Hosts July 2009 Architectural Tour to Vals and of Peter Zumthor Projects --the 2009 Pritzer Laureate recognized for his creative use of Valser

Madison, WI – Quarra Stone--the Madison, WI company that supplies and fabricates natural stone for signature architectural and restoration projects throughout the country--- is celebrating an eight-year partnership with Truffer AG as exclusive provider of Valser Quartzite in North America. Located in Vals, Switzerland, Truffer AG is a leading Swiss company that sensitively extracts Valser stone from its own quarry in the Alpine village for an international marketplace.

Valser is a fine –grained metamorphic rock that ranges in color from grayish blue to green with luminous streaks of mica, quartz and feldspar crystals. Sometimes referred by Truffer as the “couture” stone, Valser’s star ascended even more this year in the architectural and design community with the selection of Peter Zumthor as the 2009 Pritzker laureate. Mr. Zumthor, whose architecture is most closely associated with the spa he designed for the Hotel Therme in Vals, utilized some 60,000 richly nuanced slabs of the primordial rock to create his symphony of water and stone for that commission.

James Durham, president of Quarra Stone describes Valser as a distinctive stone “that evokes a feel of artwork with unique patterns and soothing warm grey light that creates an individual sense of space”.

“Quarra Stone is proud to be the exclusive provider for the Valser Quarzite in North America through our long established relationship with one of Switzerland’s most respected companies-Truffer AG”, said Mr. Durham. “Moreover, since we were both founded and operate as family enterprises, Truffer and Quarra enjoy a special synergy and business philosophy that translates into a very creative and dynamic resource for our mutual clients in the architectural and building industry.”

Integral to Quarra’s partnership with Truffer are several special expeditions that the company organizes and hosts each year to Vals, Switzerland for a select group of clients and architects. The next trip-July 20-23, 2009 -will be led by Mr. Durham and Michael Nelson, Quarra’s vice president of sales and marketing. The ambitious three-day itinerary includes a luxury stay at the Therme Spa Hotel and starts with a showcase of Valser projects in Zurich, continues with personal tours of the Truffer family factory and quarry in Vals, Peter Zumthor’s Therme spa, the Zumthor Chapel in Disentis and will culminate with a stop at Liechtenstein’s (Black Box) Kunstmuseum and Zumthor’s Breganz Museum in Austria.

About Quarra Stone

Headquartered in Madison, WI, Quarra Stone fabricates and supplies architectural and interior stone for signature building projects throughout the United States in collaboration with many of the country’s leading institutions and premier architectural teams on some of America’s most prominent architectural landmarks and new award-winning architecture.
Quarra recently completed its largest project, the newly opened Capitol Visitor Center in Washington D.C.  which is expected to host three million visitors a year. Current initiatives include the restoration projects for the U.S. Supreme Court and the Kansas State Capitol. For more information, please contact Susanne Voeltz for Quarra Stone: Phone: 608/284-0848 susi@mailbag.com or visit Quarra at www.quarrastone.com