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.
![Sto panel in custom 3D, via Branch Technology](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Sto%203D%20square.png)
“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.
![Sto Panel branch drainage in Champagne](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Sto%20Panel%20Branch%20Drainage_Champagne_0.png)
“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
| May 31, 2012
2011 Reconstruction Awards Profile: Ka Makani Community Center
An abandoned historic structure gains a new life as the focal point of a legendary military district in Hawaii.
| May 31, 2012
5 military construction trends
Defense spending may be down somewhat, but there’s still plenty of project dollars out there if you know where to look.
| May 31, 2012
Day & Zimmermann taps Jobe for ECM VP
Ken Jobe, a senior executive with 30+ years of industry-related experience, joins Day & Zimmermann to expand footprint in the process & industrial markets.
| May 31, 2012
Perkins+Will-designed engineering building at University of Buffalo opens
Clad in glass and copper-colored panels, the three-story building thrusts outward from the core of the campus to establish a new identity for the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the campus at large.
| May 30, 2012
Construction milestone reached for $1B expansion of San Diego International Airport
Components of the $9-million structural concrete construction phase included a 700-foot-long, below-grade baggage-handling tunnel; metal decks covered in poured-in-place concrete; slab-on-grade for the new terminal; and 10 exterior architectural columns––each 56-feet tall and erected at a 14-degree angle.
| May 30, 2012
Boral Bricks announces winners of “Live.Work.Learn” student architecture contest
Eun Grace Ko, a student at the Ryerson University in Toronto, Canada, named winner of annual contest.
| May 30, 2012
Hill International to manage construction of Al Risafa Stadium in Iraq
The three-year contract has an estimated value to Hill of approximately $3.3 million.
| May 29, 2012
Torrance Memorial Medical Center’s pediatric burn patients create their version of new Patient Tower using Legos
McCarthy workers joined the patients, donning construction gear and hard hats, to help with their building efforts.
| May 29, 2012
Reconstruction Awards Entry Information
Download a PDF of the Entry Information at the bottom of this page.
| May 29, 2012
Legrand achieves over 20% energy-intensity reduction in Presidential Challenge
West Hartford headquarters announced as Better Buildings, Better Plants “Showcase” site.