The feature underscores how community engagement is embedded in the firm’s culture and strategy, from hands-on volunteer efforts to ongoing support of local educational foundations, food security programs, youth initiatives, and environmental restoration. In 2025 alone, Westgroup Designs’ 40-person team contributed more than 480 volunteer hours and nearly $23,000 in direct donations, supporting organizations throughout Orange County and beyond. The article also highlights the firm’s belief that social responsibility and design excellence go hand in hand, reinforcing long-standing partnerships with public agencies, school districts, healthcare providers, and civic organizations.

To read the full story, view this week’s edition of the Orange County Business Journal. The full article is featured in the Companies That Care report.

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Yesterday, August 27, 2025, marked the official ribbon-cutting for the Los Alamitos Unified School District’s newest campus addition. The Griffin Center is a 34,000 square foot, state-of-the-art athletics and events facility, and the second ground-up project completed in partnership with architecture firm Westgroup Designs.

Community, Leadership, and Vision

The event welcomed students, families, board members, and staff for an open house tour of the building. Guests explored the expansive three-court gymnasium, 2,000 seat retractable bleachers, four team rooms, weight training suite, and indoor-outdoor concessions. At the heart of the facility is the Hall of Champions, a double-height glass-enclosed lobby that celebrates the school’s storied athletic legacy and sets the stage for future generations of Griffins.

Westgroup Designs CEO, Sima Hassani, delivered remarks during the ceremony, thanking the District’s leadership and facilities team for their trust and coordination throughout the design and construction process. “The Griffin Center is more than a building,” Hassani shared. “It is a bold statement of what Los Alamitos values most: excellence, opportunity, and pride.”

She added, “The building tells a story through its very form. At the entry, the abstract geometry of the canopy suggests the powerful motion of a Griffin’s wing. It is a symbolic tribute to the school’s mascot and enduring spirit of athletic pride.”

Superintendent, Dr. Andrew Pulver, echoed those sentiments, adding:
“Westgroup Designs… brought vision and heart to this project—and, honestly, have you seen a high school gym ever look like this? I have not… As soon as you come up the driveway, you can’t help but see this Griffin pride.”

More Than a Gym

The Griffin Center was intentionally designed to serve more than just athletics. It supports PE classes, student assemblies, community events, and performances. For the first time, outdoor sports now benefit from access to restrooms and concessions. The project reflects the District’s Four A’s framework: Academics, Athletics, Activities, and the Arts, ensuring equity, flexibility, and long-term value.

“This is a place where every student can grow, physically, mentally, and emotionally,” Hassani said. “We are truly honored to be part of this journey and look forward to supporting the District’s continued vision.”

A Shared Milestone

Throughout the evening, the excitement was palpable. ASB students who had joined the project photography team were thrilled to explore the finished facility. They commented on the scale of the space, noting how much larger it felt than the old gym, and eagerly asked what new project might be next.

With the Griffin Center now open, Los Alamitos High School gains more than a new building. It gains a destination. A space that strengthens school pride, supports student life, and stands as a symbol of community investment for years to come.

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Westgroup Designs is proud to announce its selection as the design firm for Riverside City College’s new state-of-the-art Cosmetology Building, an anchor project in the Riverside Community College District’s (RCCD) bold investment in the future of career and technical education. The transformative facility is among the first to be funded by RCCD’s recently approved $954 million bond measure, signaling a district-wide commitment to innovation, equity, and workforce development.

WD brings decades of experience in higher education design and will lead both the architectural and interior vision for the new facility. More than just a learning environment, the building will immerse students in a professional, real-world salon setting complete with modern learning labs, interactive client spaces, and industry-aligned technologies that support excellence, hygiene, and hands-on learning.

“Our team is deeply honored to partner with RCCD on a project that merges educational excellence with design innovation and industry relevance,” said PariSima Hassani, CEO and Managing Principal of Westgroup Designs. “With our interdisciplinary approach and the unique insight of an in-house licensed cosmetologist, we are distinctly positioned to design a facility that not only reflects RCCD’s mission, but also embodies student success and advancement.”

The design will be shaped through close collaboration with RCC faculty, staff, and students, ensuring the new facility supports the college’s academic goals and creates a pathway to meaningful careers.

