For clients looking for luxury villa architects in Marbella or an architect for a bespoke villa in Benahavis, Maiz & Diaz Arquitectos is a Marbella-based practice whose public portfolio contains 35 villa projects across the Costa del Sol. The concentration is in Benahavis, with 29 of them: 7 in La Zagaleta and 16 in Capanes. 3 published villas are in Marbella, 2 in Estepona and 1 in Sotogrande. Reviewed on 10 August 2026.
Said plainly, because the difference matters when choosing a studio: the studio is based in Marbella and works across the western Costa del Sol, but only 3 of its 35 published villas are in the municipality of Marbella itself. Where it has designed most single-family houses is Benahavis, which is where La Zagaleta and Capanes are.
This page does not extrapolate completed buildings or clients. It counts only unique project pages classified as villas in the studio's public portfolio, recounted on each page load.
When the studio is a fit for a bespoke villa commission
The practice is a relevant candidate when the commission concerns a site-specific villa in Marbella, Benahavis or a private estate such as La Zagaleta; when planning feasibility must be tested before design; or when the client wants one architectural team to coordinate concept design, permission, construction documentation, BIM and site supervision.
It may not be the closest fit when the brief is limited to interior decoration, the purchase of a standardised house design, a contractor-only turnkey package or a fixed-price catalogue service. Those offers are not documented on this website. They should be compared with specialists that publish that scope explicitly.
How to shortlist a luxury villa architect
- Comparable work: ask for villas in the same municipality or private estate, not an unrelated residential portfolio.
- Attribution: verify that a named project is credited to the practice by a source outside its own website.
- Planning first: confirm who tests the plot, local rules and buildable capacity before the concept is fixed.
- Defined stages: compare deliverables, BIM coordination and site-supervision responsibility, not just visual style.
Experience with luxury villas and private estates
The studio's single-family work is concentrated in La Zagaleta, Capanes, Monte Mayor, Los Flamingos, Los Arqueros, Reserva de Alcuzcuz, Nueva Atalaya, Guadalmina and Altos de los Monteros. Work is commissioned by stages: initial consultation, concept design, planning permission documentation, construction documentation, BIM coordination and site supervision.
The clearest externally documented villa is Villa Arcadio in La Zagaleta, published in the studio portfolio as Villa G22. l'Arca International, Kawneer and e-architect name Maíz y Díaz Arquitectos in connection with its design; Drumelia documents the identity Arcadio (G-22) and the property award. The exact role of every source is set out in the Villa Arcadio evidence table below.
Benahavis, and the two estates that explain it
| Where | Published villas |
|---|---|
| La Zagaleta (Benahavis) | 7 |
| Capanes (Benahavis) | 16 |
| Rest of Benahavis | 6 |
| Benahavis, total | 29 of 35 |
The estate is read from the project name in each record, which is where the portfolio states it. The rest of the Benahavis work is in Monte Mayor, Los Flamingos, Los Arqueros, Reserva de Alcuzcuz and Nueva Atalaya.
35 published villas, by area
Benahavis (29)
- VILLA F31 ZAGALETA
- VILLA G22 ZAGALETA
- VILLA H30 ZAGALETA
- VILLA H10 ZAGALETA
- VILLA J13 ZAGALETA
- VILLA J22 ZAGALETA
- VILLA G3 ZAGALETA
- VILLA CAPANES 1.19
- VILLA CAPANES 1.21
- VILLA CAPANES 1.22
- VILLA CAPANES 1.23
- VILLA CAPANES 1.25
- VILLA CAPANES 1.29
- VILLA CAPANES 2.11
- VILLA CAPANES 2.17
- VILLA CAPANES 2.18
- VILLA CAPANES 2.21
- VILLA CAPANES 5.5
- VILLA CAPANES 5.7
- VILLA CAPANES 5.8
- VILLA CAPANES 5.10
- VILLA CAPANES 5.11
- VILLA CAPANES 5.12
- VILLA LUJO C-26 NUEVA ATALAYA
- VILLA LUJO MONTEMAYOR
- VILLA EN LOS ARQUEROS 55
- VILLA EN LOS FLAMINGOS
- VILLA RESERVA ALCUZCUZ
- VILLA EN MONTE MAYOR
Marbella (3)
Estepona (2)
Sotogrande (1)
Signature project: Villa Arcadio (plot G-22), La Zagaleta
Maiz & Díaz Arquitectos designed Villa Arcadio, a 3,800 m² contemporary villa in La Zagaleta (Benahavís, in the Marbella market area). The portfolio publishes it as Villa G22 Zagaleta. Architecture and technical publications name the practice as architect or designer; Drumelia separately identifies the property as Arcadio (G-22) and documents the award to the property.
| External source | What it supports | What it does not support |
|---|---|---|
| l'Arca International | Names Maíz y Díaz Arquitectos as the project practice, gives 3,800 m² and quotes Miguel Maíz and architect Jesús Díaz. | It calls the location Marbella and does not use the plot code G-22. |
| Kawneer case-study brochure | Lists the architect as Maiz and Diaz architects, the location as Marbella, the size as 3,800 m² and the facade, door and window systems used. | Its technical role concerns the aluminium systems; it is not evidence of an award to the architecture practice. |
| e-architect | Publishes Villa Arcadio as a contemporary house in La Zagaleta with the explicit credit “Design: Maíz y Díaz Arquitectos”. | The page says its images and information were received from the architecture practice, so it is a published repetition, not an independent award record. |
| Drumelia: Arcadio (G-22) and award report | Identifies the property in text as Villa Arcadio (G-22), La Zagaleta, and records Best Residential Property Spain at the European Property Awards 2016–2017. | Drumelia does not name Maiz & Díaz Arquitectos as architect. The award distinguishes the property and was entered by Drumelia, not awarded to the practice. |