This is a Guru’Guay Top Pick
Guru’Guay only recommends businesses and service providers in Uruguay that we absolutely love, who love what they do and demonstrate constant quality.
How and why we choose Guru’Guay Top Picks
We’d love to hear about your experience. Please share in the comments below.
Share via:
Are you renovating an apartment or updating an older home in Montevideo? Building from scratch on the coast? Each situation brings its own complexities, especially when you are totally new to Uruguay’s very different construction culture. Having a trusted architect to run your project—and keep it legal—is really key. So when readers ask us if we know a good Uruguay architect, we’re very happy to say yes. Read on.
Over the past few years, one studio came up repeatedly in conversations with readers and collaborators: accå, an architecture & design studio. Several of their clients found them through our recommended Montevideo real estate agent, including when they were about to buy a property and wanted an architect’s opinion before committing.
The studio is run by three award-winning architects—Lucas, Malú and Gonzalo—who work closely together and tend to attend meetings as a team. They all speak English though Lucas who lived for ten years in the USA is 100% fluent. So he’s the one we interviewed when we wanted to learn more about building and renovating property in Uruguay (coming soon).
As ever, when we haven’t worked personally with a Guru’Guay Top Pick, we interview a number of their clients—requesting total frankness—to learn about their experience. Here’s what they told us:
Sam, originally from the United States, bought an apartment in Montevideo and carried out the entire renovation from overseas. The project involved structural changes, architectural design and full construction management. What stood out to him was how organised the process was: acca sent weekly updates with photos, contractor schedules and budgets so everything could be tracked from afar. He says the result feels carefully thought through, adding that “everything feels very intentional and there’s no wasted space—you can tell the difference of working with trained architects.”
Heidi, from the United States, worked with acca on a large renovation of a three-storey home in Carrasco while living there with her family. The project included redesigning key spaces, updating plumbing and electrical systems and coordinating multiple subcontractors. She says that although construction in Uruguay can sometimes be challenging, acca’s communication and contractor coordination made the experience surprisingly smooth, describing Malú as “a genius at making things happen.”
Scott, also from the United States, faced a different challenge: he and his partner had only a short window to renovate the kitchen of their Montevideo apartment before their belongings arrived. acca proposed several design options and coordinated the contractors quickly enough that the work was finished in time. Scott says the team was “very attentive” and that the design was both creative and practical.
Claire, from the United States, is renovating an apartment in a protected mid-century building in Montevideo. She says one of the things she appreciates most is the collaborative design process: the three architects usually attend meetings together, which means she gets several perspectives on each idea. She describes the experience as “at least as good as the experience that I had back in San Francisco with a very very high-level designer”.
Mauricio, from Uruguay, worked with acca on a new home near Montoya, starting with the selection of a plot and continuing through design, budgeting and construction. He says the team’s organisation stood out, especially when a strike in the concrete industry threatened delays—acca anticipated the issue early and proposed solutions before it became a major problem.
Perla, who divides her time between Argentina and Uruguay, needed a renovation of her family summer home in Solanas completed while she was abroad. acca managed the design and execution largely independently, keeping the project on budget and increasing the property’s value 30%. Their commitment impressed her so much that she has worked with them multiple times including bringing them to Argentina to work on her home there.
acca provides a full range of residential architectural services in Uruguay, including:
Across the client interviews we conducted, a few themes came up repeatedly: clear communication, strong organisation and a collaborative approach to design. For foreigners planning a renovation or new build—especially those managing a project from another country—having a Uruguay architect studio which combined design with practical project management made a huge difference.
One Response
Craks! Malu, Lucas and Gonza of ACCA are the best! We are enjoying our new home in Montoya!