Montalba Architects

Montalba Architects develops architecture and interiors for housing, retail, hospitality, and workplaces, with offices in the United States and Switzerland. The relationship between program, layout, and context is central when considering services of this kind: spatial decisions need to respond to planned activities, site characteristics, and the needs of people using the facilities.

Its portfolio brings together houses, restaurants, hotels, boutiques, and offices. Projects such as Nobu Hotel Palo Alto, The Row, and Whitepod provide references for comparing design responses to retail and hospitality experiences within urban and natural surroundings. Reviewing references by program and context helps identify which aspects of the practice can respond to the priorities of a particular assignment and its intended users.

Reviewing the portfolio offers a starting point for connecting references with the needs of an assignment. Before establishing scope, it is useful to describe users, proposed spaces, and property constraints, distinguishing conceptual decisions from later stages of documentation and the technical coordination required for delivery.