King Richard’s Full Scale Design and Installation Partnership for new Stem Addition to the Detroit Catholic Central High School.

August 21, 2024 – Over the last two years the King Richard’s team has been working with Detroit Catholic Central High School, and all of their architects and planners to provide liturgical pieces for their new STEM building. What started out as a simple request for more information has ultimately blossomed into an all-encompassing, full-scale Design, Fabrication, and Installation partnership, between Detroit Catholic Central High School and King Richard’s Liturgical Design and Contracting. King Richard’s provided creations and installations for several intricate pieces including indoor and outdoor statuary, staircase rondels, planet finials for the staircase, floor medallions for their grand hall, and an outdoor cross/crucifix.

The Two Indoor Statues

We began by simply fielding Sandra Humennny’s  request for the “Mother and Child” BAS Relief and the St. Basil statue (both of which now adorn the niches in the Grand Hall Entrance). The Carrara Marble for these statues would be hewn from the mountains of Italy just like the great works of art from antiquity. King Richard’s marble workers and artists are experienced second and third generation carvers. They know their craft well and that shows in the final product. Like their forefathers, they only remove from the marble that which is not the elegant figure trapped within.

Next, there was a request for staircase rondels. These were to highlight and depict the greatest achievements of mankind in the fields of Science and Industry. Working with Mike Oakleaf and Sandra we brought in the King Richard’s Design team and began the work of hammering out the iconic rondels which can be seen in the railing of the staircase in chronological order. We paid great attention to detail as we worked consistently with DCCHS planning members to choose the exact representations and then to hone in on the perfect artwork.

It was a labor of love for Mike Oakleaf. And King Richard’s sensed the need to make these icons a work of beauty while maintaining the educational aspect for each of them.

Designing them was just the first part of a long process which involved many drawing edits, creating wax and plaster molds made in our King Richard’s foundry in Italy, casting them in molten bronze, and eventually adding the perfect patina so they look properly aged.

A special ring was designed to ensure all the rondels being cast in Italy would fit in the ironwork of the staircase being made in the United States.

Planet Finials for Staircase

The Earth and Saturn finials which adorn the bottom and top of the rail represent man’s movement in science from the Earth to the great expanse of our solar system and beyond. They were created in wax then cast in our King Richard’s foundry in Italy. Then they were shipped to our fabricators in Spain for a special smoothing technique to make the surfaces beautiful. Finally, the finials were given a fine patina so they would match the rondels on the staircase.

All of these pieces have a specific connection to DCCHS in their design and imagery. Whether it is the Basilian Church, or the legendary youth ministry of St. John Bosco being depicted, these exquisite bronze floor medallions will remain as a constant reminder to all DCCHS students and faculty to aspire to greatness through our Catholic Faith.

Each design was drawn, submitted, edited, revised, and drawn again, with the intention to create the perfect inspirational representation of its Saint or subject.

King Richard’s fabricators in Spain worked to mill out each design first in wood, and then in bronze, following the detailed artwork provided by King Richard’s design team.

Smoothing and hand carved detail work was then done to bring out the beauty of each one and the results are magnificent!

King Richard’s Installation crew worked around the pouring of the new terrazzo floor. Large holes were left in the floor and 4-foot blank wood circles were inserted to reserve the spots where these medallions would eventually be installed.

It was a three-day process to be certain everything fit and was secure for the 250 pound bronze medallions to be inserted and grouted in.

Mary Seat of Wisdom OutDoor Statue

The exceptional Mary Seat of Wisdom bronze statue, which now graces the DCCHS courtyard, is an excellent melding of the proper respect due to Mary and the Christ Child, while at the same time delivering some specific school and science elements which are woven with expertise into the basic design.

Mary Seat of Wisdom is often portrayed as sitting on a throne or a Church as a throne. In this case, it was requested that Mary be seated on a representation of the STEM building for a throne. The King Richard’s design team once again answered the call to replicate the architectural design into the piece. We created the perfect balance between a place for the Blessed Virgin to rest with Jesus on her lap, and an interpretation of her continual protection over the students and staff of DCCHS.

Mary and Jesus were first made in clay and wax. Then she was eventually cast in bronze pieces which were assembled at our King Richard’s foundry in Italy.

The Blessed Virgin’s forearms bear the Bors models for the hydrogen and oxygen atoms which are the scientific building blocks of Life itself. The DCCHS shamrock design is also present in the collar of the Christ child indicating His desire to be present in every hall and classroom.

The facial features of Mary and Jesus were intentionally designed to represent all peoples of the world and thus make welcome all who gaze upon them.

The Seat of Wisdom statue was brought into the courtyard by the special use of a large crane and placed on a fine granite base.

Mary now watches over the students and faculty in the courtyard at DCCHS with her motherly heart and intercessory prayers.

