Stoa Studios is an award-winning architectural design firm with active projects throughout the United States. Our firm is structured primarily around serving clients with ongoing and evolving design needs, with whom we work to establish and maintain long-term client relationships wherein we meet their design needs whatever the location, building type, size, or style may be. Relationally speaking, this approach builds in a natural incentive for us to earn a high level of trust and to exceed expectations generally and with particular respect to design. In practice, this approach has several clear implications, including:
Client Types
Given our focus on providing clients with ongoing design services over time, the majority of our projects come through real estate developers, business owners, general contractor referrals, and private home owners. However, this focus not withstanding, we do often embrace the opportunity to take on interesting projects for new clients with singular design needs.
Project Location
With project locations spanning from coast to coast, the ability to navigate regional licensure requirements, building codes, and zoning ordinances is essential. More importantly, local and regional architectural traditions are a prevalent influence throughout the world—the ability to identify them and appropriately incorporate them into building design is essential to successful design. We maintain an active certification that facilitates prompt licensure in any state, are able to verify code and zoning requirements online, and actively study location-specific design traditions around the world for reference where appropriate in our projects.
Project Type
Although it is common practice for architects to focus work within a given building type, this type of specialization can become a real challenge for clients with projects more diverse in type. If a developer’s design needs evolve from master plan design to town center building shell design to the interior build out of an anchor restaurant, having a trustworthy source for design throughout that process can be a valuable asset indeed. We deliver great design throughout the spectrum of the built environment, and our project type balance varies from year to year depending on client needs.
Project Size
As with project type, it has been our experience that maintaining flexibility with regard to project sizes is tremendously beneficial to our clients. Within this client-driven framework, project sizes run the gamut from zero square feet (facade renovation) to 500sf (small high-rent retail space) to 15,000sf (physician office/custom home) to 100,000sf (private school campus).
Project Style
The architectural style of any building is a remarkably layered and impactful consideration. Individual style preferences are ultimately subjective, and we believe that successful projects effectively respond to Client preferences. However, this subjectivity comes with an important caveat: architectural style preferences are remarkably consistent within individual cultures, and successful projects also effectively respond to their cultural context. For example, when designing a museum, choosing a style that aligns with the preferences of a government design selection committee is often essential to gaining approval. For a private school funded philanthropically, the style most conducive to robust fundraising may well be entirely different. Following this idea through one step further, the same school donor would likely have an entirely different set of preferences for a personal home, with consideration given to every detail from the emotions felt on entry to the arrangement of furniture. We embrace the opportunity to work within a wide range of architectural styles.
Brandt Hay co-founded Stoa Studios in 2009, and maintains an active role as the Design Principal. Even as the firm grows and evolves over time, he enthusiastically continues to lead the design process for all projects and personally handles all major communications with clients. His award-winning work includes designs for workplace, healthcare, education, retail, dining, and custom residential environments.
Brandt is a listed pre-approved architect for major corporations including the Walt Disney Company, Simon Property Group, and Florida Hospital. He serves on the board of directors at the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art Florida, and also serves on the Design Review Board for Tavistock Group’s Isleworth Golf & Country Club in Windermere, Florida. Brandt maintains active licensure in several states, and is certified by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards for expedited licensure in additional states.
Brandt is a member of the New Urban Guild, Architects Creating Homes, and is certified by the United States Green Building Council as a LEED® certified practitioner of energy efficient design. He also maintains an active interest and participation in the real estate development and sales aspect of architecture. He is a licensed real estate broker, and has engaged in extensive education in real estate investment best practices and methodologies.
Prior Work
Prior to founding Stoa Studios, Brandt was an Associate at Geoffrey Mouen Architects (GMA), a firm specializing in traditional architecture and urbanism. His work at GMA included: master planning, leading the design of new custom homes, town architect review of other architects’ work, and project management. He had transitioned to GMA from Architectural Group III (AGIII), a firm specializing in hospitality design with particular emphasis on the design and documentation for leading global hotel brands. His work at AGIII was preceded by serving as co-founder and co-owner at Hibler & Hay (HH), a firm with design emphasis on traditional architecture and urbanism. HH was co-founded with Jesse Hibler (now owner at Hibler Design Studio), with whom he worked at Keystone Designs after completing graduate school.
Education
Brandt attended undergraduate and graduate architecture school at the Andrews University School of Architecture (AU), from whence he holds a Master of Architecture degree. His education at AU included formal training in and multiple studio design awards for architectural design, formal training in traditional town planning, and travel worldwide to study civilization’s greatest architectural achievements. He served as an assistant studio professor immediately following graduation, before electing to focus attention outside academia full-time.