PRP Now! Daniel Montalvo // Deborah Berke Partners

PRP Now! aims to showcase the great experiences students encounter within the Professional Residency Program. PRP offers upper-level architecture students a unique opportunity to expand their education through work experience in the architectural profession. Over the past twenty years, our students have been linked with 260 firms in 29 countries. We will feature a handful of students within each session, graduate and undergrad, domestic and international firms. PRP staff mostly recently had the pleasure to speak with Daniel Montalvo [M.Arch. '16] about his experience.

PRP: Tell us about your PRP firm. Where are you working?
I’m working at Deborah Berke Partners in midtown Manhattan. Their design work includes historic spaces, single family houses, institutional, and commercial buildings.

PRP: Do you enjoy the city you’re working in? Favorite aspects?
While I was initially intimidated by the idea of working in New York without ever visiting the city before, it has really been a fascinating and helpful process to break it down by its neighborhoods and explore from there. I live with fellow UT grad students Annie Charleston, Katie Clark, and Mark Nordby on the upper west side of Manhattan which has of course resulted in a fairly constant barrage of activity as we individually seek out and collectively experience the qualities of the city that we are each most drawn to. Personally, I have found both Bryant, and Madison Square Park in midtown to be therapeutic spaces in which to read and passively observe the city after work – while the weather holds out.

PRP: What is currently on your desk? What are you working on?
Currently on my desk is my notebook, a few pens, highlighters, several interior elevations, some laser cut façade studies, and a list of items for an updated materials schedule. I was just notified that I’ll be sharing my area with a new hire so I’m probably going to have to deal with all the tile samples and models that I’ve been storing in random places around my desk. I have been splitting my time so far between two summer houses which are wrapping up concept design and design development, a residential tower in Washington DC, and a primary residence in Indiana; both of which are now in construction administration. Coming from school, the latter projects have offered a lot of insight into the challenges involved in maintaining the integrity of initial design concepts despite last minute changes in fixtures, materials, finishes, and the details required to bring them all together.

PRP: Describe the firm culture? The office atmosphere?
The atmosphere of the office is very professional and organized. The firm is split between two floors with long rows of open workstations which are low enough to allow, let’s say an intern, to look across the room and easily identify the location of design team members whose insights might be key to completing certain tasks in a timely and correct manner. Despite its steady growth over the years – now pushing 60 employees, the office maintains a common identity through the exchange of ideas, stories, and food facilitated by weekly Design Panels, seasonal Art Exhibitions which are open to anyone, and a steady pace of more formal office parties alongside impromptu happy hours.

PRP: What is the first thing you'll tell your classmates upon your return to UT?
“Don’t hesitate to apply to the residency program. Ours is so well established; it’s an incredible opportunity to test out a city you’ve always been curious about or eve—is that a breakfast taco?? …Can I have it?”

PRP: As you’re finishing up the week, what are your plans for this weekend?
My roommates have just brought to my attention the Architecture + Design Film Festival. Some of the showings are in Chelsea and as I’ve been meaning to venture into the new Whitney just about every weekend since I’ve been here, this seems like the right pairing.