RRM Design Group

Cheers to our firm being named one of the "Best Firms to Work For" by Zweig Group! Our offices have held some in-person celebrations the past two weeks to commemorate the exciting news. As a 100% employee-owned firm, congrats to each and every member of our team we did it! #bestfirmstoworkfor #lovewhereyouwork #rrmdesigngroup

Project Spotlight: Central Park Playground Renovation RRM was hired by the City of San Mateo to provide design services to update one of their most popular playgrounds at their signature downtown park known as Central Park. The city trusted our park and playground experts to ensure the park remains one of the most sought-after in the region. Elements such as an adventure boardwalk that weaves through the site's majestic trees, family gathering spaces, public art, and gardens ...have all been proposed within the initial concepts. Throughout the design process, RRM has also led multiple community workshops to ensure public feedback is at the forefront of the park's renovation. The first public workshop was held to capture the community's vision for the park and playground. From there, our landscape architects developed two unique design alternatives, integrating community interest directly into the design (see alternatives below.) This month, our team presented these alternatives to the community at a virtual workshop and during an in-person workshop just last week at the playground (one of our first in-person outreach events in a long time!) Stay tuned on the Central Park Playground Renovation by visiting: https://www.cityofsanmateo.org//Central-Park-Playground-Re

Hard at work, Creating Environments People Enjoy! Shoutout to our Ventura team! It's been almost three months since Mainstreet Architects and RRM joined forces. We are so lucky to have you all on board! #rrmdesigngroup #ventura #architecture #hiring

At RRM, designing affordable housing for our communities is one of our passions and company missions! Our very own Elijah Pearce, Manager of Architecture in our Santa Barbara office wrote an informative article on the topic of Affordable Housing for our newsletter this past spring! Check out the article below to learn more about one of our firm's specialties! ... https://www.rrmdesign.com/affordable-housing-welcoming-the/

We're honored to announce that RRM won five 2021 PCBC Gold Nugget Architecture Design Awards including one Grand Award title in the category of Best Unique Residential Detached Housing! Congratulations to all of the employees and project partners that designed and developed these award-worthy projects! Grand Award: Best Unique Residential Detached Housing Solution... West Creek - Noveno Single Family Housing, San Luis Obispo Robbins|Reed - Shawn Reed & Aaryn Abbott Merit Award: Best Community Land Plan West Creek - Master Plan, San Luis Obispo Robbins|Reed Merit Award: Best Affordable Housing Community 30 to 60 du/acre The Gardens on Hope, Santa Barbara Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara Merit Award: Best Affordable Housing Community under 30 du/acre Halcyon Collective, Arroyo Grande Housing Authority of San Luis Obispo Merit Award: Best Multi-Family Housing Community under 15 du/acre Penrose at The Grand, San Diego McCarthy Companies #architecture #architectureawards #pcbcgoldnuggetawards2021 #housingsolutions #residentialdesign

We have six individuals joining our associates program! These RRMers were chosen for their strong work ethic, professionalism, internal team collaboration, and dedication to client service. Congratulations to April, Apryl, Charles, Jolie, Scott, and Tony! We’re excited for you all to continue to grow professionally in the program and shape the future of our company. #professionaldevelopment #associatesprogram #rrmdesigngroup

What does Inclusive Design mean? How do you ensure public outreach reaches all members of the community? How can parks and playgrounds be more inclusive? Learn all this and more in the RRM Design Group Newsletter! This issue is focused on Diversity and Inclusion by Design. Explore the newsletter here: https://zurl.co/uHVY... #rrmnewsletter #inclusivedesign

Happy Halloween weekend from RRM

This week's #fridayfeature is Taylor Mountain. RRM prepared an award-winning master plan for this major regional park and open space preserve in Sonoma County. Since Taylor Mountain is such a beloved recreation space in the Santa Rosa region, public outreach was a crucial component of the project. RRM facilitated multiple workshops, design charrettes, and outreach opportunities including Taylor Mountain Day (a day for the public to spend on the mountain learning about its r...ich cultural and natural resources). The final Master Plan is reflective of public input, provides a balance of preservation and recreational opportunities, and addresses the issues of land management, stewardship, and trails management. Project 45 / 45 #rrmdesign #45yearsofprojects Thanks for following along to see 45 of our top projects in celebration of the past 45 years of RRM! We promise to continue highlighting projects past and present!

So fresh and so clean! We now have a handful of individuals coming into the office taking the utmost precautions to adhere to our health and safety guidelines and protocols. Here's a photo of our Office Coordinator and Graphic Designer during "Get Fancy" week where employees both in the office and at home broke out the fanciest attire they’ve worn in months.

This week’s #fridayfeature is City Heritage Park. City Heritage Park is a 3.25-acre community park located in the core of the city of Parlier. The park incorporates the City’s desire for open turf area for soccer, drought-tolerant landscaping, an exercise pathway around the perimeter, and a 2,000 square foot water recycling splash pad. Additional features include restrooms, an open farmer’s market/event pavilion, as well as a picnic pavilion. A variety of design elements, sig...nage, and monuments incorporated throughout the park reflect the agricultural and railroad history of Parlier. This park was grant-funded by the Prop 68 Statewide Parks Program and had many requirements and demanding deadlines to meet to ensure a successful park project. If you’re looking to apply to this round of Prop 68 grant funding, find out how RRM can help at: rrmdesign.com/statewide-parks-program/ Project 44 / 45 #rrmdesign #45yearsofprojects

