Masonry Variations wins PRISM award

Masonry Construction, July-August, 2004 by Ron Holzhauer

The Stone Curtain portion of the Masonry Variations exhibit at the National Building Museum, Washington, D.C., received the 2004 "PRISM Stone in Architecture Grand Prize." The award honors outstanding examples of architectural achievement in the use of natural stone.

Collaborators on the Stone Curtain portion of Masonry Variations were Jeanne Gang, AIA, principal of Studio Gang Architects, Chicago, and IMI Special Projects Coordinator Matthew Redabaugh. Their translucent marble curtain of 600 interlocking pieces hung in tension from the vaulted gallery. Seeking to demonstrate the delicate balance between material and shape, they transformed classic marble into a new, translucent blend of stone by combining it with woven glass fiber and resin, and cutting it into thin--yet immeasurably strong--puzzle shapes and joining the pieces together.

The Masonry Variations exhibit explored the possible future applications of stone, brick, terrazzo, and autoclaved aerated concrete. It also underscored the value of designer/craftworker collaboration.

The exhibit was sponsored by the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers and the International Masonry Institute.