Profile

Philosophy & Process

New Theme is a Los Angeles based architectural and building firm that is dedicated to combining the discrete tasks of design and building. The New Theme studio is structured to take on every aspect of building, including custom designed furniture. We have created a vertical work environment that streamlines the entire process from design to construction so that the client experiences the financial gains that are a consequence of our unique approach to design and building.

At New Theme, design is a collaborative process in which our clients' needs are of primary importance. In order to make sure we are asking the right questions to understand and potentially be able to anticipate our clients’ needs, we begin each process with design research followed by a concept design phase where we apply our findings into a big picture idea sketch. Each sequential phase is critical to the whole; we have found that goals are met when all parts of a building are thought through step-by-step, from the first concept, through the construction and detailing of the building. We explore projects from many angles, scales, and budgets. Our diverse clientele reflects our ability to work with a range of complex programs. We begin with the programming of both qualitative and quantitative aspects, functional and performance goals, constraints and priorities including budget and lifestyle, ethnographic research, precedents, cultural diversity, as well as formal and structural research are applied to the reality of our clients’ constraints as a departure point for schematic design.

We view architecture as an extension of ourselves, and it literally embodies our beliefs and values. We believe that the design decisions that we make reflect how we see ourselves in relation to the collective. We embrace the reality of building. This means considering constructability issues simultaneously with design, we guide our clients’ through the decision making process, delivering expanded options and informed choices for the client.

We are committed to a healthy environment; by making informed choices we can begin to participate in the process of creating change towards a positive future. Our goal is to create sustainable strategies in design and building that will further enrich our architectural world.

Experience

New Theme is a Los Angeles based architectural and building firm that is dedicated to combining the discrete tasks of design and building.

Management

Beth Holden

Principal

Beth Holden launched construction under a NEW THEME in 2004 in Los Angeles, when she was an associate at Barton Myers Associates, Inc. Ms. Holden has been a leader in the green building movement since a student in New York. Ms. Holden has two degrees: Bachelor of Architecture from SCI-Arc (Southern California Institute of Architecture) and a Master of Architecture and Urban Design from UCLA (University of California Los Angeles). Beth is Certified Green Builder and holds a California State Contractor’s License. Ms. Holden has over 15 years experience working on small and large scale projects in Europe and the United States.
Wolfgang Melian

Partner

Wolfgang Melian has collaborated on projects with Ms. Holden on furniture and cabinetry since 2002, officially partnering with Ms. Holden in 2005. Mr. Melian is a European Master Craftsman, educated as a Production Designer and experienced as a Project Manager. Mr. Melian was a woodworking apprentice in Europe where he perfected his technique. Wolfgang has over 20 years experience working in Europe and the United, and brings his expert design, craftsmanship, and management skills to NEW THEME INC., as well as, his European sensibility to each and every project.

The business of architecture and design is about more than the bottom line. It is about the power of creative partnership to transform our world. We are a community committed to harnessing the power of our collective ideas as a force for change that matters.
SagerMonti

Impressions

A glimpse of our recent work

Projects

For more information about our work, please contact us directly.

GREEN GREENBERG GREEN HOUSE

Los Angeles, CA | completed 2011
The Green Greenberg Green House was commissioned by the photographer Jill Greenberg and her husband Rob Green. The design developed from their program and the contextual considerations of the existing site. The triangular down-slope site opens onto a plateau off the street, sloping sharply towards the south side of the property and offers panoramic views to the Los Angeles basin. Through the analysis of these two factors, we generated the initial massing and orientation of the project that allows for optimum views and natural ventilation. On the south side of the property, a generous courtyard is carved from the building to provide views and facilitate the building’s ability to use natural ventilation. The open courtyard uses Fleetwood sliders that allow two levels of the project to be entirely open to the outdoors. A pool is purposefully placed halfway into the courtyard to assist with the natural ventilation. The roof transforms into a reinvented backyard – thereby reinstating the lost land on the ground level. A photovoltaic canopy floats above the roof top garden to provide shade, while simultaneously generating electricity for the entire house. The project features a grey water system, domestic hot water, radiant heat, warmboard floor heating on the second floor, a fully automated crestron system, amongst many other sustainable features. The house began the LEED for Homes pilot program and is now if the final stages of the LEED certification process.

