Interview with Arch. Damian Stoyanov, STROITELI journal, Issue 1, 2018
We have developed a universal integrative system for façade solutions
Your company is specialized in façade design. Could you tell us more about the façade solutions and systems you offer?
STOA Ltd. has been active in the construction business for 16 years and is specialized in the complex design and installation of building enclosures – claddings, glazing systems and curtain walls.
It is a well-known fact that rainscreen cladding is the most effective way of insulating buildings. Over the last thirty years, due to the constantly growing requirements to the energy characteristics of buildings, the thickness of façade thermal insulation has increased. As a result of this, ventilated cladding with mechanical fixing has come to be widely used. At present, cladding methods lag behind because of the adoption of an artisan or improvised approach. What is more, façade installation is fragmented and complicated: different façade materials are installed by different subcontractors, which makes the whole process more expensive and requires a larger workforce.
These are just some of the problems STOA team has been trying to solve and thus the idea for developing a universal modular system for building the external enclosure was conceived.
Could you tell us something more about your modular system for constructing the building enclosure?
The system provides a complex universal solution for all types of materials – from thin composite materials to stone, ceramics, glass and others. Due to the excellent “strength-weight-cost” ratio of the system components the substructure is homogeneous, with by up to 30% lower cost as compared to other systems. The patented quick Lego-like coupling makes it possible to reduce installation time by up to 50%. The system has been developed for all known techniques of panel fixing, such as hole-and-dowel and undercut, but we mainly apply fixing with precision slot, which makes it possible to use thin and lighter panels and makes installation faster.
What types of buildings are your façade solutions implemented in? What projects are you working on at the moment?
Our system is universal not only in terms of the cladding material that can be used but also regarding the cladding distance from the main load bearing structure and the system applicability in any climate or type of building. Our company’s portfolio comprises family country houses (Summer House, Chalkidiki), residential buildings (Vezul Tower, Dubai; Stolnik Building, Moscow; Charlottenhofe, Berlin; Onyx, Frankfurt), hotels (Hotel Casino International, Golden Sands), hospitals (Tokuda Hospital Sofia), corporate and administrative buildings (Sofia Ring Mall, Adgar 360⁰, Tel Aviv), etc.
At the moment we are completing the overall cladding of GrafiX Business Centre on Tsarigradsko Shosse Blvd. opposite The Mall shopping center. That project demonstrates the application of our system not only for “cosmetic“cladding but also for modelling of complex volumes and reliefs.
In recent years, after our system was patented in the USA, China, Europe and Eurasia, we have been quite active on the Bulgarian and international market. Clients from all over the world have displayed great interest in our system, which is a stimulus for us to develop further and become even better.
Arch. Damian Stoynov was born on October, 6, 1956 in Sofia. He graduated from the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy, with a degree in Architecture in 1983. In 1982 he completed an internship in the Sofia office of the leading Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa. After graduating he started working at architect Nikolay Chipev’s studio at the Sofia Architectural Organization “Sofproekt”. In the period 1989-1990 he worked in Milton Keynes, UK. In 1990 he founded KF STOA design and construction company. He has participated as a designer, constructor and manager in prestigious projects in Bulgaria, United Kingdom, Germany, Israel and Russia. At present he is the Managing Director of STOA Ltd., a company specialized in design, construction and façade technologies.