Every month we’ll be touching base with past 40 Under 40 honorees to see what’s been happening in their professional and personal lives since winning the award. (U40 alums are invited to participate by sending an update to: jhigginbotham@sgcmail.com.) This month: Standout architects in Chicago and Los Angeles make their mark with massive, complex projects.
DAVID MONTALBA, AIA, SIA, LEED AP
Founding Principal
Montalba Architects, Los Angeles
Class of 2012
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Montalba continues to serve as acting Design Principal on all projects for his firm, which handles retail, restaurant, residential, hospitality, office, institutional, and educational work. The practice has clients in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East as well as the U.S., and has grown to 30 full-time employees since it was incorporated in 2004. Recent projects include numerous luxury retail stores (Stylehaus, Isabel Marant, Barbara Bui, Ports 1960), representing an expansion of the sector for the firm; Nobu Malibu, a Japanese restaurant; concessions design for the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX (in collaboration with LAWA and Westfield); and Duty Free Shops in the Tom Bradley International Terminal.
Teaches “Introduction to Construction” for the Graduate Department of Architecture and Urban Design at UCLA, his alma mater.
Recent awards: AIA Los Angeles Presidential Honor Award, Building Team of the Year, 2013 (for the LAX International Terminal collaboration); Los Angeles Business Journal 2014 Commercial Real Estate Award (hospitality category, for Nikita restaurant).
EXTRACURRICULAR
Actively involved in supporting the A + D Museum in Los Angeles. Firm collaborated with the museum in the recent ARkidECTURE children’s workshop.
Jury Chair, AIA Institute Honors for Interior Architecture 2014.
OFF THE CLOCK
Montalba enjoys playing tennis and hanging out with his kids in Santa Monica, where he resides. Takes frequent trips to visit his family in Lausanne, Switzerland.
MATT DUMICH, AIA
Senior Architect / Project Manager
Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill
Architecture, Chicago
Class of 2009
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Dumich recently joined Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, a firm dedicated to the design of high-performance, energy-efficient, and sustainable architecture on a global scale. He is currently a Project Manager for EXPO-2017, an international exposition in Astana, Kazakhstan, with the theme “Future Energy.” This large project includes exhibition and cultural pavilions and a new residential community with office, retail, hotel, educational, and civic facilities, as well as parks. The design is performance-driven, with each building oriented and shaped to harness energy from sun and wind to create a highly sustainable development.
Recent honors: 2012 AIA Chicago Dubin Family Young Architect Award, 2013 AIA National Young Architects Award.
EXTRACURRICULAR
Selected to join the AIA Chicago Executive Committee as Secretary for the Board of Directors in 2012. Working to support the chapter as Chicago hosts the AIA National Convention this June.
Co-founder of Bridge, a mentoring and leadership program that pairs young architects with members of the AIA College of Fellows.
Keynote speaker, 2011 Chicago Architecture and Design College Day. Has presented talks on architecture to student groups at the Illinois Institute of Technology, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Judson University, and the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.
OFF THE CLOCK
A self-proclaimed foodie and beer snob, Dumich constantly seeks out new restaurants. A recent vacation took him and his wife to Tokyo and Kyoto, where they photographed the unique textures of Japan.
Related Stories
| Aug 19, 2016
RECONSTRUCTION GIANTS: Facelifts give buildings new identities, even as they keep a few wrinkles
Reconstruction is always a balancing act between the client’s pro forma and what the building needs to be vibrant again.
| Aug 19, 2016
Top 130 Reconstruction Architecture Firms
The Beck Group, Stantec, and IMC Consruction top Building Design+Construction’s annual ranking of the nation’s largest reconstruction sector architecture and A/E firms, as reported in the 2016 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 18, 2016
LOCAL GOVERNMENT GIANTS: A ranking of the nation’s top design and construction firms in local sector work
HOK, Stantec, Turner Construction Co.,Clark Group, AECOM and STV top Building Design+Construction’s annual rankings of the nation’s largest local government sector AEC firms, as reported in the 2016 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 18, 2016
STATE GOVERNMENT GIANTS: A ranking of the nation’s top design and construction firms in state sector work
CannonDesign, Stantec, Turner Construction Co.,Mortensen Construction, WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff and AECOM top Building Design+Construction’s annual rankings of the nation’s largest state government sector AEC firms, as reported in the 2016 Giants 300 Report.
Hotel Facilities | Aug 17, 2016
First of its kind tri-branded Marriott hotel under construction in downtown Nashville
The hotel will combine the AC Hotels, Residence Inn, and SpringHill Suites brands.
University Buildings | Aug 16, 2016
New images of Rice University’s Moody Center for the Arts revealed by Michael Maltzan Architecture
The arts center will foster creativity for making and presenting works across all disciplines
Designers | Aug 16, 2016
CCDI, Morphosis, and Diller Scofidio + Renfro are among ten finalists vying for Chinese Eco-Island design
The winning firm will design the master plan and central buildings for the man made Haikou Bay island.
Mixed-Use | Aug 16, 2016
Goettsch Partners completes mixed-use tower in R&F Yingkai Square
The 66-story building is now the 7th tallest completed building in Guangzhou.
| Aug 15, 2016
SPORTS FACILITY GIANTS: New and renovated college sports venues - designed to serve students and the community
Schools are renovating existing structures or building new sports facilities that can serve the student body and surrounding community.
| Aug 15, 2016
Top 50 Sports Facility Architecture Firms
Populous, HKS, and HOK top Building Design+Construction’s annual ranking of the nation’s largest sports facility sector architecture and A/E firms, as reported in the 2016 Giants 300 Report.