RICK PHILLIPS
Rick Phillips is an award-winning architect, planner, and urban designer specializing in the conceptual planning, design, and urban integration of large-scale engineering, transportation, public open space, and community development projects.
In 2017, Rick founded rp/PLACE/, a consultancy based on the insight that intervening powerfully at the earliest stages of visioning, planning and design is the truest path to delivering projects and programs of lasting value.
Rick’s work has spanned large-scale community and transportation master planning; detailed planning of highway and transit corridors; the design of bridges, transportation terminals, parks, streetscapes, and urban waterfronts; historic preservation and adaptive re-use; context-sensitive engineering design; and environmental impact mitigation.
Initiating his career in Canada, Rick’s early work included conceptual planning and urban design of Toronto’s urban waterfront and architectural and urban design for Vancouver’s SkyTrain urban transit system. Later, he was involved intensely in the planning and design of public transportation projects throughout the United States with a focus on Arizona, California, Hawaii, and Utah.
With the Parsons Corporation in the early 2000’s, Rick served as Principal Architect for two significant award-winning projects: the George S. Eccles 2002 Legacy Bridge, an internationally-recognized landmark project of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, and the Taylor Urban Interchange, the signature arterial gateway to the Guadalupe River Regional Park in San José, California.
Rick worked with the HNTB Corporation from 2004 to 2017. As Director of Urban Design for Northern California, his major clients included Caltrain, Caltrans, the Utah Transit Authority, and the California High Speed Rail Authority. Rick led the conceptual development of key transportation and urban design projects across California's Bay Area, including future high speed rail stations and landmark pedestrian/bicycle bridges.
Rick presents and speaks regularly at conventions and academic meetings on the intertwined roles of land use and public transportation in supporting a sustainable world. He is a contributor to the new book, Planning Sustainable Cities: An Infrastructure-based Approach, published in 2016 by the Zofnass Program for Sustainable Infrastructure (Harvard Graduate School of Design).
Rick is a member of the Board of Stewards of International Making Cities Livable, a leading educational and outreach organization dedicated to advancing worldwide the possibilities of sustainable, livable urbanism.
Rick is a registered architect in the State of Arizona and a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners.
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch), 1973, University of Arizona.
Additional studies in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Urban Geography, Urban Design, and Transportation Planning; 1974 - 1977; University of Toronto.
Rick has served, at various times, as a visiting design critic, speaker, and project adviser at the Universities of Toronto, Guelph, and Waterloo (Ontario, Canada); the University of British Columbia (Canada); the Universities of Arizona, Hawaii, and Nevada; Arizona State University; California State University Fullerton; and California College of the Arts.
LICENSES & CERTIFICATIONS
Registered Architect (RA): Arizona / No. 23516 (1989)
American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) (2014)
Envision Sustainability Professional (ENV SP) (2021)
COLLATERAL
The following Acrobat (PDF) resources are available on OneDrive – please click below to view or download these files:
Rick Phillips Fact Sheet – Similar to this page on website.
Curriculum Vitae – Detailed Rick Phillips CV including Education, Awards and Service, Publications, Presentations, and Career.
Additional publication and media downloads are available on Rick's LinkedIn Profile.