The mark of justice is made with stone

摘要

Designed to uphold the values of justice, strength and security, split-faced blocks of Hillsboro limestone were specified for the Bernalillo County Courthouse in Albuquerque, NM. The limestone blocks, which are accented by a band of split-faced blocks of Desert Gold travertine, were used for the lower portion of the building as well as the arched porticoes that run the length of its perimeter.The desire for a courthouse that would properly portray a sense of justice could only be attained through stonework, according to Project Superintendent Jessie Sadillo of Beaty Construction, Inc. in Albuquerque, NM. The limestone pieces employed for the exterior of the building, range from 15 to 40 inches in length and are 9 (5/8) to 12 inches in height. The stone pieces were first split to a depth of 5 (1/4) inches, and then sawn to 2 (1/2)-inch-thick pieces. This process created a split-face with a sawn back, explained Scott Lardner, president of Rocky Mountain Stone Co. in Albuquerque, NM, which fabricated and supplied the stone. "Since the depth of the stone is only 2 (1/2)-inch sawn back split-face, we saved on a lot of weight," said Lardner. The travertine pieces range from 12 to 32 inches in length, and are 4 inches in height.