MARATHON, Wis. (June 10, 2003) - The Wisconsin Concrete Masonry Association (WCMA) recently awarded high honors to Wisconsin architectural firms and County Materials Corporation of Marathon for producing outstanding masonry buildings. Advanced Healthcare in Mequon won "Excellence in Design" awards, and Hopfensberger Building in Green Bay and V. Richard's Market in Brookfield won "Finalist" awards.

The association presented the Maynard W. Meyer "EXCELLENCE IN MASONRY" awards at the American Institute of Architects Wisconsin convention May 21-22 in Madison. Judging in the 15th annual design competition was based on commercial, industrial and institutional architectural designs incorporating concrete masonry. Criteria consisted of design excellence, function and beauty.

County Materials supplied Heritage concrete brick masonry units for the entire exterior veneer of the 26,000 square foot Advanced Healthcare building. Working with Welman Architects of Waukesha, they developed an aesthetically pleasing and comforting environment for patients and staff.

Concrete masonry created distinction for the Hopfensberger Building, a retail and office facility in Green Bay. Dimension IV Architects of Green Bay incorporated a combination of County Material's cream-colored, single-score splitface units and Canyon Tan Ultra Burnished units to create a structure that fit within the setting of the downtown's existing historical buildings. The Hopfensberger Building was also previously recognized by the Wisconsin Main Street Development Council as a "Best New Main Street Development."

"The overall use of masonry as an interior finish and exterior shell creates provocative juxtapositions of materials. The strong daylight and artificial light designs of this space draws in and plays up the warmth and richness from the textured surfaces of the masonry units," says Dan Roarty of Dimension IV.

To learn more about these winning projects and County Materials' exceptional line of building materials, call 1-800-289-2569 or visit the website at www.countymaterials.com.

County Materials Corporation has manufacturing facilities and HomeScape Studios located in 20 locations throughout Wisconsin and eastern Minnesota.