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RIOS and Foster + Partners-led One Beverly Hills breaks ground in Los Angeles

2024-02-11T11:10:00-05:00

The RIOS and Foster + Partners-led One Beverly Hills development in Los Angeles has broken ground on a 50-month construction phase that will result in one of the country’s most expensive residential developments upon its opening in 2028.

The 17.5-acre development will connect the Beverly Hilton and Waldorf Astoria with two 28- and 31-story condo towers and an 8.5-acre botanical garden designed by RIOS. It had been plagued by criticism over its lack of an affordable housing component. The program allows for up to 255 residential units, 78 hotel suites, and approximately 30,000 square feet of commercial space, along with subterranean parking for up to 1,900 vehicles.

Image: Foster & Partners

Beset by biophilia-lined terraces featuring over 200 unique species of native plants are the focal point and connective tissue of the design, demonstrating that “drought-quality planting doesn’t mean cactus,” according to RIOS’ founder Mark Rios.

“I am really interested in pursuing what a botanic...

Site preparations begin for Norman Foster’s One Beverly Hills

2024-01-03T14:49:00-05:00

Site preparations are underway in Los Angeles in advance of the 50-month construction phase that will bring the Foster + Partners-designed One Beverly Hills residential towers to a plot adjacent to the Beverly Hilton and other area hospitality icons.

Gensler is serving as the project’s executive architect while RIOS has been contracted to deliver the landscaped portion of the design, which occupies the total 17.5-acre site that includes another 8.5-acre botanical garden in compliment of each tower’s biophilic terraces.

The project will be realized at 28- and 31-stories, respectively, making them the tallest design in Beverly Hills since the Bank of America building at 9454 Wilshire Boulevard opened in 1968. According to Urbanize LA, the scheme calls for 255 condominiums, 79 hotel suites, and approximately 30,000-square-feet of commercial space, along with subterranean parking spaces for up to 1,900 vehicles.

Image rendering courtesy DBOX for Alagem Capital.

The project will cost ap...

RIOS unveils 100-year 'Hyper-Abundant City' concept at Seoul Biennale

2023-09-14T14:44:00-04:00

RIOS has released details of a new 100-year master plan included as part of its participation in the 4th Seoul Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism (SBAU), which takes place through the end of October in the South Korean capital.

The firm's concept for the 'Hyper-Abundant City' significantly alters the upscale Apgujeong district by incorporating the urban fabric of the adjacent Gangnam neighborhood while extending an existing connection to the Han River. Ecological plots revealing vertical villages that are inspired by Hanok architectural traditions are protected by shoreline islands which the architects say aid in managing stormwater runoffs and flood mitigation. Finally, the plots are connected to each other through an interlinking series of open spaces that permeate the site.

Rendering by Aesthetica Studio, image courtesy of RIOS

The river’s natural systems are relieved by the careful selection and placement of access points which minimize human activity while allowing land to...

RIOS has been selected for a $1 billion redesign of The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas

2022-11-10T17:32:00-05:00

"We are looking to elevate our experiences resort wide [...] Arrival experiences will be different. For both The Venetian and The Palazzo, we plan to renovate, remodel, and redesign all of our suites. We will be offering a number of new [food-and-beverage] concepts, we are taking a deep look at entertainment, nightlife, and bar offerings, and the casino floor will feel significantly different as well.”

In an Instagram post, RIOS said the redesign will “retain the resort's Italian roots reimagined in a refined and evolutionary way.⁠” The hotel and casino was first designed by KlingStubbins on the site of the former Sands property for developer Sheldon Adelson in the late 1990s. The landmark Venetian replicas within the resort will likely be kept intact, though a spokesperson for the company that manages the property said the $1 billion-plus project will refresh its overall design along more contemporary lines.

"We are a themed hotel and we will always be a themed hotel," Venetian CEO Patrik Nichols told T+L. "That sets us apart, but the Italy of the '90s that The Venetian was modeled after has evolved. If we are able to lean into that through the spirit of Italy and discovery, we are not going to look like just another hotel that has refreshed their rooms."

