Antonio Montes

Antonio Montes was born in 1957 in Manresa and graduated from the Barcelona School of Architecture (ETSAB). After completing his degree in 1988, he joined the Barcelona City Council’s Urban Projects Office and, in 2004, was appointed director of Projects and Works for the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (AMB), a position he held until 2020. He currently forms part of the Barcelona City Council’s Urban Transformation and Innovation Department.

Throughout his career as an architect, Antonio Montes has worked on the design of urban space and created elements for the city. His diverse range of work in Barcelona notably includes: the Avinguda del Portal de l’Àngel project (1992), the stairway on calle Génova (1993), calle Ferran (1995), avenida Meridiana (1999) with Garcés-Soria, and the Plaza Molina (1998). Among his most acclaimed work outside of the city are: the Plaza Mayor in Manresa (2005), the streets, promenade and squares of the Old Centre of Sant Boi de Llobregat (2007-2010), the Old N-2 National Motorway and the Plaza de la Vila in Montgat (2008-2017). In addition, he has carried out numerous projects in the area of public amenities and social housing: the Ministry of Public Works and Urban Planning (1986), the Cornellà de Llobregat Library (2009), housing and urban space around the historic markets of Masnou (2010) and Manresa (2013), the library and former El Molí factory in Molins de Rei (2014-2020) and the Municipal Sports Centre in Ripollet (2020).

The awards and recognition that Antonio Montes has garnered over the years confirm his prominence as an urban planner: he was awarded in the call for ideas for an amenity building prototype for the beaches of Northern Spain, run by the Ministry of Public Works and Urban Planning in 1986, a finalist in the 4th edition of the Young European Architects competition in 1996, awarded for the remodelling of the surroundings of the Old Market in Masnou in 1997, selected for the 5th Spanish Architecture Biennale in 1999, received a special mention in the COAC Central Regions Architecture Biennale in 2006, a finalist in the Maresme Architecture Show in 2010, selected by COAC in the good practices collection in 2011 and selected by COAC in the Catalan Architecture Show in 2013 and 2019, among others.

Antonio Montes has combined his professional work with teaching. Throughout his career, he has given courses, workshops and conferences at different national and international architecture schools, including: the Architects’ Association of Catalonia, the Barcelona School of Architecture, the Physical Planning and Architecture Centre, the Velo-city International Conference and the Forum of Municipalities and Regions of Europe in Brussels, as well as at the international one-day conferences of the Architectural Heritage Intervention (AHI) in Barcelona.

Antonio Montes is co-creator, together with Montserrat Periel, of the Trapecio bench (2003), comprising two trapezoidal-shaped pieces of wood or concrete. This piece is visibly striking thanks to its size and beauty and serves as a unique, casual meeting space for city dwellers.

Among the most prominent projects to include the Trapecio bench are: the Royal Docks Thames Barrier Park (2021), the University of British Columbia Gage South (2019), and the outdoor campus for Novartis North Park (2018).