Converging Disciplines.
Exceptional Talent.
By day, we are landscape architects, urban designers, and planners with a cross-disciplinary perspective. Outside the office, we are engaged citizens who share a passion for urban life and a commitment to addressing diverse challenges, one place at a time.
RHI began 35 years ago when planner Deana Rhodeside, PhD, joined landscape architects Faye Harwell, FASLA, and Elliot Rhodeside, FASLA, to create a multidisciplinary firm that places people and their needs first. Faye’s emphasis on exquisitely-crafted built work balanced with Elliot’s big conceptual thinking proved to be a potent combination. Deana’s background in research and psychology shaped the firm’s conviction that listening can be transformational; the best designs emerge out of a process that meaningfully involves clients and stakeholders. From the beginning, the firm’s commitment to collaboration drove its innovative projects. We believe we are better designers because we are planners; better regional thinkers because we understand the details that make great gardens; and better contemporary designers because we are students of history.
Today RHI has grown to a firm of 30 people with offices in Alexandria, Virginia, and in New York City. The firm is now made up of landscape architects, designers, planners, urbanists, historians, mobility experts, and horticulturists dedicated to the idea that livable cities are the most sustainable human habitats. Our office culture cultivates a studio environment that values fun, curiosity, and discovery.