Design Workshop welcomes Nate Cormier, ASLA, PLA, as its Senior Designer. With more than 25 years of experience, including the past decade at RIOS in Los Angeles, Cormier will serve as a senior design lead, collaborating across studios and disciplines to advance the firm’s design practice and expand opportunities in California and nationally.
His arrival comes as Design Workshop marks a new chapter in its nearly six-decade history. With a refreshed brand and identity now in place, the firm is looking ahead with renewed clarity about the ideas that have long shaped its work: a deep understanding of place, an enduring commitment to design excellence, and a belief in landscape’s ability to create meaningful value. Cormier brings a complementary perspective, broadening the conversation about how landscape can make people more present, curious, and engaged with the world around them.
Cormier’s addition also marks an important next step in the ongoing growth of Design Workshop’s Los Angeles studio and its presence across California. His longstanding regional relationships and extensive hospitality expertise strengthen an important area of the practice, building on Design Workshop’s experience in the sector.
“Nate brings a rare combination of design leadership, regional knowledge and an ability to work across complex environmental and cultural contexts. His approach is grounded in understanding intrinsic qualities and translating this insight into poetic places. That perspective, together with his hospitality expertise and relationships, will strengthen our practice and create new opportunities for our teams and clients.”
Becky Zimmermann, CEO
Cormier’s portfolio includes significant civic, cultural, public realm, and hospitality projects, such as Palm Springs Downtown Park, recipient of the 2022 ASLA Professional Award of Excellence in General Design; 1 Hotel West Hollywood; Skyline Park in Denver; and Philbrook Museum of Art & Gardens in Tulsa. His work is grounded in the climate, culture, ecology, and history of each place.
“What draws me to Design Workshop is the depth and range of capabilities that define the practice,. There is an ability to rigorously analyze what a landscape needs to be healthy and viable over the long term and then to bring tremendous creative ambition to how people enjoy and care for it. I see an opportunity to bring those strengths even closer together, to amplify the context of a place and create landscapes that help people become present, curious and connected.”
Nate Cormier
Beyond his design practice, Cormier has remained actively involved with the American Society of Landscape Architects and the Landscape Architecture Foundation throughout his career, including serving four years on LAF’s Board of Directors. His ongoing research explores the role of embodied, multisensory experience in an increasingly digital world.
Cormier holds a Master of Landscape Architecture from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design and a Bachelor of Arts in Asian Studies from Bowdoin College. He is a registered landscape architect, WELL Accredited Professional, and LEED Accredited Professional.
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