Honoring the Landscape: Atelier García’s Concrete House in Guatapé
It’s always exciting to see Colombian talent making waves on the global design stage. Recently, Dezeen featured a stunning residential project by New York-based studio Atelier García, led by architects Orlando García and Clara Arango. Their Concrete House, perched on a hillside in Guatapé, is a poetic tribute to the region’s dramatic topography and the iconic Rock of El Peñol.
Using board-formed concrete, the house rises organically out of the mountain, its textures echoing the ruggedness of the site. Even the construction process — carrying materials by hand up the hillside — speaks to a remarkable dedication to craft and vision.
It’s inspiring to see Colombian architects like Atelier García shaping spaces that reflect both cultural identity and environmental sensitivity.
Please take a look at the dezeen article at the link below:
https://www.dezeen.com/2025/07/15/atelier-garcia-concrete-house-colombia/
Curve ID at Forbes
Alberto Mantilla, founding partner of Curve ID on Forbes Top Colombian Creatives :
Por el mundo hay desde cosas gigantescas como el interior de un avión o un vehículo, hasta cosas muy pequeñas como un salero y pimentero que estuvieron primero en la cabeza de Alberto Mantilla.
Con más miedos que certezas, este bogotano estudió diseño industrial en la Universidad Javeriana. Se graduó en 1983 y dos años más tarde, en un profundo viaje por Estados Unidos, llegó a Nueva York, una ciudad que lo recibió y en donde encontró un camino que lo llevó a las grandes esferas del diseño mundial.
Vea aquí el listado completo de los 50 Creativos Forbes 2020
Su éxito no se dio de la noche a la mañana. Antes de fundar su empresa Curve ID -en donde ha reclutado a varios jóvenes colombianos talentosos- trabajó en una de las firmas más importantes de Estados Unidos. “Allá entré como diseñador en un nivel muy bajo, pero con los años empecé a crecer y a crecer. Llegué a ser director de diseño de un grupo bastante grande”, cuenta Mantilla a Forbes. “En esa época se dio un cambio en tecnologías y yo estaba trabajando con esas tecnologías. Ahí fue cuando, con un colega inglés, decidimos crear nuestra propia empresa”.Tras adquirir experiencia con los más grandes de ese país, Mantilla se lanzó al ruedo en un camino desconocido. Firmó su primer contrato con Ford Motor Company, en Detroit, y luego vino John Deere, y Colgate, y Pyrex, y Nike. Y así, el resto es historia. El bogotano logró entrar a las grandes ligas de la industria, a tal punto que su portafolio, tal y como lo advierte, “va desde cosas gigantescas como el interior de un avión o un vehículo, hasta cosas muy pequeñas como un salero y pimentero”.
“Hemos hecho absolutamente de todo y eso ha sido una alegría muy grande no solamente para mí, sino para el grupo”, cuenta Mantilla. Por sus diseños, que hoy ya son reconocidos en todo el mundo, el colombiano ha recibido importantes galardones como el de la revista Time por “El mejor diseño del año” en 1998, el premio de la revista ID, “Design distinction”, y el “Lápiz de acero” en Colombia. De hecho, una de sus tantas obras que le dan la vuelta al mundo es un salero y un pimentero, blanco y negro, que parecen abrazarse, creado, y quizás inspirado, en el nacimiento de su hija.
Sin embargo, los reconocimientos de su vida no son precisamente los materiales. “Yo creo que el mejor premio que uno puede tener es diseñar algo, y ver cómo la gente lo usa, lo percibe. Eso es lo realmente importante”, concluye.
https://forbes.co/2020/12/04/creativos-forbes-2020/creativos-forbes-alberto-mantilla/
All-Clad Tools Process
We’re glad to see the latest set of All-Clad tools hit the shelves of Williams Sonoma!
An important part of the design process for this project was to evaluate the tool’s design and ergonomics with 3D -Printed prototypes. With each iteration of the prototypes, we gained insights and improved the overall look and feel of each tool.
We evaluated 28 tools in total, each with a unique task to fill in the kitchen, in Non-Stick and Stainless steel versions.
Curve ID at Starrett-Lehigh
Alberto's quote featured on Starrett-Lehigh's Instagram post:
“There’s a #community at #StarrettLehigh unlike any other #OfficeBuilding I’ve seen. We’ve worked with #designers, #artists, and #architectsthroughout the building; it’s nice to be able to share #knowledge, contacts, and even #build#prototypes with each other.” – Alberto Mantilla, Founding #Partner of @Curve_ID
Colombia Design at General Consulate of Colombia NYC
We had a great time sharing a few of our designs as well as meeting new up and coming designers from Colombia. We would like to thank the General Consulate of Colombia in New York for offering their support of this event and we're looking forward to seeing Colombian design continue to grow and succeed!
Make sure you guys check out the work from a few of the hardworking designers we had a chance to meet:
medellindesignweek tutallerdesign HincapieArquitectos pablofog Criolla moakstudio estudioseisnueve Blue Point
2017 Colombia Design NYC
We're excited to have the opportunity to participate in the 2017 Colombia Design exhibition at the Colombian Consulate in NYC. We displayed a few new projects from Alberto Mantilla as well as Dario Narvaez' and Anthony Baxter's "Black Hole Lamp". Our work was featured alongside several other Colombian renowned designers.
Consulate General of Colombia
10 E 46th St New York NY 10017
Recent Project - PerkinElmer NexION 2000 ICP-MS
The NexION 2000’s All Matrix Solution and Extended Dynamic Range features enable you to run samples with high total dissolved solids without manual dilution and with the flexibility to measure both high- and low-level elements simultaneously.
Recent Project - All-Clad Stainless Roaster
Our recent re-design of All-Clad's Stainless Steel Roaster was featured on Sur La Table's Thanksgiving Sale cover!
The design is simple and should last a long forever, like the roaster itself!
Black Hole Lamp - Video
"A black hole, a celestial object so massive that no nearby matter or radiation can escape its gravitational field. Often, this is described as the boundary within which the black hole's escape velocity is greater than the speed of light." Design by Dario Alejandro Narvaez, Tony Baxter, the Curve ID Team & many others!
BLACK HOLE LAMP - DESIGN CONTEST WINNER - L A M P
Curve ID is proud to announce that the “Black Hole Lamp”, conceived and directed by Dario Alejandro Narvaez and Tony Baxter, has won one of the world’s largest international lighting competitions, L A M P (Light Architecture Movement Project; www.welovelamp.ca)
Thanks to the Curve ID team, particularly Alberto Mantilla and Carlos Gonzalez
Special thanks to:
Benjamin Duarte: Metal Fabrication
Eddy Viana: Electronics & Programming
Mark Breneman: Electronics & Programming
Marc Vivant: Electronics & Programming
Pete Althoff: Electronics Consulting
Ronald Ondrey: Prototype Consulting
Last but not least, the event organizers at L A M P: Nicole Fox & Annika Hagen; Thank you for hosting such a unique event that inspires the design community.
Inside the Tech Studio at Starrett-Lehigh: A View to the Future of Product Design
On October 27th Curve I.D. featured our partner Alberto Mantilla as one of the panelists for Starrett-Lehigh's "Inside the Tech Studio, a View to the Future of Product Design". An evening featuring industry experts, attendees were able to witness a #PanelDiscussion focused on #tech and #design.
Thank you, Starrett-Lehigh for hosting such a unique event and celebrating Product Design!
