The RIOS Internship program strives to create a valuable and rewarding experience that captures the exuberant, fearless, and holistic spirit of our office.
This summer, we welcomed 12 students and recent graduates to join our project teams, interact across studios, and contribute to some our most pressing design challenges.
From playing a part in project development and goals, to site visits that revealed different design disciplines and phases of construction, our interns took a step into life at RIOS.
We kicked-off recurring design sessions, “The Collaboration Series,” to bring our talents together with cross-disciplinary thinking across differing topics. The series was a call to our interns to create solutions and think big – we’re excited to share a peek of their new work.
We hosted a proper sendoff by organizing a farewell mixer catered by local LA favorite, Happy Ice LA. With summer coming to an end, we’re highlighting our favorite moments and celebrating our intern’s achievements.
RIOS 2021 Summer Interns
Projects
The key to successful collaboration lies in our office culture. Our interns had the opportunity to contribute to our office’s greater research and evolving approaches to design. We offered inclusive ways for the interns to interact across studios and gain exposure to our variety of design expertise.
"My first day, I jumped into a project and became part of the design team. I loved gaining new insights from RIOS staff and fellow interns in other disciplines."
— Lea Romano, Interiors Intern
Collaboration Project: The kiosk is a flexible space that can easily be deployed and configured to accommodate multiple functions
"I appreciated the opportunity to explore varied social issues with pressing applications to the world of design and beyond.”
— Hailey Algoe, Architecture Intern
The Collaboration Series
The Collaboration Series focused on two topics: Resiliency and Adaptation in Post-Pandemic Life, and Digital Fabrication.
In part one, our intern’s collective research proposed new design ideas for the office and neighboring community centered around the topics of deployable living, public streetscapes, and hospitality spaces.
In the second part, their digital fabrication work involved an exciting opportunity to use our office CNC mill, which included creating a movable woven shading device to enhance RIOS’ outdoor spaces and developing a custom ping pong table to expand on our office’s playful culture.
“The Summer Collaboration Series was such a fun project to design with other interns and be given creative freedom supported by RIOS staff.”
— Lauren Hanson, Architecture Intern
Collaboration Project: Custom ping-pong table complete with hidden storage and wheels for portability
Collaboration Project: Dynamic shade structure designed with simple resources like a PVC pipe, parachute cord, and 3D printed elbow joints
“Working in a group with other interns across various studios allowed us to put our combined knowledge together to create something fresh and innovative.”
— Mac MacVaugh, Marketing Intern
Site Visits
Our interns visited completed and under construction RIOS projects throughout the summer. From interior creative office spaces to landscape-focused park projects, site tours provided the interns with the chance to experience various phases of construction across multiple projects and disciplines.
“The site visits were helpful with getting a full experience of the construction process, from installation to the choices behind materials.”
— Chris Lacsina, Landscape Intern
“RIOS’ office culture gives me a platform to collaborate with architects, making me rethink not only the natural elements in landscape, but also structure and space.”
— Jinghan Zhou, Landscape Intern
“RIOS’ support of the creative process and out-of-the-box thinking showed how the office is working towards re-imagining design and what it can be.”
— Julia Mosher, Architecture Intern
Thank you for joining us this summer!
Hailey Algoe, University of Texas
Isabella Carrera, California Polytechnic State University
Asher Guizik, University of Southern California
Lauren Hanson, University of Pennsylvania
Chris Lacsina, University of British Columbia
Marco Lam, University of Wisconsin–Madison
Mac MacVaugh, University of Michigan
Zak Meghrouni-Brown, Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture
Julia Mosher, University of Southern California
Lea Romano, University of Southern California
Yumi Tong, University of Southern California
Jinghan Zhou, Rhode Island School of Design
