Every other year the The Northern California Chapter of The Institute of Classical Architecture and Art (ICAA) hosts the Julia Morgan Awards to celebrate excellence in classical and traditional design. This year, QuarryHouse was awarded for its work of stonemasonry historic restoration performed to the rooftop balustrade, parapet fascia and coping of the Hibernia Bank Building, a key San Francisco landmark.

We often wonder how the Egyptian pharaohs dealt with their designers when questions arose as to color or texture of temples. We suppose the threat (or promise) of being entombed for eternity in one’s own design had a way of focusing the conversation.