Project: West Memorial Place Phase II
>>> West Memorial Place Phase II is the second building of a Class A office development situated on twelve acres at one of the preeminent international locations for businesses in Houston. Phase II is a fourteen story 340,000 sq. ft. LEED Platinum office building with an adjacent eight story parking garage. The development contains on site dining, easy access to I-10 and is adjacent to Terry Hershey Park which connects to over 50 miles of hike and bike trails. It is truly an environment where tenants can work and play.
Camarata Masonry Systems, Ltd. (CMS) was responsible for the stone scope which included shop drawings and the supply and installation of 1,730 sq. ft. of 2 cm polished Blue de Savoie marble interior wall cladding, 755 sq. ft. of 2 cm polished Super White Carrara C marble interior wall cladding, 7,500 sq. ft. of 2 cm honed Super White Carrara C marble interior paving and 250 sq. ft. of 1 cm honed Super White Carrara C marble tile paving for the elevator cabs. Additionally, CMS supplied and installed 3,650 sq. ft. of 3 cm thermal finished Silver Cloud granite exterior paving.
The architect and owner chose a unique combination of materials for this project. They selected Super White Carrara C marble with a consistent white background and a borderline exotic material, Blue de Savoie marble, with a highly variegated blue-gray pattern. The tight range required by the owner and architect made the acquisition process for both materials extremely challenging. The range review in Italy for the Blue de Savoie marble and the Super White Carrara C marble was critical in demonstrating the full characteristics of each material while defining the desires of the architect and owner. CMS carefully bracketed the color and veining characteristics such that its fabricator fully understood the project’s expectations.
In addition to the difficulty experienced with the Blue de Savoie’s wide range of color and veining characteristics, the small French quarry offered limited availability. This, coupled with the current high demand for this material made the acquisition process precarious. However, the Blue de Savoie marble provided the exact look that the architect desired for the interior wall cladding. As such, CMS expended considerable time and effort to control the acquisition process and adhere to the tight range approved for this material.
Another complicating factor to the stone supply component of this job is the current high worldwide demand for all white marbles which has reduced the availability of material that was once easily obtainable. Because of the relative small quantity (755 sq. ft.) and the importance to the project, the architect was able to personally select the specific Super White Carrara C marble slabs to be used for the elevator lobby accent wall during the range review in Italy. The range for the paving was expanded slightly, with the insistence that the background of the honed material be as white as possible. Due to the project’s strict color constraints, there was a substantial amount of material rejected during the selection process, simply due to not being white enough. Ultimately, after reviewing and acquiring several blocks, CMS was able to procure enough material for the 7,500 sq. ft. of lobby paving.
As the final component, CMS installed 3 cm thermal finish Silver Cloud granite exterior paving at the areaway outside the front entrance and as a border adjacent to the curtainwall perimeter and the connecting link extending to the parking garage.
While the project has a very clean and uncomplicated design, the material procurement and quality control were difficult. Ultimately, the materials were appropriately controlled, expertly and safely installed on schedule. The end result is a well-executed, highly efficient state-of-the-art facility which will serve the Energy Corridor for decades to come.