Building Components Concept - Koltay Façades Experience a new facade – The Koltay way. An interview with the dynamic Agnes Koltay, the driving force behind Koltay Façades and one of the most prominent individuals in the UAE’s facade business. Tell us a bit about yourself and your time in Dubai since you started. I’ve always been attracted to tall buildings. When I was about eight years old, a family friend brought home an issue of National Geographic magazine which had a feature on skyscrapers. I think my love for tall structures and buildings started there. I went on to study Architecture and have MSc Architecture degrees from Hungary and the USA. I also have a MSc in Facade Engineering from the UK. My other qualifications include memberships to the Society of Facade Engineers (Fellow of SFE) and RIBA. Both are well known industry bodies. Before starting Koltay Façades, I’ve worked with Ramboll, Meinhardt, Zaha Hadid, Finta Studio and Pataky & Horvath. Coming to what I think about Dubai. Well, I’ve been here from 2005, which is over eight years. It’s a funny thing about Dubai. We all know the exact date when we come to this city; it’s like your birthday, a date you always remember. I came here on 15th April 2005 and the city never stops to amaze me. Dubai and the UAE have achieved so much in such a short time; it’s every architect’s best dream come true. Dubai is full of tall buildings and of course opportunities. How did Koltay Façades start? I was never really planning to start my own firm. But that changed after I took a 3 week holiday to Yemen. It was very basic, with no phone or data signal in most places. I loved every minute and was able to completely pull back, relax and after a long time think about my life. I realised I don’t need to check 50 emails and phone calls a day, jump from meeting to meeting and be stressed about deadlines all the time. Life can be much easier. That’s when I decided to break away from a corporate environment and set up a boutique firm where a team of passionate people can actually focus on Facade Engineering. That’s how Koltay Façades was born two and a half years ago. Yes, it’s already been two and a half years! What do you think about today’s facade industry and the trends you feel will become popular in coming times? When I first came to Dubai, it was a very different city. If I could say so, it was ‘small’, compared to the Dubai of today. But as I started working here, I was really impressed by the place. By the vision of its leaders, the speed of approvals and of course the pace of constructions itself. It was totally unlike Europe where you need permissions and more permissions because of which plans stay just plans and nothing gets built. Today, there is a much bigger focus on quality as well. Developers are choosing quality over cost to stay competitive and this is good for the market and of course the structures in the long term. Also there are a lot more buildings today to choose from and customers are looking for better finished buildings, with better facilities, floor plans and of course a smarter facade. Some are better finished and have great floor plans, while others do not. With respect to facades, for example, if the right choices are not made initially, the building can be ‘too noisy’. This is caused by using glass that is too thin, inaccurate interfacing details and even low quality sliding doors. These are problems that have to be addressed in the beginning as they are difficult and very expensive to correct once the building has been built. How important is choosing a coating system for your facades? The biggest benefit of coatings on building facades is that it protects the metal and ensures long term durability. A big bonus is that these coatings now come in a wide choice of colours so buildings don’t all have to be uniformly grey in colour. Coloured coatings have allowed architects and facade designers to come up with new concepts and ideas. Many of which we can already see coming up all over the UAE. Any views on powder coating finishes for aluminium? If correctly applied, powder coatings have long term durability. In fact with every project, this is among the first things we specify and clients usually choose super durability as a minimum which is offered only by powder coatings compared to polyester. Jotun’s product Cool Shades is a good product and an excellent idea especially in this market. This powder coating has the ability to reflect heat and reduce the temperature of aluminium building components which in turn reduces energy consumption to keep the building cool. A good application is hand rails in balconies and hand rails exposed to sunlight. Applying Cool Shades can reduce the heat they absorb and leave them comfortable to hold. Specifying Cool Shades for all exposed and accessible building components is becoming common practice. How long have you known Jotun and what do you know about Jotun as a supplier? Personally, I’ve known of Jotun from the time I was working in Europe. However being directly associated with Jotun Powder Coatings happened only when I started working in Dubai. Jotun Powder Coatings is the leader in this market and highly rated for its quality and service. Which are your favourite projects locally and internationally, keeping in mind their facades or external envelope? This is a tough question to answer. I’m an architect by training and I like good architecture deeply. I like structures that make a strong statement. Buildings are manmade, accept it. Like most people, I like the Burj Khalifa too. However, I like it because it makes such a strong statement for humankind and how we push our limits. I feel structures and buildings should be bold in what they want to express and not hide their details. Zaha Hadid is an architect who is very good at doing just that. Her buildings always make a statement by pushing the boundaries. That said, buildings don’t have to be huge like the Burj Khalifa to make a statement. Peter Zumthor’s Vals Bath in Switzerland is rich in detail and one of my favourite buildings. So is the Prada store in Tokyo by Herzog and de Meuron. They all make strong statements. Where do you see Koltay Façades in the next 5 – 10 years? What Koltay Façades is now, is almost perfect. We do what we like, enjoy life and work on selected prime projects such as a number of high-rise developments in Downtown and Business Bay areas. We are not planning to overtake the world. Our vision is to assist architects, developers and contractors with efficient, workable and of course creative facade solutions. “We all know the exact date when we come to this city, it’s like your birthday, a date you always remember”. “Today, there is a much bigger focus on quality as well. Developers are choosing quality over cost to stay competitive and this is good for the market and of course the structures in the long term”. “Jotun’s product 'The Cool Shades Collection' is a very good product and an excellent idea especially in this market”. “I’ve always chosen the best available suppliers and materials for everything I do, so it was quite natural that Jotun would be my first choice”. Agnes Koltay Issue 11
JOTUN Kaleidoscope - 2013 Issue 11
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