Gilbane Building Company Celebrates Prestigious Associated Builders and Contractors Award for the Museum of the American Arts and Crafts Movement
St. Petersburg, FL – May 23, 2023 – Gilbane Building Company is honored to accept the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Eagle Award for Excellence in Construction for the Museum of the American Arts and Crafts Movement project. The ABC Awards ceremony celebrates the year’s most outstanding construction projects and contractors for their remarkable achievements in leadership, safety, innovation and inclusion, diversity, and equity.
“We would like to thank The Museum of American Arts and Crafts Movement, Alfonso Architects, our trade partners, and Gilbane’s team who demonstrated an outstanding commitment to excellence,” said Heidi DeBenedetti, Chief Administrative Officer and Regional President, Gilbane Building Company. “We are excited to have been a part of realizing this vibrant project which will support the cultural and local community for years to come.”
Founded by the Two Red Roses Foundation, The Museum of the American Arts and Crafts Movement is the only museum in the world dedicated exclusively to the American Arts and Crafts movement. The museum houses local philanthropist and collector Rudy Ciccarello’s extensive collection of unique works and objects from the American Arts and Crafts movement, including pottery, furniture, metalwork, decorative arts, photography, and woodblocks. Ciccarello, along with Alfonso Architects, designed and oversaw the construction of this unique and complex project.
“The successful completion of this museum is not only very important to me but also the local community and the entire art world,” said Rudy Ciccarello, President/Owner, Museum of the American Arts and Crafts movement. “Built in a perfect location, this facility allows me to preserve and share these works of art with the public and to teach future generations an appreciation for handcraftsmanship and honest design. I am grateful for Gilbane’s role in making this vision a reality.”
The five-story museum features multiple gallery spaces which revolve around an open-air atrium at the heart of the building. Showcased within the atrium are Frank Lloyd Wright-influenced, stained-glass sky-light windows, a nearly 80-foot historic tile mural, and a signature, monumental staircase, anchoring the space and evoking the traditions of the Arts and Crafts movement. The atrium space also includes three-sided glass rails and dark walnut acoustical panels with a clip system on the west wall. Over 60,000 SF of hand-selected, quarter-sawn American white oak and Jerusalem stone floors were used throughout the building. Each of the gallery spaces within the museum has been specially designed to relate a story of the displayed works that informs, educates, and entertains its visitors.
About the Arts & Crafts Movement
Near the end of the Victorian era in England, the Arts and Crafts movement emerged and was fueled by anxieties about the quality of life in the industrial era and the rise of mass-produced goods. Arts and Crafts designers sought to design and create beautiful and functional objects. In America, this movement spread across the country from approximately 1890-1930. The principal beliefs of the movement included simplicity in design, honesty in materials, hand craftsmanship, and reflecting the natural world. For more information, visit www.museumaacm.org
About Gilbane Building Company
Gilbane provides a full slate of construction and facilities-related services – from preconstruction services planning and integrated consulting capabilities to comprehensive construction management, general contracting, design-build, and facility management services – for clients across various markets. Founded in 1870 and still a privately held, family-owned company, Gilbane has more than 45 office locations worldwide.
Gilbane is an industry leader in Florida with a reputation for quality construction and client satisfaction. Gilbane has provided construction management services in Florida for over fifty years, working across diverse markets, including office buildings, public assembly/sports, healthcare, life sciences, data centers, K-12, higher education, medical offices, industrial, manufacturing, government, and multi-family developments. For more information, visit www.gilbaneco.com