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CASE STUDY

Center for Strategic and International Studies

This project is the new headquarters for one of the leading think tanks in Washington, DC. This project has achieved LEED Platinum, one of only 4 buildings in Washington, Dc to achieve this status.The building was designed to be fully occupied by the owner. The exterior design takes some of its character from the National Gallery of Art East Wing. The exterior cladding is 2” thick Tennessee Pink marble, and the building design calls for solid 6” corners, to create massive acute angled perspectives. The elegant impeccably blended marble cladding frames the main elevation planer glass curtain wall, and at the 9th floor dramatically cuts back to form a 1,500sqft stone soffit for the directors balcony.

This 9th floor soffit spans 86’ wide without a column, and was designed for 3’ deflection. The original design called for 2” thick soffit panels, but this weigh was deemed far too heavy for the expected snow load deflections so Rugo developed a design using light weigh ¼” thick stone faced aluminum honeycomb panels to reduce the load to 7 lbs/sqft vs 35 lbs/sqft. This entire soffit deflection condition was a very unique challenge, and Rugo’s solution, to the knowledge of all the team members had never been done.

All of the arcade level column cladding is a series of parallelograms, which made all of the panel fabrication and alignment very complicated, all of the acute and obtuse angles created a zero tolerance plan configuration condition which made the fabrication and installation very challenging. Winner 2014 MIA Pinnacle Award for Excellence.

Location: Washington, DC
Completion: 2014
Owner: Center for Strategic and International Studies
Architect: Hickok Cole Architects
General Contractor: Hitt Contracting
Size:
35,000 sqft
Services: Design, Fabricate, and install interior marble walls, floors, stairs, desk

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.”

Driven by Passion. Dedicated to Excellence.

We lend a sophisticated aesthetic and world-class expertise to large scale and special projects. Clients include religious, civic, cultural and educational institutions, public agencies, private developers, major corporations, and individuals.