'Place and Space: Montalba Architects'

$47.20

In Place and Space (Artifice Press), Swiss-American architect David Montalba’s humanistic ideals about space are on full display. Through a survey of his eponymous firm’s projects, from rural landscapes in Switzerland to the dense urban environments of Los Angeles and New York, and conversations with creative minds such as film director Zack Snyder, landscape designer Andrea Cochran, and artist Andy Denzler, readers get a comprehensive look at Montalba’s philosophy of paring down that reduces stylistic elements to their fundamental essence. A foreword by fellow architect and mentor, Larry Scarpa, along with extensive drawings and photography and an essay by veteran design journalist Jonathan Bell further highlights the studio’s values—volumetric landscapes, material integrity, sculpted light, transitional space, and pure spatial volumes—showcased across its portfolio spanning residential, commercial, hospitality, urban, and retail. In many ways, Place and Space is also a biography of sorts. Flipping through its 240 pages, it becomes clear the DNA of Los Angeles and Lausanne is as foundational to Montalba's work as it is to him.