riggs pearson skepnek.
Good enough, is not enough. Be inspired. Be wonderful.
Create impact through design.
ART / DESIGN / STRATEGY / STORYTELLING
/ LANDSCAPE / ARCHITECTURE
/ URBAN DESIGN / PLACEMAKING
AWARDS & HONORS
World Changing Ideas Award
2017 | Fast Company
Transportation Finalist | with Gensler
BQXL : Brooklyn - Queens Crossline
Living Cities Design Competition
2011 People’s Choice Award
Portland Symbiotic Districts : Towards a Balanced City
with ZGF Architects
Seoul International Design Fair
Presented design work at the 2010 Fair
2010 Design for All | future technology & daily living
Hunter's Point Masterplan
with Rebecca Popowsky
ZGF National Architectural Fellowship
ZGF Architects | Portland, OR
2009-2010 National Fellowship Winner
Schenck-Woodman Competition
University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia, PA
2009 Winner, 3rd place: ‘Park as Infrastructure: Rethinking Franklin Parkway’
Gimme Shelter: International Sustainable Design/Build Competition
The Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education | Philadelphia, PA
2009 Winner: with Rebecca Popowsky
Sustainably Designed Structure in an Urban Woodland
materials: recycled concrete, straw bales, bamboo and glass bottles
Gabriel Prize
Western European Architecture Foundation | San Antonio, TX
2008 Prize Winner: Three months of individual architectural research in France
Susan Cromwell Coslett Travel Fellowship
University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia, PA
2007 Fellowship Winner: To study and paint traditional Chinese gardens
Elizabeth Greenshield Foundation
Quebec, Canada
2006 Grant Winner: Representational Painting
EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
July 2006 - May 2010
Master of Landscape Architecture & Regional Planning
Master of Architecture
WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS
January 2003 - May 2005
Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting
MARYLAND INSTITUTE COLLEGE OF ART
September 2001 - August 2002
Environmental Design
WORK
CONSULTANT
New York, NY
July 2017 - Present
Placemaking Strategist & Urban Designer
GENSLER
New York, NY
June 2015 - July 2017
Placemaking Strategist & Urban Designer
CONSULTANT
New York, NY
November 2013 - June 2015
Multidisciplinary Designer & Creative Strategist
SERA ARCHITECTS
Portland, OR
October 2011 - November 2013
Project Designer
ZGF ARCHITECTS
Portland, OR
June 2010 - October 2011
Urban Designer
DILLER, SCOFIDIO & RENFRO
Manhattan, NY
May 2009 - August 2009
Freelance Designer
Every challenge begins with understanding what truly matters to the user/client/community.
To enact positive change, people must be motivated to accept and adopt that change.
Create public spaces that are
culturally resonant.
As the poet Gary Snyder wrote, I AM ON THE PATH, BUT OFF THE TRAIL.