Sto Corp., a leader in facade claddings, air barriers, coatings, and renovation systems, has made recent advancements in its branded Sto Panel Technology business. Sto Panel Technology, which produces fully engineered and tested prefabricated finished exterior megapanel systems, is now introducing the versatility of 3D printing to its megapanels with StoPanel 3DP powered by Branch Technology. Sto is also bringing megapanel walls and windows together in a more efficient and integrated way through a collaboration with Kawneer North America.
“At Sto, our overarching goal is to provide architects, designers, and building professionals with the widest range of aesthetics through the most complete collection of building enclosure systems via our offsite construction technologies,” said Tyson Kindstrom, vice president of industrialized construction with Sto. “Megapanels continue to present a host of value propositions to construction professionals – from design freedom, greater efficiencies, and collapsed project timelines to potential cost savings.”
STO/BRANCH TECHNOLOGY: '3D DESIGN FREEDOM' FOR EXTERIOR WALLS
StoPanel 3DP delivers unprecedented three-dimensional design freedom for exterior walls. The megapanel system includes all the building envelope control layers integrated with a unique, fully customizable 3D-printed composite facade. The 3D component, called the Composite Core, is lightweight, structurally robust, and easy to install. Branch’s unique Cellular Fabrication (C-Fab) 3D printing process gives designers and architects the ability to stretch the limits of their creativity. The technology enables StoPanel 3DP to create virtually any 3D shape or form at a large scale.
“StoPanel 3DP bridges the gap between design freedom and precision manufacturing to achieve phenomenal results for the building envelope,” said Karine Galla, senior project manager for Sto. “To arrive at this solution, Branch Technology robotically prints a lightweight polymer matrix and then fills that matrix with an insulating foam, providing continuous insulation for the wall panel. Digital files are used versus shop drawings in this manufacturing process, ensuring extreme accuracy that is true to the original design. The result is three-dimensional exterior facade that turns heads and sets a building’s design apart.”
STO AND KAWNEER: INTEGRATING WALLS AND WINDOWS
Sto Panel Technology’s collaboration with Kawneer North America integrates windows and walls together in the manufacturing process, achieving greater efficiencies and improved safety on the job site. Kawneer window receptors are installed during the offsite production of the StoPanel megapanels.
“This has a measurable impact on window installation once StoPanels have been shipped to a location,” said Richard Martens, director of business development for Sto. “By fully integrating the prefabricated wall and window system, crews can install the windows from the inside of the building versus shipping the windows with the wall panels or performing installations from the exterior of the building. It allows for a seamless installation option that drives down material and labor costs while reducing site safety risks.”
Sto Panel Technology and Kawneer North America have conducted independent, third-party testing of the StoPanel with Kawneer windows and customized receptors. The testing covered air leakage resistance, dynamic water penetration resistance, and structural loading. The results showed no water penetration through the StoPanel or the window receptor and perimeter sealant assembly at a test pressure of 10.0 psf, while also meeting a design pressure rating of 40 psf. The system consisting of the StoPanel, Kawneer window and receptor installed in the StoPanel, and window perimeter sealant met the requirements for a 40 psf DP rating when tested in accordance with AAMA 1010.
Sto and Kawneer North America are designing a system with a new high thermal window and receptor to meet more stringent codes. It will also be tested to AAMA 1010.
For more information on Sto Panel, visit www.stopanel.com.
Related Stories
Building Materials | Jun 12, 2015
Construction materials prices up in May, down year-over-year
Prices for inputs to construction industries rose by 1.1% in May—the largest month-over-month increase in more than two years.
Fire and Life Safety | May 27, 2015
7 bold applications and innovations for fire and life safety
BD+C’s roundup features colorful sprinklers for offices, hotels, museums; a fire-rated curtain wall at a transit hub in Manhattan; a combination CO/smoke detector; and more.
BIM and Information Technology | May 27, 2015
4 projects honored with AIA TAP Innovation Awards for excellence in BIM and project delivery
Morphosis Architects' Emerson College building in Los Angeles and the University of Delaware’s ISE Lab are among the projects honored by AIA for their use of BIM/VDC tools.
Sponsored | Building Materials | May 19, 2015
The BYU Life Sciences Building draws inspiration from tectonic forms
Strong, lightweight ALPOLIC materials honor the rugged Wasatch Mountains while standing up to the forces that created them.
Contractors | Apr 29, 2015
Construction costs are expected to remain soft through fall of 2015
Labor and materials haven’t appreciated this year through April, according to market analyst IHS.
Wood | Apr 26, 2015
Building wood towers: How high is up for timber structures?
The recent push for larger and taller wood structures may seem like an architectural fad. But Building Teams around the world are starting to use more large-scale structural wood systems.
Sponsored | Building Team | Apr 24, 2015
New Products and Programs to Check Out at the 2015 AIA Convention
There is no bigger annual gathering of architects and design professionals in North America quite like the AIA National Convention.
Building Materials | Apr 15, 2015
Prices for construction materials see highest spike in two years
Results from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that prices for construction materials rose 0.8% in March, the largest monthly increase in more than two years.
Building Materials | Apr 14, 2015
French firm proposes sand and bacteria as building material in the Sahara
Deserts are already abundant with sand, so why not construct buildings out of it? This was the thought behind Flohara, a collection of shelters developed by Paris-based XTU Architects.