The university’s trademark- look is difficult to mimic because the school has exclusive rights over Hokie Stone, the predominant material in the façade of new buildings. Hokie Stone is a unique and rare natural stone, found only near Blacksburg, Virginia, and is solely quarried for Virginia Tech projects. Therefore, Hokie Stone is a very expensive product that is challenging to duplicate. The university wanted to find a manufactured stone that resembled Hokie Stone for smaller projects, such as masonry walls, at a reduced cost.

Reading Rock was able to collaborate with Virginia Tech and fulfill the customer’s wishes by creating a whole new product line, Muro Stone. This manufactured stone is a durable and cost-efficient alternative to natural stone, in part because of its long life cycle. Four different color blends were mixed together to create a customized stone that best matched the visual appearance of Hokie Stone. From this color mixture, the portions that best resembled Hokie Stone were handpicked and selected, making the perfect Hokie Stone replica.

Virginia Tech was given an affordable customized alternative to Hokie Stone, which perfectly matched their campus style. The money saved was able to be used on other renovation projects across the school and “GL C” plaza was transformed into a welcoming and vibrant campus destination. Reading Rock now has the capability to produce volumn quantities of this customized product for future Virginia Tech and other projects.