The Utah Masonry Council held its 2023 Excellence in Masonry Awards competition recently, honoring more than a dozen projects throughout the Beehive State, while also presenting Richard (Rick) J. Child of Child Enterprises with the Lifetime Masonry Service Award. 

The two most coveted awards—the Golden Trowel Award and the Best of Show Award¬—went to Lindon-based IMS Masonry for its meticulous work on Edison House of Salt Lake City. Judges made comments like "perfect workmanship, the fact that that lentils are not seen, and the motor lines are straight and clean, makes this one of my favorites," and "well deserving; heavy and light, thick and thin, solid and void, it's masonry that soars".  

The project was noted for having second and third story spaces that seem to float on a darker bronze base and using negative and positive space to form an interesting, highly unique facade that fits in well with the urban landscape of Salt Lake City. 

Child, meanwhile, was honored for a stellar career spanning six decades, a fifth-generation mason contractor from the renowned masonry city of Springville, having established Child Enterprises in 1974, and serving as President/Owner until 2022. 

His firm has provided masonry services on dozens of high-profile projects over the years, including the Utah State Capitol Restoration, Four Seasons Resort and Amangiri Resort in Jackson, Wyoming, and the Joseph Smith Memorial Building Restoration. 

Accolades were many for Child, who also served as Mayor of Springville from 2018-2021. 

“Rick is a person that takes on tough jobs, particularly in the restoration and terracotta areas," said Wilford W. Clyde, Chairman of Orem-based Clyde Companies, and himself a former Springville Mayor. "He followed in his father’s footsteps and learned the masonry trade at an early age. However, he wasn’t satisfied to run his dad’s business, so he started his own company and has made it a great success."

"He has always been a pleasure to work with—always fair and honest to those he came in contact with," said Jeff Mortensen of Salt Lake-based Sunroc. "You could always count on Rick to come through.”

"Over the years, Rick instilled in me the confidence and know-how to not only run commercial masonry jobs, but run them successfully," said Chad Robertson, a former employee. "I worked for Child [Enterprises] for 24 years and was a part of some of the biggest jobs they’ve had. Rick Child is so much more to me than a boss, he’s a father figure, mentor, and more importantly, my friend."

"Rick was always willing to evaluate a challenging aspect of a masonry or stone project, always willing to discuss the logistics of what was needed to accomplish the project," added Terry Wright of Salt Lake-based DTW Engineering & Construction. "His insights were valuable." 

This bold, iconic 25-story tower in downtown Salt Lake City includes masonry on the first five floors, highlighting the office building's unique ecclesiastical component. Sterling Vein Alabama Limestone was chosen for its aesthetics and to aid in the LEED certification of this project. Limestone is considered a sustainable material, in addition to being attractive, versatile, and durable, with the ability to complement myriad styles in both exterior and interior design. 

Edison House is a one-of-a-kind, 35,000 SF clubhouse that aims to be “a home away from home” for its members. The street façade balances privacy with a unique array of fixed, operable metal panel screens, ceramic-fritted glass, and interior shades. The kinetic nature of the architecture evokes a sense of mystery and curiosity from pedestrians.

The masonry includes a mix of Modular Atlas Quartettes, Modular Brick, CMU, and concealed lintels. 

Demolition of the auditorium of the original Orpheum Theater (opened in 1905) began in September 2022, but the facade, lobby, and office area were all preserved and declared a Historic Site by the Utah Historical Society. Work consisted of removing existing coatings from pilaster stone bases and concrete storefront window bases and applying high-permeance masonry coating. Install Dutchman limestone stone repair at pilaster bases at grade. 

This historic restoration was completed using 859 SF of Mountain Valley Stone, 1,200 SF of 2-in. thick Mountain Valley honed dimensional cladding, and 60 LF of Mountain Valley Stone cap plus 120 LF of belt course Mountain Valley Stone cladding.  The west, north and east sides of the Zions Bank building contained historic brick that was no longer available. These century-old bricks were restored and strengthened with a new eight-inch shotcrete wall behind the existing historic walls and secured with 3,640 helical masonry ties. Each historic brick was meticulously hand washed, repointed and sealed. 

This key educational project for Utah State's Moab campus was completed using 19,000 SF of smooth face and honed face CMU. The attractive atrium is the heart of the building. and supports four programs that each need labs simulating real-world environments. Masonry plays a key role in overall aesthetics while serving as a long-lasting material. 

This key WSU campus project was completed using 212,000 brick and 4,911 SF of stone, with the campus standard color of ochre buff being prominent. Midnight and platinum colors were also used as accents. The dark brick was used on the lowest level to give the illusion that the rest of the building is floating. Hidden in the dark brick are a few soldier courses included as a detail but reveal a pattern of messages in binary code students can decipher.

The South Clearfield Elementary School Rebuild Project was completed using 56,000 SF of CMU that has a mix of smooth face, honed face, and striated face, in a blend of four different colors. A few key examples of this are the stunning multi-colored masonry, concrete floors and walls, and the open, lively playground. The school's heart connects to various specialty programs such as STEM and the arts.

This project includes 21,000 SF of split face masonry veneer, 3,300 SF of honed veneer, 3,000 SF of 12-in. CMU, and 6,700 SF of beautiful Lamina Stone. The masonry was designed to give the school different looks and character, inspiring creativity of students. 

This 21st Century high school includes a whopping 194,000 CMU units and 83,000 brick emperors (2 1/4"), along with tile and other natural materials, were chosen to give the building a feeling of solidity and strength. These grounding elements were then complimented with school accent colors of blue and subtle oranges, with masonry patterning subtly referencing the school’s Bengal mascot. Additionally, design elements throughout the project including stairs, concrete patterning, light fixtures, and floor pattern all reference the school’s previous circular design.

Grand County School District’s newest school replaces an outdated and aging middle school located on the same site. The project was completed using 90,000 SF of CMU with a mix of smooth, honed and split face blocks, and 8,000 SF of natural thin Utah Sandstone Cherokee. The school's construction reflects the unique scenery of Moab with colors, patterns, textures, and materials swirling in playful canyon and river designs to pique students’ imaginations with color and liveliness. 

This project was completed using 195,000 exterior brick, 39,000 interior brick, 200 units of precast, and three concealed lintels. Everything about the space is first class, from the natural daylight flooding the space from both the outward facing windows and the massive skylight that sits right in the middle of the manufacturing space to the concrete floor panels that allow the surrounding “work neighborhoods” to, much like the manufacturing space, configure themselves as they see fit.