Rugo Stone was honored to be involved in the prestigious Founders’ Wall project at Johns Hopkins University, located in Baltimore, Maryland. The project included two highly customized stone installations—The Wyman Wall and The Founders’ Wall—both designed not only as functional architectural elements but also as sculptural enhancements to the campus.
The Founders’ Wall serves as a monumental tribute to the university’s most generous benefactors, featuring Olympian White marble walls, Mountain White marble coping, and Danby Grey marble paving. The design of the wall incorporates spiraling volute caps at both ends, reflecting classical architectural aesthetics while demonstrating Rugo Stone’s mastery of contemporary stone fabrication techniques.
The Wyman Wall, a landscape addition along a pedestrian walkway, features complex geometry, including a dramatic ramp and twist coping fabricated from Mountain White Danby marble. The coping is not simply linear but incorporates spiraling volutes at both ends. Achieving this required precision 3D modeling and CNC fabrication, followed by meticulous hand-finishing. The precision required to create compound slopes and varying radii made this aspect of the project particularly demanding, pushing the limits of both digital and manual craftsmanship.
Rugo Stone’s team played a crucial role in the early stages of the project, working alongside Olin Architects to finalize stone specifications and ensure the designs were accurately realized. The project required advanced 3D modeling and CNC fabrication technology to meet intricate design specifications. Rugo Stone’s craftsmen hand-selected blocks from Vermont Quarries, ensuring the correct range of veining and color. Every aspect of the fabrication was executed in-house, from CNC machining to hand carving.
One of the significant challenges was the Wyman Wall’s coping design, which required individual pieces to be curved both on elevation and on plan, accommodating the ramp and twist design. The coping also featured a saddleback design to allow for proper drainage. Detailed shop drawings and 3D Rhino models were created to ensure dimensional accuracy, and CNC machining required multiple setups to carve each stone face, one after the other.
Given the size and complexity of the installation, dry setting each portion of the assembly in Rugo’s shop was essential. Our team dry-set three to four pieces at a time, ensuring each stone’s elevation matched the design’s grade accurately. The pre-fitted stones were then installed on-site using a crane, in coordination with the brickwork contractor, to ensure proper alignment and stability.
The end result is two iconic features at Johns Hopkins University, blending functionality and artistry in a seamless design. The project was completed on schedule and met with high praise from the university, affirming Rugo Stone’s reputation for excellence in complex architectural stonework.
Location: Baltimore, MD
Completion Date: 2025
Owner: Johns Hopkins Facilities Design & Construction
Architect: Olin Architects
General Contractor: The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company
Services Performed: Consult, Design, Fabricate, and Install Stone. CNC & Hand Carving
