the heart of downtown Washington, DC, guests are exposed to a simply designed lobby with visually stunning features. Throughout the project, our Company worked diligently with Studios Architects to choose a color scheme that would achieve a clean, welcoming, and visually stunning appearance to visitors of the building.

The most significant and most intriguing feature of the lobby is the Noir St. Laurent Feature wall. This wall, which stands 18’ x 24’. The panels are enormous, roughly 9’ long x 4’ wide, and they were fabricated and installed in a diamond book match pattern, using only 1/16” joints. The challenge here was to find a block that would allow for a beautiful book match pattern and include the highest amount of red veining available in Noir St. Laurent. To complete the wall, the block was specially picked in Italy, with the help of the quarrier, the owner, the architect, and our Company’s President/Owner. Due to the large piece sizes, there was virtually no waste, so the block and the resulting slabs had to be perfect in color and vein character.

Located directly in front of the feature wall stands the elliptical staircase made of Corinthian Beige Mable. What makes this staircase so unique is that each cubic stair tread is individually supported. Due to the design of the geometry, each tread is a separate piece size and configuration. The landing is also one solid 4” thick panel roughly 8’x6’. To accomplish such a unique design, our team and the Steel contractor worked hand in hand to coordinate each element of the project. The outer part of the cubic tread is cantilevered beyond the steel support system and is integrated with the baluster system. The railing posts penetrate each stair tread, and a load of weight is shifted to steel brackets located on the underside of each tread. The exceptional craftsmanship of this staircase allows for the stairs to look as though they are floating in the air. This precise fabrication was achieved through diligence and cooperation from the steel contractor, the general contractor, and our team. At the bottom of the elliptical stairs sits a visually stunning raised plinth. This plinth, constructed of Noir St. Laurent, carries the same radii as the elliptical staircase.

Corinthian Beige marble was also used for the paving within the Dewey Ballantine lobby, and at the reception desk. A total of approximately 4500 square feet of Corinthian Beige marble was used to complete this lobby. Winner 2007 MIA Award of merit for Interior Stone.

Location: Washington, DC
Completion: 2007
Owner: Akridge
Architect: Studios Architecture
General Contractor: James G. Davis Construction
Size: 35,000 sqft
Services: Design, fabricate book matched marble in Rugo’s factory, installation

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From Our Clients:

“What a great experience! Every interaction from the first visit to the final inspection was professional and service oriented. They took the time to help us find the perfect stone and then had an installation team that was extremely detail-oriented and friendly. I know they do larger projects than ours but they made us feel very appreciated. Thank you to Brett Rugo, Sam Arcot and the rest of the team!  We would most certainly use and recommend you again!!”

“Your mason was an artist and a master craftsman! Wow — he really did an amazing job on our challenging project!”

“When I was a little boy, my parents and grandparents taught me five principles: Honor, Dignity, Respect, Integrity, and Passion. Very very few have all five. My dear friend Brett not only has those qualities and values––he defines them.”

“One of the things that impressed me so much about Brett, his meticulousness, his desire, his passion to do it right the first time.”

“I know how meticulous [Brett] is in his craftsmanship. That’s really a dying art, not just in the stone business, or my business, but throughout the construction industry.”

“I think Brett is the most knowledgeable guy that I know in the stone business and is extremely passionate about the stone industry. He’s taught me a great deal––by taking me to stone quarries, explaining everything from installation to fabrication. He’s just been a walking book of knowledge on stone.”

“With Rugo Stone and with Brett Rugo, you’ll have someone who is reliable, thorough, dedicated, efficient, and will work to perfection. He will not stop until everything is done the way it’s supposed to be done. Brett is one of those individuals who, whenever you ask for something, he comes through on it, and he is willing and able to please.”

“Brett is a driven individual, and so therefore, he has wanted to make sure that everything he does is done just right.”

“Brett has thankfully achieved a great name for himself and for his company, and he is known for his quality, craftsmanship work, that no matter where he goes, no matter what he does, it’s going to be done to perfection.”

“We can judge the tree by the fruit it bears, and this holds true for Rugo Stone. The work speaks for itself, and it is pretty exceptional. The entire organization has a real commitment to quality, from the shop drawings, to engineering, material sourcing, fabrication, and then installation, and that commitment is reflected in the end result.”

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