Los Angeles, CA, August 2018 – RIOS announces the introduction of a strategic organizational structure that identifies the rise of brand experience and designed environments as an entrepreneurial frontline for the design practice of the future.
The new organizational framework recognizes the practice’s history and future in a rapidly evolving design landscape as a nontraditional design firm that solves myriad problems — varying in scale, complexity, origin, and typology — with a multidisciplinary approach. It forecasts greater potential for the role of the design practice in problem-solving, innovation, and creative thinking for current and future clients, who are often seeking singular solutions that elevate experiences and environments through the integration of multiple disciplines.
“RIOS has never been a traditional design firm. The impetus for this shift in our organizational structure is our belief that we must evolve to meet and define the future of design practice beyond only architecture,” said Jessamyn Davis, COO. “We view our studios as a design collective that responds with agile and contemporary approaches to both traditional issues and emerging topics.”
“The ethos of our workplace culture is rooted in a simple notion: Design is Never without Story,” said Mark Rios, Founder and Creative Director. “We believe every client has a story to tell. We have prioritized designing ourselves to best evoke our mission to connect people to each other and the world around us through design.”
This approach is aimed at deepening the diverse and inclusive culture, while supporting cohesive teams in RIOS’ core business operations – Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Interior Architecture, Urban Design and Planning, Research, Branding, Graphics, and Product Design – to allow for scalable growth across disciplines and geographies.
“This recalibration gives us the ability to not only solve problems, but identify the previously uncultivated territory where our clients will thrive,” said Mark Motonaga, Creative Director at RIOS. “We are ultimately building this framework for the next generation of design leaders to reveal, explore, and invent designs that amplify experiences.”
To support this forward-thinking approach, the firm has appointed new leaders. Sebastian Salvadó, who joined the company in 2004, and Andy Lantz, who joined the company in 2011, have been named Creative Directors. Andy has grown the Studios’ workplace practice with his analytical approach to the design of environments and amenities that leverage his background in fabrication and sensory experience to create data-driven, performative spaces. Sebastian’s contributions have expanded the Studios’ multidisciplinary expression, with work that spans scales from large, urban mixed-use, to institutional, to residential, to furniture that solve complex problems with bold, integrative designs.
They join existing Creative Directors and RIOS Founder, Mark Rios, FAIA, FASLA; Bob Hale, FAIA; Mark Motonaga; and Jessamyn Davis, COO who are collectively responsible for stewarding the creative vision of the practice.
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