Meet the ‘audacious, joyful’ RIOS collective: Your Next Employer?

2022-11-04T13:06:00-04:00

Following last week’s visit to Atlanta-based Houser Walker, we are moving our Meet Your Next Employer series to Los Angeles this week to meet the international design collective RIOS.

Founded by Mark Rios in 1985, the collective has evolved from its architectural and landscape architecture routes to occupy offices across LA, Austin, Boulder, and Portland, as well as international offices in London and Singapore. Among the studio’s ongoing work is a $600 million Hollywood media studio project which we reported on last month.

Over on Archinect Jobs, the collective is currently hiring for several positions in their Los Angeles office. For candidates interested in applying for a position, or anybody interested in learning more about life at an architecture studio, we spoke with the RIOS team for a behind-the-scenes look at the firm.

Harlow at Sunset Las Palmas Studios by RIOS. Image credit: Hunter Kerhart

How did RIOS get started?

RIOS was founded in Los Angeles in 1985 by Mark Rios. For...

RIOS continues to cultivate the film studio market with a new $600 million Hollywood expansion project

2022-10-10T18:18:00-04:00

RIOS has just been announced as the architects of a new $600 million television studio project in Hollywood, California.

The studio will look to expand on its other ongoing television production projects in the delivery of its latest venture, which is set to transform the former corporate headquarters of the early TV pioneers Technicolor on 6311 W. Romaine Street into a comprehensive studio campus for developers BARDAS and Bain Capital Real Estate.

Image courtesy RIOS

The 620,000-square-foot Echelon at Television Center involves the restoration of two existing Art Deco structures and the addition of two new six-story office towers on the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard on a two-block site that also includes multiple sound stages, a “basecamp,” and a new public restaurant.

Image courtesy RIOS

The rise of streaming services has meant an increase in demand for technologically-advanced studio and production spaces around the Los Angeles area. RIOS has already begun the planning process f...

$2 billion Beverly Hills mixed-use development designed by Foster + Partners approved by city council

2021-06-15T19:04:00-04:00

Last year, plans for One Beverly Hills, a $2 billion mixed-use, high-rise development in Los Angeles, were unveiled. The luxury project is now one step closer to realization following its approval in a 4-1 vote last week by the Beverly Hills City Council.

The development will be one of the largest in the city’s history, spanning 17.4 acres between Wilshire and Santa Monica Boulevards. The site is currently home to the Beverly Hilton and Waldorf Astoria Beverly Hills hotels. Plans for the complex include two high-rise residential buildings containing 303 units, a new hotel with 42 suites and 37 designated residences, and a four-story, approximately 35,000-square-foot pavilion containing retail and dining spaces.

The surroundings of the development would include 8.5 acres of gardens designed by local multi-disciplinary design firm RIOS, with more than half being open to the public. Two one-mile-long walkways will move through the landscape. Additionally, the project includes an under...

Rios Clementi Hale Studios is now RIOS

2020-06-09T16:23:00-04:00

Los Angeles-based architecture, urbanism, and landscape design practice Rios Clementi Hale Studios (RCH Studios) has changed its name to RIOS following the recent departure of two of its namesake principals.

In a statement on the RIOS website, firm Creative Directors Mark Rios, Bob Hale, Mark Motonaga, Jessamyn Davis, Andy Lantz, and Sebastian Salvado explain their thinking behind the change: are "While our name has changed, the elements that define who we are — the people and the values — stay the same," adding, "For years, many have referred to us as RIOS for short, despite our longer name. This familiar name reflects a spirit of values and creates an identity that will carry us into the future."

The firm leaders continue: "RIOS establishes us as a collective that is inclusive, optimistic, and multidisciplinary — all qualities that have shaped us since the firm was founded in 1985. Our name is more encompassing of the brilliance of everyone as we work to reveal, explore, and inv...