The Arriscraft Advantage, Part 1: Selection & Customization
Broad style selection
While quarried stone obviously cannot be altered in terms of color, shape and profile, Calcium Silicate Masonry Units are manufactured in a vast array of designs – offering builders the dualistic advantage of performance and style.
According to Arriscraft’s Marketing Manager, Marta Zonneveld, “Even customers who have known us for decades are sometimes surprised to learn about our complete line. They often fall in love with one style of stone, I suppose because of their recurring types of projects. Some know us for our traditional stone – perhaps as home builders, while others specify a more architectural design for commercial or institutional projects.” Here are just a few Building Stone styles (from left: Shadow Stone, Old Country, Fresco and Citadel).
The product offering truly runs the gamut from historical to modern, to satisfy an equally broad range of building designs – from old-world university buildings to ultra contemporary homes. Currently, Arriscraft offers 10 Building Stone styles, in addition to Renaissance® Masonry Units and a series of Thin-Clad products.
Color and Blend Customization
While most manufactured stone products offer a broad choice of style and color, Arriscraft’s unique production process opens up opportunity for customization. Because CSMU color pigments are added during the process, each product run can be different without any set-up changes. This flexibility, plus a dedicated technical lab, has made custom orders very common with Arriscraft.
Case Study – University of Wyoming
The University of Wyoming wanted to incorporate its historical, locally sourced sandstone into the design of the new, state-of-the-art Marian H. Rochelle Gateway Center. However, with the regional quarry closed the university struggled to find a suitable ‘natural’ stone option in their signature colors.
Arriscraft worked with the university and designers to create a custom bond pattern using standard Renaissance® masonry unit colors. According to Chet Lockard (project leader at Project Guide Services), “Only Arriscraft could dial in the color we needed. We wanted to create more excitement for the Gateway Center and they have a great range of standard colors, which also saved money on the project. The best thing about Arriscraft is that it’s no different than quarried stone, but it’s more color consistent.”
Case Study – Virginia Tech
Established in 1896, Virginia Tech has a rich and unique history. In order to preserve their source of “Hokie” stone, the institution went so far as to purchase the quarry in the 1970s. But with the supply depleting (the quarry run was actually changing), administrators were faced with a finite supply.
Working closely with the school, Arriscraft masonry experts recreated the Hokie stone pattern using Cumberland Building Stone and creating the custom “Rockport Grey” color blend. A second blend includes 4-5% of Virginia Tech’s iconic, quarried black stone – for the most distinguished projects. The main Rockport Grey blend is used on university buildings, commercial buildings associated with the school, and even by some alumni for their residences – who so closely identify with their alma mater.
Arriscraft has a minimum order requirement for custom orders, however it is quite feasible even for many residential designs. While homeowners seek aesthetic and distinction, commercial designers have come to rely on Arriscraft’s custom capabilities to realize complex designs, often by solving a supply problem.
Historical Matching
Because calcium silicate masonry units have a very authentic, natural grain appearance, they are also a top candidate for use on historical projects – either for repairs and renovations or for new structures being integrated with old buildings. With the added advantage of color matching, Arriscraft Building Stone can come incredibly close to a perfect match.
Case Study – Miami University
Founded in 1809, Miami University in Ohio is one of the country’s oldest universities. With new buildings needed, the school required a more efficient and cost effective alternative to quarried stone.
Arriscraft developed a custom color of its Fresco Building Stone to create a near perfect match to the original, early 19th century stone used on campus. Although the Arriscraft stone was actually more expensive than the quarried stone, the project timing and installation costs were greatly reduced, enough to save hundreds of thousands of dollars on the project.