Riki Nishimura MAUD '03

Riki Nishimura, AIA, AICP, is a Principal at Populous, a global architectural design firm specializing in creating environments and venues that draw communities and people together. He is a licensed architect, certified planner, and urban strategist with over two decades of experience in the strategy and design of our cities. His specialty is providing design strategies for maximizing value for all stakeholders for next-generation Venue integrated destination communities. He approaches design from a collaborative and evidence-based perspective, resulting in the design and implementation of world-class experiences. In the process, he balances visionary and fiscally responsible development to achieve memorable, sustainable, and enduring places in both the public and private realms.

Riki’s experience includes award-winning projects that create unique and extraordinary user experiences and optimize the functionality and viability of venue-integrated mixed-use and entertainment districts, mixed-use urban regeneration districts, next-generation waterfronts, corporate and technology workplace campuses, university campuses, and urban cultural parks.

Committed to furthering sustainable strategies, practices, and contributions to the real estate community, he is active in the Urban Land Institute (ULI). The ULI recognized him in 2016 with the 40 Under 40 award. He contributes to the ULI Advisory Services and serves on the ULI Americas Executive Committee, the Global Exchange Product Council, and the ULISF Executive Board. Riki is the Co-Chair of the Harvard GSD Alumni Council and serves on the Board of Directors of the Harvard Alumni Association. He actively participates as a design review critic at Harvard, Stanford, UC Berkeley, and UCLA, and he has held an appointment at Stanford University as an adjunct lecturer in Risk and Resilience at the School of Engineering. He received a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Toronto and a Master of Architecture and Urban Design from Harvard University.

Find Riki on LinkedIn.