Michal G. Imber Architects Opens New Santa Barbara Office

Michael G. Imber Architects has recently opened a new office space in Santa Barbara, California.

The firm, based in San Antonio, Texas, specializes in modern, classical design for residential, institutional, and hospitality properties. They design projects all over the country and even internationally, too.

While the firm has designed projects and worked with clients in California for decades, their decision to open a California office was somewhat serendipitous, said Michael G. Imber, principal at his firm. "We were working with a client in Montecito and they asked if we would ever consider having a permanent presence there," said Imber. "It all made sense... we have so many wonderful collaborators [in California]. Once the seed was planted, it all came together very naturally."

The new office has a founding team of three professionals based in Santa Barbara—architects Andrew Petrovsky and Jennifer Lewis, along with job captain Arturo Rodriguez. The Santa Barbara office will continue to work closely with the San Antonio flagship, making sure that each project "has the best fit for its needs," said Mac White, firm partner.

The firm completes projects from coast to coast—recently they won a 2026 Palladio Award for Casa de las Joyas, set just north of Los Angeles, and for Chisholm Trail Ranch, in North Texas. Other recent accolades include a 2025 Trumbauer Award for the Linda L. Bean Conference Center in Wilmington, Delaware, and a 2023 AIA CRAN Award for Wildwood in Texas.

"This historic character of Santa Barbara and the area’s dedication to craft, essential elements in all of our projects, made the town an obvious match for our new office," said Imber.

The firm specializes in creating buildings that work in harmony with their natural surroundings. This means building with materials sourced from the area local to a project, making California an especially good fit for a new home base for the firm.

"I have always been enchanted by the landscape and materials California has to offer: cypress, oak, redwood... The patina and warmth is something that could be found nowhere else on earth," said Imber. "One of my favorite materials is stone and Santa Barbara has the most beautiful Sienna-colored sandstone," he continued.

As for opening a third office, the company is satisfied with Santa Barbara for now. "Our culture is so deeply rooted in a singular studio that it would make it difficult to maintain that synergy with more locations," Imber said. "California has worked well. We have the right team, who spend a lot of time in our Texas studio."

"Since opening our studio in California, we have had a windfall of interests in our work," said Imber, which he notes has been exciting because it's mostly come from previous collaborators like interior designers, landscape architects, and builders who want to introduce them to their clients.

"It’s been exciting," said Imber. "We look forward to what’s to come."