This week's #fridayfeature is the newly constructed Pismo Pier Plaza! RRM began this project with the City of Pismo Beach back in 2013 and is beyond excited that it's finally open to the public. Watch the video below for a complete overview of the updates that have been made including the addition of giant "Pismo Beach" letters, beach-themed play structures, new restrooms, and improved beach access. Project 43 / 45 #rrmdesign #45yearsofprojects

This week's #fridayfeature is our work at Bishop's Peak Elementary School. RRM was hired by the San Luis Coastal Unified School District to design a new multipurpose building at Bishop’s Peak Elementary. The new 10,570sf building includes a multipurpose room, stage, music classroom, kitchen, and restrooms for the adjacent playfields. The patio in front of the building will serve as an outdoor eating area overlooking the center of the campus. RRM was also hired to convert the old multipurpose building into an administrative office building. After developing a spatial layout within the existing building structure, RRM designed the new building entry in harmony with the existing campus design motif. The resulting design is a clearly defined entryway for campus visitors. Project 42 / 45 #rrmdesign #45yearsofprojects

We're proud to announce that the Froom Ranch Specific Plan has been approved. This plan will help guide the development of 43.5 acres of the 109.7-acre property located off of Los Osos Valley Road, south of the Home Depot in San Luis Obispo. RRM's multidiscipline team worked closely with property owners and the city of SLO throughout the development of the plan. Components of the future site will include a Life Plan Community (composed of independent and assisted senior living units), multi-family residential units, connections to existing open space trailheads, as well as open space preservation for over 60% of the site. Congrats to everyone who has been involved in this exciting endeavor! #cityplanning #specificplan #planning #froomranch

This week’s #fridayfeature is the ‘Among the Oaks’ residence. Nested on a hilltop overlooking the Orcutt community and vast open space of Northern Santa Barbara County, this custom residence captures the eye through its exquisite modern architectural design. Strategically shaped by the existing site typography, the home perfectly captures the concept of California living by engaging with its natural surrounding beauty. The fundamental design concept of The Journey considered the owners day to day living patterns, personal interests, and social interactions between indoor and outdoor spaces. Project 41 / 45 #rrmdesign #45yearsofprojects

Hey all you APA California conference attendees! Join us tonight at our virtual booth from 4-5pm and enter to win a DoorDash gift card! We hope to see you there!

This week's #fridayfeature is the Azusa Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Specific Plan. The City of Azusa retained RRM’s planners, architects, urban designers, and engineers to prepare a 350-acre TOD specific plan encompassing the City’s downtown, two future Gold Line transit stations, and the adjacent residential neighborhoods. Funded through a Los Angeles Metro grant, the work effort provided for a mix of residential, commercial, and entertainment-related land uses that h...ave been instrumental in the ongoing evolution of the area into a vibrant, mixed-use, and pedestrian-focused environment. Creative development standards and design guidelines integrated into the plan captured the community’s ideas and input while allowing for high-quality, compatible development to occur. This work effort also involved an Environmental Impact Report, General Plan Amendment, and Zoning Code Amendment. Project 40 / 45 #rrmdesign #45yearsofprojects

This week's #fridayfeature are our northwest Modesto storm drain improvements. RRM was hired to develop innovative and cost-effective methods to reduce flooding and remove sanitary sewer cross-connections in northwest Modesto. After evaluating numerous options for the approximately 160-acre area, RRM and the City chose a Low Impact Development (LID) solution, which included collecting, treating, and infiltrating stormwater at four existing neighborhood parks. The project was ...a collaboration between RRM’s internal team of Engineers, Surveyors, Landscape Architects, and Planners, as well as multiple city agencies. Taking place in a disadvantaged area of the city, the project provided rehabilitation to some of Modesto's oldest parks. RRM was retained to prepare construction documents for Phase One, Garrison Park, which involved removing two cross-connections and 15 rockwells, construction of a centralized pre-treatment device, five-acre underground retention basin, and permeable concrete paving, as well as renovations to the park including a new irrigation system and turf, a baseball field, and basketball court. project 39 / 45 #rrmdesign #45yearsofprojects

This week's #fridayfeature is known as the Harbor View custom residence. In 2008 the Tea Fire in the Santa Barbara hills devastated the original home on this site. A challenging slope presented an opportunity to design an elegant and classic Santa Barbara home in the Spanish colonial revival style that gracefully steps down the hillside. The new 3,271 sf, 4-bedroom home features a main level with a master suite, kitchen and dining room as well as a library and great room. Fac...ing the south, the great room opens onto an expansive uncovered deck. The lower level provides a mini master suite, media room, gallery, family room, wine cellar, laundry room and bedrooms. The rooms located on the south side of the house achieve prime solar access and take advantage of views across the Pacific Ocean to the Channel Islands. Project 38 / 45 #rrmdesign #45yearsofprojects

This week's #fridayfeature is our Sidewalk Dining & Parklets Handbook for the City of Long Beach. Our team created a comprehensive ‘how to’ guide for all businesses interested in adding sidewalk dining or a parklet adjacent to an existing business. These spaces improve and activate streets by enhancing the pedestrian experience, revitalizing the public realm, supporting local businesses, and elevating the attractiveness of the public rights-of-way. In collaboration with the b...usiness community, RRM developed design guidelines and development standards as well as an application, permitting, and approval process that was simplified into one user-friendly handbook that reduced the processing time and cost for these features by half. As we know with COVID-19, parklets and outdoor dining spaces have been essential for small businesses to keep their doors open (in locations where it is safe to do so.) Project 37 / 45 #rrmdesign #45yearsofprojects

Brighten up your afternoon by checking out some of our favorite pets here at RRM!! (Look out for the bearded dragon, bunny, and pet rock!!)