A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Tolya Stonorov made her way across the country and around the world through Europe and Asia, before settling into her role at Norwich University in 2012. After growing on the East Coast, Stonorov headed west to the Bay Area, where she attended graduate school at UC Berkeley and co-founded her firm, Stonorov Workshop Architects. After a decade in California, Stonorov spent three years in the very different landscape of Alaska, where she designed and built several projects with her firm.
Currently, Tolya Stonorov is an Associate Professor and Associate Director of the School of Architecture and Art, but that was not her original aim when she started teaching at Norwich. “I knew I really wanted to work with students, but I intended to teach only as an adjunct originally because I was passionate about continuing professional work with my practice, Stonorov Workshop,” Stonorov said. “But I really loved teaching here at Norwich, and the more I came to know the University’s values, the more I saw that my passions and interests aligned with the School of Architecture + Art. I became more invested, and when it happened that a tenure track position opened up the same year that I started, and I went for it.”
Stonorov’s educational background is a unique blend of political history, art, and architecture. Her undergraduate degree, from Oberlin College, was in China and Latin America political history with a concurrent focus on visual art. She went on to start a clothing line, “our first architecture” while in graduate school, which provided early inspiration for her most recent edited book, FABRIC[ated], which explores the connections between fabric and architecture.
At Norwich, Stonorov most enjoys working with fellow faculty, staff and of course the students, and being able to work on design + build projects focused on community, sustainability, and local materials – concepts she finds extremely important. “The faculty in this department are engaging, supportive, challenging – they inspire me,” she said.
Stonorov also loves the design+build program that allows students to fully design and construct projects from start to finish. “Our students are wonderful – passionate, engaged, and very serious. The work we do to help the community through Design Build is exciting and impactful,” Stonorov remarked.
Looking ahead five years, Stonorov hopes to keep doing high-quality work that helps communities and underserved populations through architecture. “I want to work with students to inspire them to go out into the world and try to help people. Architecture is often seen as only accessible to people who can afford it – through the University’s support of community oriented projects, there’s an ability to embrace the tenet that architecture is for everyone.”
Stonorov’s grandfather Ed Bacon, a city planner and architect himself, was a major influence in shaping her passion. Her motto seems to stem from his impact: “I want to be doing important work that helps communities and people who are not as privileged, and I think architecture can fulfill that.”
