Innovative architect honored by AIA Philadelphia

Moto Designshop, an award-winning contemporary architecture and design practice, is pleased to announce that co-founder Adam Montalbano, AIA is the recipient of the 2017 Young Architect Award. The winner was determined by a jury of AIA Philadelphia’s College of Fellows.

“His story is remarkable,” said Rebecca Johnson, Executive Director, AIA Philadelphia. “We were very much attracted to his entrepreneurial approach within the profession – architect, owner, developer – as well as his service to the profession through teaching and mentoring, and to his contributions to community here in Philadelphia.”

With a B.A. in Architecture from Lehigh, and an M.Arch. from the University of Pennsylvania, Montalbano co-founded Moto Designshop with fellow PennDesign alum, Roman Torres.

“The seed money for the firm came primarily from sweat equity,” said Torres. “We convinced Penn to allow us to do the first design/build project thesis. We bought a property by maxing out our credit cards, did 95% of the construction ourselves and with help from The Reinvestment Fund saw it to fruition. Once completed, we had our degrees and the start of a design/build and real estate development company.”

These modest beginnings allowed the studio to adapt to limited budgets and respond nimbly to design commissions. While staying small, the firm has now won more than twenty design awards and is in demand for high-end custom homes, mixed-use commercial, flagship hospitality, art galleries and urban apartment projects. Their luxury townhome project Walnut Estates won an Honor Award from AIA Philadelphia on the same night that Montalbano received the Young Architect Award.

Skilled in technical design, Montalbano and Torres even help other architecture firms with design visualization & animation. Their easy facility with high tech visualization as well as digital fabrication is evident in the firm’s Old City office where a prototyping shop is set up with a 3D printer, laser cutter and metal and woodworking equipment. The foyer features a “Prototype wall” where they explore novel uses for materials such as lighting, fabric & finishes and building materials.

First given in 1987, the Young Architect Award recognizes a registered architect under 40 for exceptional achievement in past accomplishment and future promise. A successful candidate must display distinction in these categories: Practice -- through design excellence, leadership, management and/or specialized technical expertise; Education -- through teaching, publication and/or research; and Service -- through exemplary service and contributions to the profession and/or society.

Moto Designshop

Founded in 2003, Moto Designshop is a boutique architecture and interior design studio in the Old City art district of Philadelphia. The firm originated as an independently funded design / build and real estate development company and within a few years, evolved into a client-based practice with completed works throughout the Philadelphia and Northeast region. Replete with exceptional abilities in high tech visualization, the firm’s construction-based origins continue to guide a love and interest in work that is well-crafted and timeless. The firm’s work has been featured in Architectural Record, the New York Times, Dwell, Architect’s Newspaper, Wallpaper, Architect, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Philadelphia Business Journal. DBA Moto is the certified MBE affiliate of Moto Designshop. Visit www.motodesignshop.com.