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.
How did RIOS get started?
RIOS was founded in Los Angeles in 1985 by Mark Rios. Formally trained in both architecture and landscape architecture, Mark’s background influenced our firm’s view of those two disciplines as inseparable. He founded the firm with a vision to imagine, design, and build complete environments and we’ve consistently innovated through multidisciplinary design ever since. Today, RIOS is an international design collective with offices in Los Angeles, London, Singapore, Austin, Boulder, and Portland.
How big is your team?
RIOS has 280 team members across the United States, the United Kingdom. and Asia Pacific.
Describe the areas your offices are located in.
In each location where RIOS has an office, we are looking to connect with the authenticity of the local culture. This helps us remain connected to our values, particularly attunement, as we seek to deeply understand the cities where we work to contribute to making them more connected, livable, and resilient.
Our LA offices are in the vibrant neighborhood of Leimert Park situated along the Metro’s Expo line and the newly opened K Line which extends access to LAX airport from DTLA is a block away at the Crenshaw stop. This is a culturally rich neighborhood known for being the heart of LA’s African American community. It’s recognized for its vibrant streetscape events along with a strong coalition of small business owners and community organizers. The kinetic energy of Leimert Park is infectious and we are proud to be a part of the community.
RIOS Portland is in the heart of southeast Portland within the Ford Building. Surrounded by local Portland restaurants, cafes and breweries, the neighborhood continues to grow and change while having direct contact to many of the cultural elements that Portland is famous for.
RIOS Austin office is in East Austin, a diverse, energetic, and burgeoning part of the city that is known for the arts and creative community. It’s also known for the city’s best home-grown restaurants, including the iconic Franklin Barbeque, independent stores, and quirky cocktail bars.
RIOS Boulder is steps from Pearl Street Mall in the buzzing and charming West End District. Known as a destination for foodies and creators, the West End boasts legendary establishments that warmly welcome locals and travelers.
RIOS London is in Spitalfields, a lively neighborhood in the east end area and home to creatives, artists, and the tech community.
RIOS Singapore is located on Keong Saik Road in a former shophouse. This dynamic street amidst Singapore’s Chinatown has undergone a dramatic transformation and is now a charming and authentic destination for creative work, food, nightlife, and shopping.
If you held a practice-wide movie screening night, what movie would you show?
BC (Before COVID) we hosted many movie nights in our office. The selections were usually a throwback to the 80s or other cult classics like Back to the Future, The Martian, or Mission Impossible. We also hosted Tomas Koolhaas and his documentary, REM, about his father, architect Rem Koolhaas. We like nostalgia, but we can’t escape the fact that we are architects.
Is your office one open-plan space, or subdivided?
Our offices are open plan with flexible collaboration tables distributed throughout the building. We are fully hybrid and operate under a hoteling program where employees book desks on the days they are in the office. We have several conference rooms as well as a fabrication shop, materials library, bike share space, and video production studio.
What does your office ‘sound’ like? Do you listen to music or radio at work, can you hear the city life outside, or is it a place of quiet work?
Our LA office sounds urban and active. From the melodic urban sounds of the Expo light rail line zipping by, to the chatter of creatives collaborating on projects or catching up on life, to the mill running to instigate a model or prototype. You may also hear a dog or two. It’s an inviting and inspiring place to come to work.
Where is the most popular lunch spot in or around the office?
Our picnic tables are the go-to spot for lunch. They are centrally located in the office near our colorful pantry with an immersive mural by Aaron Kai. We host a lot of events (internal/external), and the picnic tables are always the hub. Fun fact: four times a year we turn this space into a polling center for the neighborhood.
We have quite a few favorite eateries outside the LA office including Earle’s on Crenshaw, Highly Likely, Mizlala, Taks Cafe, Harold & Belle’s, and Mian to name a few. Every office has its favorites.
What is the most popular design tool in the office?
Miro! We integrated Miro into our workflow at the onset of the pandemic and it has been an integral platform across all our work, including how we collaborate externally with clients. It allows our teams to ideate and iterate seamlessly, no matter the physical location of our team members.
Do the many disciplines that form RIOS collaborate often with each other, or are they independent?
Our multidisciplinary approach is our superpower, and it amplifies each project we work on, so there is a constant dialogue between disciplines. Since our disciplines operate across creative endeavors to shape the built environment, we are as comfortable talking about designing cities as we are about designing buildings. Whether you’re an architect, landscape architect, interior architect, product designer, or technical designer, each day, you will be collaborating with a team who works together to be curious, to take chances, and to uncover new ideas that inform bold and innovative design.
Tell us about a completed project you are proud of.
As a multidisciplinary design collective, we have many projects to celebrate. From content production and entertainment spaces such as Spotify's L.A. Content Campus, spaces for life sciences including the world-class cancer research and treatment institute, the Lawrence J. Ellison Institute for Transformative Medicine, and landscape architecture including Palm Springs Downtown Park, which recently won the prestigious ASLA Award of Excellence. We’re proud of all the work we do for our clients, but we really lean into a challenge where we can reimagine and think big.
What position(s) are you currently hiring for?
We have several open positions across our offices in Los Angeles, Austin, Portland, and London including:
What project(s) are the new team members likely to be working on?
We have a wide range of exciting projects across residential, hospitality, landscape, and public spaces, mixed-use, and entertainment typologies that are either kicking off or underway.
In three words, how would you describe RIOS’ design ethos?
Audacious, Joyful, and Inclusive
Meet Your Next Employer is one of a number of ongoing weekly series showcasing the opportunities available on our industry-leading job board. Our Job Highlights series looks at intriguing and topical employment opportunities currently available on Archinect Jobs, while our weekly roundups curate job opportunities by location, career level, and job description.
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