Las Vegas Market: Juan Montoya honored as Design Icon
Shares perspective on his design process in special presentation
Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, February 4, 2010
 Juan Montoya |
LAS VEGAS — Juan Montoya was honored as a Design Icon today by the World Market Center.
Robert Maricich, president and CEO of the World Market Center, described Montoya as "a truly inspirational designer, someone who aptly compares himself to a tailor seeking the finest materials in which to clothe the spaces in which he works."
The annual Design Icon award honors design legends by giving them a platform from which to share their stories and inspire and educate other designers. In receiving the honor, Montoya joins the ranks of past recipients such as Vicente Wolf, Vladimir Kagan, Larry Laslo and Roger Thomas.
"I've long admired Juan's work for its drama, panache and polish," said Roger Thomas, executive vice president of Wynn Design & Development, who attended the Design Icon presentation.
After accepting his award, Montoya shared his thought process when beginning a new project.
"The important thing is chemistry," he said. "If I didn't have that chemistry with the client, there would be no project."
Born in Bogotá, Colombia, Montoya studied at Universidad La Gran Colombia and then at the Parsons School for Design in New York City. He gained experience doing freelance work in Milan and Paris, and went on to work for Ford and Earl Associates Inc. In 1978, he ventured out on his own. In search of a city that blended diversity with cosmopolitan flair, Montoya landed in New York.
Montoya's portfolio is as eclectic as it is storied. He specializes in residential and commercial spaces, including but not limited to interiors, architecture and exteriors with clients both domestic and international.
Montoya's mission, through his work, is to enhance business and the art of diplomacy. His wide-ranging cultural inspirations come from Japan, Morocco, Scandinavia and the Americas.
Montoya said his first point of order in the design process is mapping out a vision. "We start by doing very intensive programming. Programming that is related to how you (the client) live. How you (the client) understand or feel about the project."
His goal is to translate the inner working of the client's mind into the project. "I think it is more interesting with the limitations when all of those elements the client has in his mind is a dream. One of the opening lines in my book is, ‘Give me your dreams and I will make it a reality.' That is the process."
One of the key elements to a creative yet functional design, said Montoya, lies in the project's location. Is it hot or cold? Cosmopolitan, like New York, or southwestern desert, like Las Vegas?
Each work must be placed within a context, first and foremost, he said. "Every city in the world presents a different and complete set of ideas and concepts. Designers must determine how you to achieve that project and be successful."
Montoya walked the audience through several different projects to illustrate his philosophy and demonstrate his creativity in design. He also shared how he tries to use local art or suppliers whenever possible and when he opts to use furnishings of his own design.
Following the presentation, which was also translated into Spanish through the use of listening devices for interested attendees, Montoya signed copies of his second book, "Juan Montoya."
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