RIOS

The Los Angeles Sparks Performance Center is one step closer to completion! The team recently celebrated the project’s topping out, marking a major construction milestone for the $150 million, 55,000-square-foot headquarters and training center in El Segundo. Set to open in 2027, the Performance Center will include two regulation WNBA courts and dedicated spaces for training, recovery, and rest. RIOS is designing the landscape for the new campus, alongside Gensler on architecture and Studio Blitz on interiors.

This summer, RIOS welcomed emerging designers across architecture, landscape architecture, interior design, experience design, sustainability, and marketing to our Los Angeles, Austin, and London offices. ⁠ Our summer interns dove into life at RIOS, bringing fresh perspectives to project work and research, and getting involved in everything from site visits and photoshoots to vendor workshops, ping pong, and softball games.⁠ Interns across disciplines collaborated on a research project exploring a central question: How can the public library evolve as a civic space for learning, gathering, creating, and community? Their research led to two design schemes: A Living Studio and The Trail.⁠ A Living Studio reimagines the library as a place for producing and exchanging knowledge, with flexible spaces for making, collaboration, exhibitions, and civic life.⁠ The Trail organizes the library as a continuous journey from active gathering spaces to quieter places for reading and reflection, connecting architecture and landscape from city to mountain.⁠ Our 2026 Summer Interns:⁠ • Bo Huai Huang — MLAUD, Harvard University Graduate School of Design • Catherine Sheridan — B.A., University of Southern California • Darin Daly — BSLA, Knowlton School at The Ohio State University • Felipe Ortega — B.A., CSULB College of the Arts • Hannah Young Chung — B.S. Architecture, Northeastern University • A. Isaiah Zamudio — B.Arch, USC School of Architecture • Oyku Vergon — B.Arch, USC School of Architecture • Payton Clark — BSD, Industrial Design, Arizona State University • Salvador Gutierrez — M.F.A., USC Roski School of Art and Design • Shambhavi Mishra — M.Arch, Architectural Association • Taylor Rhodes — M.Arch, The University of Texas at Austin

RIOS is heading to Munich for the 2026 CoreNet Global EMEA Summit, September 8–10.   Director of Partnerships EMMA JEFFERSON will join corporate real estate professionals to explore how organizations can respond to changing workforce expectations and an increasingly complex business environment.   We see the workplace as an investment in culture, talent, and the experience of work. As organizations rethink what brings people together, the opportunity is to create workplaces that are increasingly specific to how companies work and connect.   Attending CoreNet Global EMEA Summit? Reach out to Emma to schedule a chat.

When people feel connected to where they work, it shows. Improved employee engagement could unlock as much as $10 trillion in global productivity, according to Gallup's 2026 State of the Global Workplace, which found that only 20% of employees worldwide feel engaged at work.⁠ ⁠ Workplace design is one of the most direct ways a company expresses its brand and culture.⁠ ⁠ Swipe to see how we create workplaces that inspire engagement and give people a sense of belonging, so they can do their best work.⁠ #workplacedesign #workplaceengagement

At our recent Social Impact Initiative (SII) Community Open House, we welcomed neighbors, local organizations, artists and community leaders into our LA office for an afternoon exploring how we gather, connect, and experience public space.⁠ Imagining shared space - Guests of all ages reimagined an empty tabletop into a shared public park, exploring how people, activities and diverse needs can coexist through play and collaboration.⁠ ⁠ Connecting across LA - Attendees met local organizations including Gloria Molina Grand Park, LA Commons, and Altadena Seed Library, learning more about their work and ways to get involved.⁠ Planting Seeds Panel - Crista C. of Gloria Molina Grand Park, Tafarai Bayne of CicLAvia, and Jonathan Hayle of People’s Vision Zero joined a conversation moderated by RIOS Associate Principal john lambert pearson on safety and inclusivity in public spaces and the importance of spending time outdoors.⁠ ⁠ Making space for expression - Local artists shared their perspective on public space as a place for connection, creativity and resistance. Thank you to AJ Francois, Andrew Joseph Camacho, Ariel Casa, Bodystorm, Drew Dawson, Jonathan Hale, Lee Dubin, Mercedes Kaufman, Raul Garcia Jr., Salvador Gutierrez, and Zay Monae for contributing their work. ⁠ ⁠ Also on view was RIOS’ pink civic bench designed for Gloria Molina Grand Park, bringing a piece of LA’s public realm into the exhibition.⁠ ⁠ Our annual Open House is one of the ways RIOS brings our team, community and local organizations together through design. We’re grateful to everyone who joined us and helped make our office a space for community conversation, creative exchange and expression.⁠

