Place and Space: In Conversation with David Montalba and Special Guests at Frieze Gallery
Thursday, September 15, 2022 from 6-8pm
No. 9 Cork Street, London
To attend, please click here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/montalba-architects-place-and-space-at-frieze-gallery-tickets-403748150587
Artifice Press is delighted to announce the forthcoming release of Place and Space, a conceptual book showcasing the scale and breadth of work completed by the international firm Montalba Architects since its conception nearly two decades ago. The book explores the duality of Montalba’s approach to design, combining the calm precision of Swiss architectural practice with the radical experimentation of 1970s and 1980s California, whose influences range from the playfulness of post-modernist architecture to the controlled complexity of Deconstructivism.
The book will be launched in London with a conversation between founder David Montalba and special guests at Frieze’s Cork Street space.
David Montalba founded Montalba Architects in 2004 and the book showcases many of the firm’s key projects, such as their longstanding partnership with Nobu, the multi-award-winning Santa Monica Headquarters for Headspace, The Row’s iconic retail flagship on Melrose Place and innovative residential projects like 2020’s Vertical Courtyard House, which recently won an AIA Residential Design Award. These projects bring together residential, commercial, hospitality, institutional and retail architecture while all following Montalba’s strict motto of ‘paring down’, reducing stylistic elements to their fundamental essence.
Through the incorporation of drawings, floorplans and finished photography by photographers including Kevin Scott, Dominique Verllion and Delphine Burtin, each project’s story is presented in relation to the firm’s philosophies.
Place and Space features a foreword by revered architect and Montalba’s mentor, Larry Scarpa alongside an expansive introductory essay by Jonathan Bell, long-standing contributor to the design magazine, Wallpaper*. Also included are in-depth conversations with notable creatives and thought leaders. Discussions between Montalba and figures such as film director Zack Snyder, David Allemann, co-founder of “ON”, whose sportswear is championed by Roger Federer, and landscape designer Andrea Cochran examine the unique values of the studio, from the place of light in experiential design to the importance of sustainability in all of their projects.
Attracted to the duality of Montalba’s modernist approach and the quality and breadth of their work, Artifice Press saw an exciting opportunity to bring to life the story of a singular practice taking on solution-based projects, grounded in enduring design principles.
Anna Danby, Publishing Director at Artifice Press says ‘Collaborating on this book was such a privilege and positive experience for our team. We often think that creating a book employs similar components to that of creating a building: structure, research of materials, sequencing, rhythm and balance. We believe Place and Space in its physical form truly reflects the style, design aesthetic and craftsmanship of Montalba Architects.’
Place and Space will be released August 30, 2022 and is currently available for pre-order, go to ArtificeOnline.com
For all media enquiries and press images, please contact:
Mark Inglefield
mark@albanyartscommunications.com
t: +44 (0) 20 78 79 88 95; m: +44 (0) 79 74 25 29 94
Esmee Wright
esmee@albanyartscommunications.com
t: +44 (0) 20 78 79 88 95; m: +44 (0) 75 31 99 59 35
Notes to Editors
About Montalba Architects
Founding Principal David Montalba, FAIA, SIA, started Montalba Architects in 2004 and is
the driving force of leadership and design within the firm. Montalba Architects is a diverse architecture and design studio of more than 60 designers based in Santa Monica, CA and Lausanne, Switzerland. The award-winning practice is engaged in retail, residential, hospitality, and other select commercial projects in the United States, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Believing that architecture and one’s environment can truly improve quality of life, Montalba’s approach is humanistic in nature, which often leads to solutions that are discrete, contextual, yet conceptual in their intent, effect, and appeal. Montalba Architects’ original Santa Monica studio is located within Bergamot Station, a creative hub and arts district at 2525 Michigan Ave., Bldg. T4, Santa Monica, CA. Montalba Architects, Sàrl is located at Rue Centrale 6, 4 eme stage, Lausanne, CH-1003, Switzerland.
About Jonathan Bell
Jonathan Bell writes about all aspects of contemporary design, focusing on transport, architecture, and technology. He is the author, co-author and editor of ten books, including The 21st Century House, The New Modern House: Redefining Functionalism, The Contemporary House and Todd Saunders: Architecture in Northern Landscapes. Jonathan is a long-standing contributor to Wallpaper* magazine. He has also contributed to Conde Nast Traveller, Wired, and Esquire, amongst others.
About Artifice Press
Artifice Press propels new thinking in architecture, urbanism and design. We work with an international selection of independent studios, larger firms, scholars and institutions within a start-to-finish collaborative module to produce high-quality books that transcend disciplinary constraints to address 21st-century architecture’s most topical concerns, including urbanism and the landscape, the environment and ecology, the arts and culture, as well as science, education and technology.
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