Ranch Redux - Exterior view of linear kitchen counter window, with grassy landscaping in the foreground. Photograph by Trevor Tondro.

PROFILE

© Trevor Tondro
Clay Holden Architects (CHA) is an internationally recognized and award-winning architecture and interior design firm founded in Los Angeles in 2016 by Clay Holden. With a balance of skill and heart, we are dedicated to providing our clients with superior responsive service at all stages and scales of projects, with a strong sensitivity to all needs of both clients and users. Our design contributions have been recognized with multiple international accolades including an AIA/LA Design Award, A’ Design Award, Interior Design Magazine Best of Year Honoree Award, and a position on the Dezeen Awards Interiors Longlist. Our work has been published in an array of international publications including The New York Times, Dwell, Elle Decoration Germany, and California Style from Japan (where Clay is also a contributing writer), a testament to its broad appeal outside of architectural circles. Respected and trusted by acclaimed architects in Los Angeles, CHA occasionally provides peer review and consulting services to other firms, including two AIA National Architecture Firm Award winners and an AIA|LA Emerging Practice Award recipient. To give back to the community whenever possible, CHA is proud to offer our services to prominent local schools and non-profit organizations.

services

Architecture

Houses
Office & Commercial
Retail & Restaurants
Education & Institutional
Civic & Cultural
Housing & Mixed-use Development

Interiors

Interior Design
Exhibition Design
Interior Architecture
Furnishings, Fixtures & Equipment
Custom Furniture Design
Environmental Design & Installations

Planning

Urban Design
Master Planning
Space Planning
Campus Planning
Feasibility Studies
Concept Design

Professional

Peer Review
Executive Architect / AOR
Design Consulting
Constructability Review
Construction Administration
VR / Visualization

our design approach

With a focus on a thorough integration of materials, color, form, and functionality we create clever and holistic solutions.

© Benny Chan / Fotoworks

Clay Holden Architects focuses on the integration of architecture, interiors, landscape, and graphics/branding across their projects at all scales. Our design exploration targets a balanced approach to authentic materiality and color, fusing imagination and innovation with relevance and function to find clever solutions that address multiple issues simultaneously. We are adept creative directors who can seek out, analyze, and apply a complete array of critical information to any design problem. While maintaining a keen eye for the highest level of quality, we are interested in the physical qualities that bring architecture to life – the making and crafting, always with originality and authenticity down to the smallest detail. As an interdisciplinary and collaborative design studio, we are always challenging assumptions and pushing boundaries to progress the results of architectural practice and ensure the best outcomes for our clients.

a collaborative approach

We take pride in our ability to assemble a cohesive and collaborative team while effectively communicating ideas about design and building as they develop in conversation with clients, consultants, and contractors.

© Jeff Badger

Leadership

Clay Holden, AIA, IIDA, NCARB, LEED AP

Founding Principal

As evidenced through his extensive work with the AIA|LA, founder Clay Holden’s devotion and generosity to the profession has been a major theme throughout his career. Clay frequently volunteers on various boards, committees, and juries that support professional outreach and education, including AIA|LA, ACLA, LAUSD, 2×8 Exhibit & Scholarship, the 2×8 Endowment, and local schools. Clay has been a tireless leader and steward of the 2×8 program since its inception in 2002, helping to create 18 exhibitions, give away nearly $200,000 in student scholarships, mentor several young architect committee members, and co-found the 2×8 Endowment. In 2007, he was the recipient of the AIA|LA Associate of the Year Award, which was created specifically by President Michael Enomoto, FAIA to honor Clay. Clay Holden is a registered architect in California and Minnesota. Prior to starting Clay Holden Architects, Clay honed his skills working for preeminent LA firms, including two AIA National Firm Award winners, Moore