What if airports could transform the traveler experience?⁠ ⁠ According to ACI World’s 2024 Global Traveller Survey, a third of passengers worldwide are calling for wellness-focused environments to enhance their airport experience.⁠ ⁠ The Fit&Fun Zone at Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 2 has been recognized with a Singapore Good Design Award (SG Mark) in Experience Design for reimagining the airport as a place for wellness, play, and restoration.⁠ ⁠ Swipe to see how our design transforms layovers into movement and sensory experiences that respond to the emotions of travel.⁠ #experiencedesign #airport #wellness

Some of the best public spaces come with a splash. From interactive fountains to playful water landscapes, these spaces transform hot days into experiences that are social, restorative, and joyful. Swipe to see some of our favorite spots to cool off this summer. Image 1-2: Inspired by the waterfalls and rock formations of nearby Tahquitz Canyon, the interactive water feature at Palm Springs Downtown Park transforms the heart of the city into a desert oasis. Image 3-4: Lynn Wyatt Square transforms the former Jones Plaza from an urban heat island into a climate-resilient civic oasis in downtown Houston's Theater District. Interactive water features and flexible event infrastructure create an accessible public space for arts, culture, and community programming. Image 5-6: Play meets learning at the Waterplay inside Jacob Ballas Children's Garden. Moving away from conventional playground equipment, the design extends the surrounding landscape through natural materials, sculpted terrain, and interactive water experiences that invite children to explore Singapore's ecology. Image 7-8: At the heart of Gloria Molina Grand Park, the restored Arthur J. Will Memorial Fountain breathes new life into one of downtown Los Angeles' most iconic public spaces. It creates a welcoming destination for everyday gathering, cultural events, and citywide celebrations. #PublicSpace #WaterFeature

One Beverly Hills is featured in the latest issue of Modern Luxury Angeleno. In "New Horizon," Editor in Chief Laura Eckstein explores how the landmark destination is redefining luxury through landscape, wellness, and a sense of place. At the heart of the development, RIOS designed 10 acres of botanical gardens inspired by California's diverse ecosystems. The landscape design creates an immersive public experience that invites visitors to slow down, explore, and reconnect with nature. As RIOS Partner Katherine Harvey shares, "We design from the belief that people are part of nature, and with One Beverly Hills, we wanted that to be felt and experienced physically." From shaded oak groves and native wildflowers to winding garden paths, the landscape brings California's ecological richness into the heart of Beverly Hills. RIOS Associate Principal john lambert pearson shares that the project also reimagines how people experience the city. "Los Angeles is a fast-moving city, and we want your time at One Beverly Hills to slow down." The landscape transforms a significant grade change into an opportunity for discovery, creating a walkable environment that encourages movement. Project Collaborators: Cain, Foster + Partners, KHA #onebeverlyhills #landscapearchitecture

RIOS Associate Principal, Senior Landscape Architect john lambert pearson, was recently profiled by World Landscape Architecture. In the feature, John shares how his design work is shaped by the layered history of Los Angeles, and by a lifelong plant obsession.⁠ ⁠ Born and raised in LA, John draws on the city's evolving narratives, from fire resilient design in the wake of last year's Pacific Palisades and Altadena fires to the rich history of public spaces and horticulture, letting that research inform his planting palettes.⁠ ⁠ This comes through in projects like One Beverly Hills, where the site's roots as the original Beverly Hills Nurseries are reimagined through a California-native palette of drought-tolerant plants.⁠ ⁠ John also writes Hot Plant Tips, a weekly blog that grew from RIOS's internal planting design process and now reaches a wider audience with insights on everything from constructability to floriography. #WLA #LandscapeArchitect

Element Research Center transforms former industrial buildings into a nature-connected life sciences campus that reflects Boulder's adventurous spirit, designed by RIOS in collaboration with SteelWave. The campus creates a collaborative research environment with connected indoor and outdoor spaces for Boulder's growing life sciences community. ⁠ ⁠ To create its signature rope canopy, RIOS worked through close collaboration between our Experience Design, Architecture, Landscape and Interior teams. Full-scale mock-ups were tested in our fabrication lab before installation to get the details right.⁠ ⁠ Inspired by Boulder's rock-climbing culture, the canopy anchors a broader campus identity that also includes custom graphics and murals, drawing on Boulder's prairie landscape, to create a playful experience rooted in place. This hands-on, integrated process reflects how RIOS designs across disciplines, creating holistic environments where architecture, storytelling, and identity come together.⁠ #EXD #ExperienceDesign #LifeScienceCampus