St. Albert the Great outdoor Statue

The large St. Albert the Great statue which greets all persons outside the doors of the Great Hall entrance is a tribute to the great educators in the Catholic Church. St. Albert taught one of the greatest theologians ever in St. Thomas Aquinas, who was given the title “Doctor of the Church”.

St. Albert is an inspiration to the faculty and staff of DCCHS to always strive for Truth and Excellence in passing on their Wisdom, Knowledge, and Understanding of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, as well as our Catholic Faith.

The model for St. Albert was created by King Richard’s design team in conjunction with King Richard’s Owner, Rick Lair. We felt in a special way that the detailed elements of the statue, including the specific items on the desk of the Saint represent his place in the history of the Church as well as the future of education for DCCHS.

The St. Albert statue like the Mary Seat of Wisdom statue was cast in bronze in King Richard’s foundry in Italy. Great attention was paid to design and detail as this piece was first created in a clay and wax model which was eventually cast in bronze.

Specific items like the mitre (hat) and crozier (staff) were added to depict the Saint as a Catholic bishop which he was. Other elements like his globe and his books point to a life dedicated to education and the pursuit of knowledge.

Our King Richard’s foundry workers expertly maneuvered roasting hot pots of molten bronze into place and poured the liquid material into dedicated molds to create each specific item on the statues.

The process is not quick or easy, but the results are stunning, and these heirloom quality statues will inspire young and old alike for generations to come.

The Courtyard Crucifix

Finally, we come to the Crucifix hanging for all to see in the Courtyard between the original school and the new STEM addition. There is no other piece that speaks more to the Catholic Identity that is Detroit Catholic Central High School. This artistic representation of Christ’s ultimate sacrifice is made of two parts. The bronze cross was designed and fabricated in our King Richard’s workshops in Spain.

The corpus of Jesus was first made in clay and wax. Then, after a few adjustments to size and style, the corpus was eventually cast in bronze at our King Richard’s foundry in Italy.

The two pieces were brought together in an unusual way as our King Richard’s installers actually had to hammer the nails on the Body of Christ in order to attach it to the bronze cross. It was a poignant moment of deep contemplation by all who were present, and the religious symbolism of this incidental action was not lost on anyone who witnessed it happening.

King Richard’s Installation crew worked with the DCCHS construction workers on site to fly the crucifix in by crane. The issue was to bring the statue over the top of the building and lower it down to the existing mounting brackets on the courtyard wall. Rather than just barely clearing the roof of the building the crane team hoisted the Crucifix hundreds of feet in the air.

Special care was taken by King Richard’s installers to be sure the crucifix was perfectly placed and properly finished so that it will bring to mind the sacrifice made for us by Our Lord.

The Dedication of the Detriot CentRal CAtholic High School STem Building

On August 13, 2024 at the Detroit Catholic High School, faculty, students, alumni and their friends and family dedicated and celebrated their new 57,000 square foot Stem education building named also The George and Mary Turek Hall of Science. The remarkable building contains a competitive robotics space, an aviation flight school, computer lab, science labs, greenhouse, telescope and observatory and a 270-degree immersion lecture hall. King Richard’s is proud to provide several liturgical and astronomical pieces for their new space. The blessing and dedication of these pieces was a proud moment for the King Richard’ team. Each liturgical item was blessed in a procession with a student carrying a blessing cross to each item while priests from the Basilian Fathers sprinkled holy water and prayed over them.

The dedication and blessings of our liturgical pieces was a pivotal moment for the King Richard’s Liturgical Design and Contracting team. Benefactor George Turek and other Catholic Central leaders and guests spoke at a dedication ceremony including Congressman Dan Crenshaw, Marcus Lattrell of Lone Survivor, and Ed Turek principal of DCCHS. Other  performances included the Catholic Central marching band and glee club, and even a flyover from four planes.  “The remarkable building as part of our Vision 100 Plan, to make sure Catholic Central continues to be successful for the next 100 years,” School principal Ed Turek said in an article from Detroit Catholic. It was built so it will keep and attract all types of good students and give those students the very best education, the best knowledge, the best hands-on experience, so they can go out and make a difference.

From that first conversation with Sandra Humenny, to the highly anticipated dedication of the whole Detroit Catholic Central High School new STEM addition project, King Richard’s has been, and will be, grateful to have been a part of this monumental undertaking. We believe all the hard work and attention to detail has resulted in works of art which will stand the test of time and inspire all who see them. It has been our honor and great pleasure to work with Sandra, Michael, Fr. Fulton, Jim Capo, Justin, and Nick to bring about the perfect fulfillment of their grand vision as it was set before us. We are also thankful for our partnerships with the architects and construction teams including Joe and Valerie Vig of Vig Construction and Bruce Syder and Adrian LaTona of IDS Architects. We thank the Detroit Catholic Central High School for allowing us to be involved in their sacred space in and on your exceptional Catholic campus.

OUr Press REleasE of the STEM Building Dedication