About Us
Studio TMT is a San Francisco Bay Area-based design firm committed to creating thoughtful and enduring architecture, interiors and planning. We strive for simple, elegant solutions that are given life in the complexity of their context. Our approach is distinctly modern imbued with a respect for the past. Our clients are valued collaborators in shaping project programs and determining design direction. Our process is to synthesize from interaction, research and analysis.
Though the central concern of our practice is design excellence, management of cost and time is an important discipline and many of the partner's award winning projects have resulted from demanding commercial circumstances. A wide range of supporting skills underpins the work of the studio, including model making, CAD drawing and 3-D visualization, and in-house audio-visual, photographic and printing systems.
Our practice is known by the commitment the partners bring to the work. The office is run as a studio where a partner is intimately involved with each project throughout the process to ensure the making of lasting architecture that enriches the communities, institutions and individuals they serve.
Philosophy
We believe that within the uniqueness of each site or space lies opportunity. We believe in the honesty of modernism with a respect for the past (and delight in the richness created by both). We believe that architecture should be a partner with the environment and, therefore, the future. We believe in simplicity and its power when mixed with the complexity of context. We believe in the collaborative design process and the quality of the ideas that result.
Christiaan Maarse
Christiaan was educated in England and became a registered architect in the UK and a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1983. He spent several years with RH partnership in Cambridge and with DEGW in London working on highly acclaimed architectural and interior projects for large international corporate clients. Since moving to the Bay area in 1988 he became a principal at Fee Munson Ebert in San Francisco where he focused his efforts on architectural and commercial interior projects. He co-founded Studio TMT in 2006 and brings over 30 years of design experience to the practice. Christiaan provides clients with skills that span from strategic programming and design solutions to innovative project and construction strategies. He believes that achieving architectural excellence requires solutions that stimulate and challenge the environment while being sustainable and adaptable.
John Thiele, AIA
With over 30 years of experience, John excels in addressing the key issues affecting design concerns such as physical and social context, massing, proportion and scale. As a LEED accredited professional since 2003, he is a champion of sustainable design principles and their careful and appropriate consideration on every project. Originally joining Gensler and Associates in 1983, John left after ten years to co-found Thiele and Graham Design & Architecture. There he directed the studio's efforts in establishing an architectural, interior and product design practice excelling in multidisciplinary project types. In 2000 he returned to Gensler in San Francisco and served as a Design Director for the architectural studio leading both master planning and building design efforts for clients with specific end-use requirements. Co-founding Studio TMT in 2006, John works with the partnership's complementary talent and experience to provide an unusually high level of service and involvement in providing architecture, interior and planning services.
Nina Topper
Nina Topper has been working in both the commercial and residential sides of the interior design profession for over 25 years. For the past dozen years, Nina has maintained her own interior design practice with an extensive clientele throughout the Bay Area and Sierra Nevada. She brings to TMT extensive knowledge of all aspects of interiors from planning, lighting, furnishings and finishes as well as the integration of interior design and architecture. This broad experience has allowed her to become well-versed in the understanding of what makes spaces flow and function while achieving aesthetic balance. She believes the crossover of residential and commercial disciplines and products has allowed for the creation of truly unique end products.