White Marble Cladding

Illithid Dude · #1 Posted **Mar 30, 2012, 2:32 AM**

I was just thinking today, how many high rises are clad completely in white shiny marble? I can think of two. Can anyone think of more? And are any of them modern?

The two I can think of:

The Standard Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles

Head quarters for Oxy Oil (I think that is what they are called) on Wilshire.

LMich · #2 Posted **Mar 30, 2012, 7:14 AM**

I'm sure there are plenty of high-rises clad in white marble, at least partially. Anyway, the UAW-Ford National Programs Center in downtown Detroit:

Veteran's Memorial Building by MI SHPO, on Flickr

Detroit's city hall, nearby, is also faced on its blank walls with white marble.

CGII · #3 Posted **Mar 30, 2012, 9:50 AM**

The obvious king of marble clad skyscrapers, though it was replaced in the 90s because cladding buildings in marble is generally a terrible idea.

artificeimages.com

DrNest · #4 Posted **Mar 30, 2012, 10:31 AM**

Another biggie that has since been reclad is First Canadian Place in Toronto.

DecoJim · #5 Posted **Mar 30, 2012, 7:49 PM**

Detroit's 28 story Fisher Building used to qualify but unlike the Standard Oil / Aon building in Chicago, the Fisher still has its marble cladding. Unfortunately it as aged from white to tan in color.

As you can see from the following close-up picture, a replacement piece of marble is white but the original material is dimmed with age.

Photo Credit: Me / Flickr

If you look closely at the following picture, you can see a few more white replacement marble pieces.

It has been claimed that with 325,000 square feet of exterior marble, the Fisher is the largest remaining marble clad commercial building in the world.

Steely Dan · #6 Posted **Mar 30, 2012, 8:57 PM**

^ wow, i never realized the fisher building was clad with marble. given it's coloring, i had always just assumed it was limestone, just like every single other building from that era with that stone color. that's truly interesting, thanks for the knowledge.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CGII

artificeimages.com

damn, big stan was such a beast back in the day. it doesn't look anywhere close to as freakishly tall these days due to all of its more recent neighbors. illinois center/lakeshore east & streeterville have grown so much; it downright absurd to think about the time-life building being visible from grant park back in the day.

vandelay · #7 Posted **Mar 30, 2012, 10:06 PM**

GM Building:

Illithid Dude · #8 Posted **Mar 31, 2012, 1:22 AM**

Sorry, I should clarify. I know many buildings are clad in marble, but often that marble is rough to the touch or dull to the eye. I was referring to particularly shiny marble cladding, marble that was polished to a sheen.

Cleveland Brown · #9 Posted **Mar 31, 2012, 1:52 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by DecoJim

Detroit's 28 story Fisher Building used to qualify but unlike the Standard Oil / Aon building in Chicago, the Fisher still has its marble cladding. Unfortunately it as aged from white to tan in color.

As you can see from the following close-up picture, a replacement piece of marble is white but the original material is dimmed with age.

It has been claimed that with 325,000 square feet of exterior marble, the Fisher is the largest remaining marble clad commercial building in the world.

I'll admit that I've never looked that closely at the Fisher building and I'm surprised that it's clad in marble. I always assumed that it was clad in the typical limestone. I guess you learn something new everyday!

Cleveland Brown · #10 Posted **Mar 31, 2012, 2:18 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Illithid Dude

Sorry, I should clarify. I know many buildings are clad in marble, but often that marble is rough to the touch or dull to the eye. I was referring to particularly shiny marble cladding, marble that was polished to a sheen.

Cleveland's PNC Center (formerly the National City Center) is kind of shiny white marble.

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PNC_Center_(Cleveland)

Cleveland Brown · #11 Posted **Mar 31, 2012, 2:25 AM**

Chase Tower (formerly the National Bank of Detroit Building (aka the Cheese Grater)) was pretty shiny when it opened and its white marble is in pretty good condition.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chase_Tower_(Detroit)

Slog · #12 Posted **Apr 1, 2012, 10:32 PM**

The Federal Reserve of Atlanta is a good example.

Link: http://placestogobuildingstosee.blog...a-georgia.html

LMich · #13 Posted **Apr 2, 2012, 7:21 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by DecoJim

Detroit's 28 story Fisher Building used to qualify but unlike the Standard Oil / Aon building in Chicago, the Fisher still has its marble cladding. Unfortunately it as aged from white to tan in color.

So, the vast majority of the facade is marble? I only ask, because I've always seen it described as having limestone, granite, and marble cladding, and assumed that the marble was for the details (and granite for the base), and the limestone made up most of the facade.

You learn something new everyday.

DecoJim · #14 Posted **Apr 2, 2012, 1:33 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by LMich

So, the vast majority of the facade is marble? I only ask, because I've always seen it described as having limestone, granite, and marble cladding, and assumed that the marble was for the details (and granite for the base), and the limestone made up most of the facade.

You learn something new everyday.

The first three stories are that front W. Grand Blvd and 2nd Ave are indeed faced in Minnesota granite.
According to Emporis: Fisher Building

Quote:

The upper stories are faced with Manhattan Avenue marble. The steep hipped roof was originally covered with gold leaf, though is now clad with green tile.

It is quite possible that limestone was used on the rear portions of the Fisher Building. If you look at an aerial view of the Fisher Building that shows the "back" of the tower, you can see a transition from the marble facing to some other lighter colored material at around the 11th floor. The integrated parking garage and the Fisher Theatre enclosure may have used cheaper limestone or even bricks since they would be less visible (especially if the other two towers had not been canceled due to the Great Depression). I would have to take a closer look to be sure of the materials used there.

There are many types of marble used in the interior as well:

Quote:

Marble types used in the arcade include Golden-Vein Tavernelle from Tennessee, Cardiff Green from Maryland, Carthage from Missouri, Verdi Antique from Vermont, Mar Villa from Maryland, red marble from Germany, green from Austria, brown & black from Belgium, black & gold from France, white & black from Italy, and rose from Spain.

(four 0 four) · #15 Posted **Apr 2, 2012, 2:15 PM**

One Georgia Center, Atlanta

geomorph · #16 Posted **Nov 16, 2017, 4:21 AM**

Project: Elm Place
Location: Dallas, Texas

Photo taken by geomorph in 2013.

geomorph · #17 Posted **Nov 16, 2017, 4:24 AM**

Project: George Allen Sr. Courts Building
Location: Dallas, Texas

All photos taken by geomorph in 2013.

geomorph · #18 Posted **Nov 16, 2017, 4:26 AM**

Project: Whitacre Tower
Location: Dallas, Texas

All photos taken by geomorph in 2013.

geomorph · #19 Posted **Nov 16, 2017, 4:41 AM**

Project: 811 Louisiana
Location: Houston, Texas

Photo taken by geomorph in 2010.

The North One · #20 Posted **Aug 2, 2021, 4:48 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by CGII

The obvious king of marble clad skyscrapers, though it was replaced in the 90s because cladding buildings in marble is generally a terrible idea.

Marble is probably the best material you could ever build with and it works fine as cladding. The problem was back in the 70's they had the genius idea to clad buildings in extremely thin marble sheets, we're talking centimeters thin. Being a stone with natural faults that was a terrible idea.

It seems marble is next to extinct as a material for skyscrapers. I'm not aware of any skyscraper in North America that's been built with it recently. I can't even think of any in Asia, where they dump serious money on flashy skyscrapers.