An old name for a new studio based on an old world name for the new world.

The Studio aims to bridge old and new, history and contemporaneity. Reinforcing this, the name taken by the Studio is both old and new. It alludes to the Englishman Sir Francis Drake’s discovery of California in 1579 - he and his crew stayed five weeks, built a fort, and met the local Indian tribe. He named the region Nova Albion, or New England.

For the Studio, the name represents a connection to the past, the first Western name for the area. The area itself, though, lives in our collective imagination as the place that is always new. California is the terminus of the movement west. Some would argue that it is now stale, and that all of the “newness” has been paved over. The Studio posits that this is not the case; that California – and Southern California in particular – is constantly being renewed as different populations migrate in and away from the area. It is said that Los Angeles is the most diverse city on the planet. The Studio embraces this messy diversity of LA, believing that tremendous creative opportunities exist when groups with different assumptions are thrown together.

The name also alludes to the history of the Studio’s founder, Stuart Magruder. Stuart is a fifth-generation Californian, and his two children are sixth-generation. Stuart was raised and educated mostly back East, but returning for graduate school at the Southern California Institute of Architecture provided the opportunity to reconnect with his roots.

The Studio does not turn its back on the history of Los Angeles, of Southern California, or of our polyglot culture. But neither is the Studio interested in regurgitating that past. The Studio's feet are firmly planted in our collective past while our aspirations rush to greet all that today has to offer.

[The name springs from a collaboration with Ms. Tatiana Escobar.]