Founded in 1938, the Cathedral of St. Thomas More underwent a renovation in 2023 to celebrate 50 years as a diocese. Architect Jim O’Brien of O’Brien and Keane Architecture and the Diocese of Arlington brought Rugo Stone on board to perform the stonework in this massive renovation project.
Rugo stone’s scope included the following items – Marble Altars, Ambo, Altar rail, Sanctuary Platform, steps, risers, paving, Cathedra (the Bishop’s Chair), Deacon’s benches, Tabernacle and a Marble Baptismal font. The scope also included the Sanctuary granite cladding on screen wall and a limestone pedestal base for an existing statue. The stonework in this project involved massive and complex stone production and field coordination for installation.
The main & the rear altar, altar rail, ambries, ambo, baptismal font, all were made in Bianco Carrara marble with Azul Macaubus waterjet cut inlays and received highly ornate carvings and classical moldings. First choice blocks of Bianco Carrara were hand selected from the Campanili quarry in Carrara, we prepared very detailed set of shop drawings along with 3D Rhino models for the various elements of the custom tracery and molding pieces. Then the blocks were cut, carved in CNC machines followed by elaborate hand carving by our artisans.
The “cathedra,” which is the bishop’s chair features a Coat of Arm intricate artwork marble inlay made with waterjet cut, tiny, delicate pieces of various colors, and sandblasted engraving of text. The Sanctuary floor is completely decorated with stone. The floor is Bianco Carrara with accents of Azul Macaubus. The floor borders and risers are made of Bardiglio Marble. The entire floor was dry laid in Italy at the factory, blended and approved. Azul Macaubus used in every single assembly in this project had to be immaculate, with no inclusions or defects and the range of the stone was very challenging. Our team laid out each slab used for the accents, selecting the best parts of the slabs to use for various elements.
Rugo Stone surveyed field conditions and recorded As-built elevations for the sanctuary reredos wall Woodbury granite cladding, and cut in Rugo shop, every piece was dry laid on the shop floor to ensure dimensional accuracy, alignments and to confirm opening dimensions match field conditions. Dry laying this massive, 39 feet x 39 feet in the shop was extremely challenging to do, while keeping the shop operations running smoothly.
Each piece of stone produced for the project was dry laid at the factories as well as at Rugo Stone Shop to ensure accuracy and alignment of profiles. All the assemblies involved extensive engineering. Installation in the field was a massive undertaking; extensive chain fall rigs and scaffolding were built for the installation. The project was a huge success, the Diocese and the architect were extremely pleased with Rugo Stone’s performance on this massive project. This project has a truly complex design on a massive scale, with use of so many different marbles and custom liturgical elements, creating a real challenge in coordination of materials, fabrication and installation. But our team proudly executed this project with perfection, precision and on schedule.
Location: Arlington, VA
Completion Date: 2024
Owner: Catholic Diocese of Arlington
Architect: O’Brien & Keane
General Contractor: Forrester
Size: 2,976 sqft
Services Performed: Consult, Design, Fabricate, and Install Stone. CNC & Hand carving, Waterjet Inlays
