“We want to feel good about our designs, not only because they are good for the earth
but also because they are good for you, your wellbeing and your pocket.”

Cristina Villalón is the Co-Founder and Managing Principal of Álvarez-Díaz & Villalón® | Architecture & Interior Design.

Villalón has designed projects in New York, Florida, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Oman, Venezuela and Puerto Rico many of which have received high recognition and mention in the press. Her intelligent use of holistic design coupled with extensive experience in the construction, renovation and expansion of residential and commercial interiors, plus a healthy hint of perfectionism, have helped her attract a wide variety of top-notch clients globally.

Villalón founded Villalón Interiors, Inc. in 2005. In 2012, after almost a decade of successful collaboration, Villalón Interiors, Inc. joined forces with Álvarez-Díaz + Group, PSC, to form Álvarez-Díaz & Villalón® | Architecture & Interior Design. The union has resulted in exponential success for the husband-and-wife team and the firm they lead, proving once more that complementing views and skillsets provide a better value proposition to customers.

Renowned for her interiors, that are as welcoming as they are functional, Villalón was honored in 2015 with the Star on the Rise award by the Design Center of the Americas. In 2013 and 2015, examples of her work were featured in the books The Best of Residential Architecture and Design and The Best of Education and Culture, both published by Interior Design Books.

Since 2005, Villalón has been an active member of the College of Interior Designers and Decorators of Puerto Rico (CODDI) and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). She belongs to the Board of Trustees of Saint John's School, one of the most distinguished high schools on the island - and her own alma mater. In addition, Villalón is a member of the Board of Directors of the Jack B. Kodesh Foundation. For multiple years, she served on the Committee for the Museo de Arte de Ponce’s Annual Gala. Most recently, she was appointed by the Governor of Puerto Rico, Ricardo Rosselló to the Board of Directors of the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture. She is currently the only woman on that Board but is working diligently to change that.

In 2016, Cristina was named among the Top 40 Under 40 by Design: Retail magazine and that same year, she was given the same distinction by Caribbean Business. In 2017, along with her husband and business partner, architect Ricardo Álvarez-Díaz, she coauthored the firm’s first monograph called Places of Purpose, which features the firm’s work over its fifteen-year history. Cristina insisted that all the proceeds from the sale of the book be donated to Habitat for Humanity of PR for rebuilding efforts after the passing of Hurricane Maria.

Cristina holds a Master of Science degree in Interior Design from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Art History from Pitzer College, a member of the Claremont Colleges in Los Angeles, California. Cristina furthered her design studies in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Cristina is the proud mother of three beautiful daughters, a recycling and gender equality activist, an insatiable reader and lifelong learner. Her latest side project, a blog entitled, The Juggling Act, aims to share her candid experience, as she tries to maintain balance while trying to do it all!