MAC GUFF

Santa Monica, CA | completed 2006
Design-build of a commercial space located in Santa Monica for a visual effects and character animation company. The program involved reorganizing private flame rooms, while keeping an open loft like space available for the design team. Natural light is used to connect the enclosed and open spaces, as translucent glass walls and doors permit the penetration of light. The original brick wall emphasizes the texture of the space and becomes a connective tissue that joins the different spaces. Mac Guff Corp. has developed proprietary software that requires power ful computers with particular storage and ventilation needs, hence, storage and cooling strategies were developed uniquely for their system. In addition to the technical requirements, the visual effects company requested that their furniture reflect the companies design sensibility that would, also, provide flexibility and strength for their equipment, thus, NEW THEME INC designed and built steel tables on rolling castors that feature walnut and recycled MDF tops, as well as, designing custom steel shelving and storage units that fulfill Mac Guff ’s particular needs.

THE RUG COMPANY

Los Angeles, CA | completed 2005
A commercial renovation of a retail rug store that offers unique hand made rugs, which are not mass produced nor standard in any way. The program called for a new space to house these unique rugs and to create a presence of the brand physically in Los Angeles. The two original spaces within the existing building were connected by introducing a curved display area for the rugs. This curved display transforms into a desk that engages the customer to enter and travel through the space, thus, uniting the two disconnected original spaces into one unified fluid space. The walls of the interior are sheathed with colorful, textured rugs on powder coated steel racks and circular cartons that follow the curved circulation pattern. This curve is intended to convey the materiality of the rugs, while enhancing the materiality of the space. The exterior of the building is used as a billboard inherent to the Los Angeles landscape. A pattern was developed from a rug design, which was applied and painted by a scenic painter onto the surface of the facade; the pattern creates strong visibility and presence of the Rug Company’s brand. From the street, an outdoor courtyard is visible, created to offer a small intimate retreat within the shopping experience. The courtyard features a fountain enclosed by a laser cut steel fence.
MONSIEUR MARCEL

Santa Monica, CA | completed 2007
Design-build of a French wine & cheese café on the third street promenade. The existing pavilion was part of the original design of the promenade, which is zoned as a pedestrian street closed to vehicular traffic in the heart of Santa Monica. The original structure of the pavilion could not be modified, while the program called for transforming two existing café spaces into one. A wood surface was selected for the design that is applied to the entire length of the wall in an striated pattern. The wood acts as a unifying element that reveals itself as a back drop and is interspersed with back lit Plexiglas, which brings the users of the space into the foreground, thus, revealing the activity taking place within and around the pavilion. The glass garage doors open widely to the public right of way, offering a visual and physical connection to the pedestrian life that animates the street. A barrier encircles the structure, required by building and zoning codes, our intention for the barrier is to have it function not only as an enclosure, but dually as a bench that negotiates between the private functions of the café and the public aspect of the promenade, hence, joining the uses of public and private space.

BRIDGE HOUSE

Los Angeles, CA | completed 2006
A single family residence design, generated by building volumes that illustrate a three dimensional composition that frames the landscape. The parts of the whole create clearly defined shapes and forms that are expressed on the surface of the facade. By using strategies of integrating the inside and outside spaces of what is traditionally viewed as front yard and back yard, the house functions as a bridge that unites the public space of the ground floor, ultimately becoming outdoor rooms, extensions of the interior of the house. The second floor contains the private rooms and private outdoor decks. Tall sliding glass doors reveal, connect, and bridge the interior and exterior spaces, as the materials consociate with the natural indigenous landscaping. A structural parallam beam made of recycled compressed wood particles was cut to function as solid treads for the central stair. The master bedroom suite features a translucent resin bathtub, as well as recycled glass tiles.

GRAPHIC HOUSE

Venice, CA | completed 2004
Designed by Beth Holden while she was an associate at Barton Myers Assoc., Inc., and completed by Beth when she began construction under a NEW THEME INC. The program called for an addition of a master bedroom, master bath, and carport for a Graphic Designer. The existing Venice bungalow was left as is, with the strategy to create a low-cost, flexible loft addition. The addition is connected by a skylit breezeway that leads to the master suite, which combines programmatic functions bedroom, bathroom, and living room to create a flexible space exploring the boundaries between inside and out side. The interior and exterior of the house are plywood, with stained marine grade plywood on the exterior and smooth sealed natural plywood on the interior. The plywood surface articulates between inside and out side, while the sliding glass doors are playful in negotiating between traditional notions of rooms. The carport has multiple functions as a traditional carport or as an outdoor dining, entertaining, or ping-pong room.