Ruble Yudell and Pugh + Scarpa, the renowned Chu + Gooding Architects, Pamela Burton, and March Studio. Clay’s previous design contributions have received more than 20 national and international awards for excellence in design, including the winning entry in an international design competition, and has been featured in distinguished media such as The New York Times, Dwell, Architectural Record, Architect Magazine, Architect’s Newspaper, and Form/LA Architect Magazine. Clay holds a Master of Architecture degree from SCI-Arc and a Bachelor of Science in Design from Clemson University. Awarded a traveling fellowship in 2002 by Hsinming Fung, FAIA, Clay helped to revive and administer SCI-Arc’s dormant Swiss study abroad program while supporting undergrad/graduate students and an international array of prominent professors. Clay is a frequent guest juror at local architectural schools, and has assisted in shaping the architecture and engineering curriculum at LAUSD’s career pathway high schools.


accreditations

Licensed Architect in California and Minnesota
American Institute of Architects (AIA)
International Interior Design Association (IIDA)
National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB)
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)

volunteer work

Architecture for Communities Los Angeles (ACLA)
AIA/Los Angeles
2×8 Endowment for Student Scholarships
2×8 Annual Student Exhibition & Scholarship Program
Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD)
826LA

alumni

Jeffrey R. Badger
Jeanette Hattan
Erik Hagen, AIA

Our CLIENTS

We are fortunate to have worked with some great brands…

…and we look forward to the opportunity to work with you.

Awards

AIA/LA Design Awards (Los Angeles, CA) - 2020
Citation Award
in Interior Architecture

A'Design Award (Milan, Italy) - 2020
Iron Award in Interior Space and Exhibition Design

Dezeen Awards (London, UK) - 2019
Longlisted in Interiors Category

Interior Design - Best of Year Awards (New York, NY) - 2018
Honoree Award in Beauty/Spa Category

AIA/LA Presidential Awards (Los Angeles, CA) - 2007
Associate of the Year Award

HONORs

Architecture for Communities Los Angeles (ACLA), a non-profit 
2021 - Vice President-elect (2022 President-elect)

2x8:Domum - Exhibition Design Competition
2020 - Selection Committee 

Architecture for Communities Los Angeles (ACLA), a non-profit 
2020 - Founding Board Director

Boston Society of Architects (BSA) Honor Awards for Design Excellence
2019 - Jury Member

2x8:Exchange - Student Scholarship Awards
2020 - Jury Member

2x8 Endowment for Student Scholarships
2018 - Founding Member

American Institute of Architects - Los Angeles (AIA/LA)
2017-2019 - Board Director

Publications

"Happy Birthday Bauhaus!" Elle Decoration (Germany) Sept/Oct 2019: Cover.

California Style (Japan) Vol.13: The Best of California House. "This is it! The inside Outside Living", pp. 98-103. Tokyo, EI Publishing,  2019

California Style (Japan) Vol. 10: California Renovation & Bohemian Style. "Designers' Voice - Clay Holden" Interview, p. 104. Tokyo, EI Publishing, 2018

California Style (Japan) Vol. 6: The Idea of Living & Work Space @California. English editor and writer. Tokyo, EI Publishing, 2016

California Style (Japan) Vol. 5: Houses & Hotels Room Design in California. "This is it! The inside Outside Living". Cover, pp. 4, 6-13 Pages, Tokyo, EI Publishing,  2016

Blake, Stephen. "Eames Lounge Chair Porn." Dwell.com,  June 8, 2016

Kurutz, Steven. "Renovating for a Modern Family", The New York Times (NY Edition) June 21, 2015, pp. Print.

Kurutz, Steven. "Home Renovation for a Modern Family in Bel Air", The New York Times.com, June 19, 2015

Weiss, Allie. "7 Spacious Bedrooms", Dwell.com, September 2, 2015

Weiss, Allie. "8 Modern Eat-In Kitchens", Dwell.com, August 28, 2015

Hopping, Luke. "10 Indoor-Outdoor Dining Rooms", Dwell.com,  August 25, 2015

Saad, Shirine. "An Adorable Midcentury Revamp in Bel Air", Dwell.com, Aug 13, 2015

"Pure & Simple", Anthology Magazine, Issue No. 8, Summer 2012

"2x8: VERT", Form Magazine, July/August 2007

"A+D Report, 2x8: Groundworks & 2x8: Motion", LA Architect, March/April 2005

© Laure Joliet