Founder and Design Principal Zoltan E. Pali launched SPF:a in 1995 with partner Judit M. Fekete-Pali. The firm has received over 100 national and regional design awards, including an American Architecture Award in 2014 for the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills and an AIALA Presidential Award for leading the executive architecture team on the $280-million renovation and expansion of the Getty Villa Museum.

Known for an elegant minimalist approach rooted in California modernism and honed over a 40-year career, Zoltan has designed projects in varying typologies and scales, from iconic cultural facilities and creative office buildings to multiunit housing, signature residences and public infrastructure. Notable projects include WE3 at Water’s Edge—160,000 square-feet of LEED Gold creative office space—and MODAA, a mixed-use live/work space in the heart of Culver City.

An LA native, Zoltan began his architectural career while a student at UCLA. Prior to founding SPF:a, he worked alongside prominent Case Study architect Jerrold E. Lomax, FAIA, who was one of the original LA12, a famed 1976 group exhibition that included Frank Gehry, Cesar Pelli, and Craig Ellwood.

Zoltan has served as a visiting professor and lecturer at the University of Southern California, and a visiting critic at both the Cal Poly Pomona School of Architecture and UCLA School of Art and Architecture. In 2005, he was inducted into the American Institute of Architects College of Fellows.

Founder and Creative Director Judit M. Fekete-Pali has been responsible for the strategic direction and artistic vision of the firm since its founding in 1995 with partner Zoltan E. Pali.

Their collaboration across a diverse range of projects has established the firm’s reputation as an experienced and thoughtful partner in both the design of new facilities and the renovation and adaptive reuse of historic structures. Recent examples include renovations of the Warner Grand Theatre and Pantages Theatre, each an iconic theatre designated by the City of Los Angeles as a Historic Cultural-Monument and restored to their original grandeur.

Judit has contributed to the designs of some of the firm’s most widely recognized work, most notably as the lead designer and developer for MODAA, a block-length mixed-use space in the heart of Culver City’s Arts District. Configured with flexible spaces equally attuned to living and working, the project was named Mixed-Use Project of the Year by the Los Angeles Business Council. In addition to receiving awards from the AIA and Southern California Development Forum, the building’s distinctive Art Deco inspired façade was designated by the City of Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Commission as “Architecture as Art.”

As director of the MODAA Gallery—a platform for collaboration with the Los Angeles art and design community—Judit assembled exhibitions that featured the work of artists Charles Arnoldi, DeWain Valentine, Brad Howe, Lucas Blok, and architects Jerrold Lomax and William Krisel, among others.

Managing Principal Peter Erni oversees the administration and strategic growth of the firm. With a portfolio including education, cultural, residential, infrastructure, and mixed-use projects, the diversity of Peter’s work reflects varied and deep expertise as well as a belief in the power of architecture to transform experience, foster community, and shape culture.

Over the course of a 26-year career, Peter has held leadership roles in boutique design studios and large corporate firms, affording him a perspective on project delivery and practice management that leverages the strengths of both professional settings. He has extensive experience assembling and guiding agile, highly collaborative teams through all phases of project development and is adept at building consensus across diverse stakeholder groups. His expertise in design and construction is complemented by predevelopment and planning experience in educational, cultural, commercial, and residential development settings, underlining a philosophy of project stakeholder engagement with a view toward discovery and shared understanding of project objectives.

A Principal with HGA prior to joining SPF:a, he led the strategic growth of the arts, higher education, and community practice in Southern California, and with ZGF, led the renovation and adaptive reuse of the historic Spruce Goose Hangar in Playa Vista for Google. Additionally, he held senior leadership positions with Michael Maltzan Architecture and Emilio Ambasz and Associates after beginning his career with Pei Cobb Freed & Partners in New York.