Álvarez-Díaz & Villalón

What Álvarez-Díaz & Villalón does

Álvarez-Díaz & Villalón (AD&V) is a privately held architecture, interior design, and consulting practice founded in 2000 through the merger of AD+Group and Villalón Interiors, Inc. The firm operates from offices in San Juan (headquarters), New York, and Chicago, serving private developers, investment firms, hospitality operators, healthcare and educational institutions, and nonprofit clients across Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and mainland US. Its service portfolio spans Architecture, Interior Design, Master Planning & Urban Design, Development Consulting, and Permitting Strategy & Solutions, with horizontal segmentation across hospitality, residential, institutional, commercial/mixed-use, and master planning. AD&V positions itself around a "Places of Purpose" philosophy and holds B Corp certification (Feb 2024), making it the first Puerto Rican design firm with the designation and the third company island-wide.

The firm monetizes through custom project-based professional services engagements priced per proposal and structured as multi-year contracts. Its go-to-market is enterprise field sales, with direct consultative engagement of complex development projects and an active content-marketing ecosystem (AD&V Blog, AD&Vision, Inside Out Podcast, AD&Videos) supporting top-of-funnel demand. Underlying technology consists of in-house "Maker Lab" capabilities (3D printing, laser cutting for physical model fabrication) and "Meta Lab" capabilities (VR/AR for spatial visualization and client walkthroughs), which function as differentiation tools rather than productized offerings.

AD&V is independent and founder-led, with Ricardo Álvarez-Díaz, FAIA as Principal and Co-founder and Cristina Villalón as Co-founder and lead interior designer. Following the 2008 financial crisis the firm adopted a strategic "Three I's Business Model" (Introspection, Instruction, Implementation) emphasizing selective client fit, and it maintains ESG commitments via the UN Global Compact (2019), the AIA 2030 Commitment, and UN Women's Empowerment Principles. Revenue, headcount history, and funding are not publicly disclosed, but the firm is actively operating with 11-50 employees and reports ongoing impact measurement against a 2030 Big Hairy Audacious Goal of 65,000 direct and 6 million indirect lives impacted through its projects.

Name

Álvarez-Díaz & Villalón

Legal name

Álvarez-Díaz & Villalón

Website

https://alvarezdiazvillalon.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Álvarez-Díaz & Villalón is a privately held architecture, interior design, and consulting practice serving private developers, institutional clients, and hospitality operators across the Caribbean and mainland US from offices in San Juan, New York, and Chicago. The firm delivers project-based architecture, master planning, and permitting services underpinned by a "Places of Purpose" philosophy and B Corp certification.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

San Juan

HQ country

Puerto Rico

HQ region

Latin America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Architecture and Interior Design Services: Professional consulting services providing architecture, interior design, master planning, urban design, development consulting, and permitting strategy solutions for private and public sector clients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

AD&V provides professional architecture, interior design, master planning, urban design, development consulting, and permitting strategy services to private and public investment clients. The firm delivers end-to-end project guidance—from vision and feasibility through permitting and realization—across hospitality, residential, affordable housing, institutional, healthcare, commercial, mixed-use, and urban planning sectors. Service delivery is enhanced by proprietary Maker Lab (3D printing/laser cutting) and Meta Lab (VR/AR) capabilities for visualization and design iteration.

Product overview

Álvarez-Díaz & Villalón (AD&V) is an architecture, interior design, and consulting practice that offers a portfolio of design services rather than a product-based platform. Their core service offerings include Architecture, Interior Design, Master Planning & Urban Design, Development Consulting, and Permitting Strategy & Solutions. They do not offer a software product or platform; they provide professional design and consulting services across multiple sectors including hospitality (hotels, resorts), residential (affordable housing, private residences), commercial, institutional (schools, healthcare facilities), mixed-use developments, and urban planning projects. The firm operates from offices in San Juan, New York, and Chicago, serving private and public investment clients with a focus on sustainable, human-centric design that creates 'Places of Purpose.'

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Architecture

Quantifiable outcome

• 2,978 lives directly impacted and 108,668 lives indirectly impacted in 2023 through finished projects
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• United Nations Global CompactcoreOthers · 1 January 2019AD&V joined the UN Global Compact in 2019, committing to its principles on human rights, labor, environment, and anti-corruption. The firm aligns its business practices with UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and incorporates them into daily operations.
• AIA (American Institute of Architects) 2030 CommitmentcoreOthersAD&V has committed to the AIA 2030 Commitment to achieve net-zero emissions in the built environment, demonstrating dedication to sustainable architecture practices.
• UN Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs)coreOthersAD&V supports the UN Women's Empowerment Principles to promote gender equality within the firm and industry.
• B CorporationcoreOthersAD&V achieved B Corp Certification in 2024, becoming the first Puerto Rican design firm certified. This rigorous certification validates commitment to social and environmental performance standards.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Gensler: Largest global architecture and design firm with practices across hospitality, residential, workplace, and mixed-use. Comparable to AD&V in sector breadth and interior design integration, though at fundamentally different scale.
• Perkins&Will: Global architecture firm with a leading sustainability practice and AIA 2030 Commitment participation, active across healthcare, education, hospitality, and residential. Comparable to AD&V's sustainability positioning and multi-sector service mix, but at vastly greater scale.
• SmithGroup: Integrated architecture, engineering, and planning firm with sustainability leadership and strong healthcare, education, and urban design practices. Comparable to AD&V in institutional and master planning segments and sustainability commitments.
• HOK: Global architecture, design, and engineering firm with large practices in hospitality, healthcare, education, and residential. Comparable to AD&V across institutional and hospitality segments, though operating at materially greater scale and geographic breadth.

Direct peers

• BNIM: B Corp certified architecture and design firm with a purpose-driven, sustainability-led practice spanning education, housing, and community-focused projects. Closely comparable to AD&V in B Corp certification, mission-driven positioning, and impact-measurement emphasis.
• IA Interior Architects: Global interior design firm with strong hospitality, residential, and mixed-use practices. Comparable to AD&V's interior design offering and multi-segment approach to interior environments.
• Arquitectonica: Miami-based international architecture firm with a strong hospitality, mixed-use, and high-rise residential practice and significant Caribbean and Latin America exposure. Comparable to AD&V in design-driven hospitality and residential positioning and regional footprint.
• Hirsch Bedner Associates (HBA): Specialist hospitality interior design firm with global resort and hotel portfolio. Directly comparable to AD&V's interior design work for Courtyard by Marriott and Residence Inn and its hospitality segment focus.
• OBMI (OBM International): Caribbean-focused architecture and interior design practice serving hospitality, residential, and resort clients across the region. Directly comparable to AD&V in Caribbean-centric hospitality and residential design delivery.
• Bermello, Ajamil & Partners: Miami-headquartered architecture, planning, and interior design firm with deep Caribbean and Latin America portfolio across hospitality, residential, and infrastructure. Comparable to AD&V in geography, sector mix, and Caribbean hurricane-resilient design focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/adv_alvarezdiazvillalon
• Facebookfacebook.com/advfirm
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/advfirm
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCj3wYwC1cJ3JZfQLT-Jwgmg
• Xx.com/advfirm

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Álvarez-Díaz & Villalón