Supporting WD is a seasoned team of consultants, including Pezeshki Engineering, IMEG, VCA Engineers, Ridge Landscape Architects, Veneklasen Associates, and OCMI each bringing deep expertise in DSA-compliant, high-performing educational environments across California. With design efforts already underway, the new Cosmetology Building is poised to become a landmark of RCCD’s facilities modernization, an inspiring blend of innovation, community, and opportunity under one roof.

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WD is a 2024 Platinum Bond Contributor.

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Westgroup Designs has been selected as an Honoree for the 2023 National Philanthropy Day,  recognizing the contributions and spirit of giving the firm and its staff continue to make, in support of many Orange County areas.

WD’s fundamental value centered on investing in the region’s non-profit organizations, foundations and causes serves to benefit, enrich and empower the global community.

Spanning a variety of activities and events, from sponsoring and fundraising, to actively working with Veterans, the  underserved, women & children’s groups, shelters, environmental and charitable organizations, Westgroup Designs is proud to drive positive change in our communities.

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/national-philanthropy-day-orange-county_vivaphilanthropy-afpoc-associationoffundraisingprofessionals-activity-7111128338261319680-u6Xr?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

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An interview with Dr. Pulver, the Superintendent of the Los Alamitos Unified School District, to find out why his district chose Westgroup Designs to build their new 86,528 sf STEM Building.

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For the third time, Westgroup Designs is honored to be named as one of the top Best Places to Work in 2020 by the Orange County Business Journal.

Placing in the top 3 on the list, Westgroup Designs was selected for its quality of Leadership and Organization, Company Culture and Overall employee Trust and Satisfaction. Westgroup Designs dedicates this award to each and every one of its resourceful, collaborative employees who provides the value offered to our clients and project partners every day, who embody the firm’s values with compassion and integrity, and who approach every day with a great attitude, team spirit, passion for design and enthusiasm for discovery.

This county-wide survey and awards program was designed to identify, recognize and honor the best places of employment in Orange County, California, benefiting the county's economy, its workforce and businesses. The ranking of the winning organizations was issued in a special section of the Orange County Business Journal’s October 26th issue.

About Westgroup Designs Westgroup Designs (WD) is a comprehensive Architecture, Planning, Interior Design and Branding firm headquartered in Irvine, California, with both National and International clients and projects. Founded in 1989, WD is a woman-owned business that values excellence; certain that the best results come from a strong partnership with clients, and high-quality work is a culmination of attitude & approach, enthusiasm for discovery and passion for design. WD leverages design as a tool to help clients achieve organizational goals and strengthen business outcomes. The firm’s expertise includes projects in Education, Commercial, Civic, Retail, Health & Wellness and Lifestyle sectors, from tenant improvement and renovation to new multi-story buildings and campuses.

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Westgroup Designs (WD) received a Merit Award for its design of INDA ACADEMY, at the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Orange County Chapter Design Awards Gala, presented virtually on October 1st.

The project is a 25,000 square foot, Pre-K to 6 educational facility for the Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD), focused on the goal of creating an inclusive 21st century neighborhood school with an innovative DREAMS curriculum (Design, Research, Engineering, Arts, Math and Science).

Citing the project’s sustainable concept for Adaptive Reuse and design quality, the AIA Jurors unanimously celebrated this project:

The design is well-considered, thoughtful, and nicely executed, including a playful slide that descends along the side of the building. Another great embodied carbon story that encourages the reuse of existing structures.”

The design team delivered a unique solution that would facilitate progressive hands-on learning for 225 students a year, and understand how this solution would enhance the community, leveraging the local climate to support indoor/outdoor educational activities with glazed retractable walls and highly flexible interior spaces. As part of the resilient design concept, WD focused on creating a healthier building, updating the design of the building skin, adding operable windows and a new ventilation system which exceeds energy requirements by 30% and provides 100% outside air for healthier indoor air quality. 

Our responsibility as architects is to both dream and to build responsibly, Westgroup Designs Principal, Dr. Shazad Ghanbari said. “ This will be a transformational environment; an example for our next generation of emerging technology and learning experiences.”

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