Pinnacle Awards

The prestigious Pinnacle Awards were handed out a few weeks ago and the architectural firm I work for, Ruscitto Latham Blanton, received an award for our design of the new Sun Valley Music Pavilion. Awards were presented to projects whose beauty, creativity, ingenuity and craftsmanship exemplify professional mastery in the use of natural stone.

The judges included:

| Christian R. Pongratz, Pongratz, Perbellini Architects, Verona, Italy |

| James Hogan, Immediate Past President, MIA, Carrara Marble Company, City of Industry, CA |

| Peter A. Follett, AIA, Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, New Haven, CT |

| David Meyer, Meyer + Silberberg Architects, Berkeley, CA |

Commercial Exterior: Award of Merit

Sun Valley Music Pavilion,

Sun Valley, ID

Project Description: Nestled against the mountains of one of the world’s premiere resort locations, the new Sun Valley Music Pavilion achieves a perfect fusion of art and nature.

To blend with its mountainous environment, split-faced Roman Travertine was selected for the majority of the stonework, while an unfilled honed finish was used on the stone caps and ends of site walls. The joints between the stones were left open to enhance the pavilion’s rugged aesthetics while also facilitating the escape of any moisture from behind the stone. The structure only incorporates one straight wall, while the rest of the walls are radial, and each one has a different radius, presenting unique fabrication challenges. All of the Travertine was cross-cut, and a typical cleft stone weighs approximately 160 pounds and is 14 5/8 x 29 5/8 inches in size. A total of 12,002 individual Travertine pieces were installed, with stone thicknesses varying from 4 to 11 cm.

A striking blend of beauty and function, this state-of-the-art facility was completed in July of 2008 and incorporates nearly 33,000 square feet of Travertine.


MIA Member Company:

KEPCO+, Salt Lake City, UT, Stone Installer


Other Project Team Members:

Sun Valley Co., Client and Owner

Ruscitto/Latham/Blanton Architectura, P.A., Architect

Intermountain Construction, Inc., General Contractor

Mariotti Carlo & Figli, S.p.A., Stone Supplier and Fabricator


Stone Used: Este Light Roman travertine