Roto, a leading planning & design-build firm, has been named among Fast Company's Best Workplaces for Innovators in 2026. The accolade reflects the company's work on Prototype: The Experimental Museum, a public museum dedicated to testing and developing new ideas.
As organisations look for ways to foster meaningful innovation, Roto's approach offers a model for bringing this ethos to the workplace and empowering employees.
Prototype: The Experimental Museum
For almost 10 years, Roto has embedded hands-on testing into its design process, welcoming more than 1,000 students to its Ohio HQ each year to try new exhibit concepts and share feedback that helps refine and improve them.
That approach has informed some of Roto's best-known projects, such as experiences for the Smithsonian, California Science Center, Walt Disney Imagineering, Dollywood, and its latest experience, Times Travel at OneTimes Square, which takes visitors on a multi-sensory journey through Times Square history.
Prototype: The Experimental Museum advances this commitment. The 30,000-square-foot public museum in Columbus, Ohio, provides a permanent space for Roto teams to continuously experiment with new ideas, technologies, and experiences with real audiences.
Prototype: The Experimental Museum officially opened on 1 November 2025Image courtesy of Roto
Over 50 associates, approximately half the company, built the 25 installations that launched there in 2025.
Joseph Wisne, founding partner and chief creative officer of Roto, says: "We wanted employees to have real room to build and test their own ideas, not leave them stuck in a slide deck.
"It’s a win-win: employees get to experiment in real time, and what we learn can inform and strengthen the exhibits and experiences we create with our clients."
In operating Prototype, Roto gains a firsthand view of the challenges that its clients in the museum and attractions sector face, according to Maurice Twomey, president and CFO of Roto.
Operating a public museum means keeping visitors engaged, building an audience, and giving guests a reason to return, the same daily activities that Roto's clients handle at their own organisations.
"Prototype gives us the opportunity to experience innovation from both sides, says Twomey. "We're designing and building experiences, but we're also operating a museum, listening to visitors and learning alongside them. That perspective makes us better partners to the institutions we serve."
Prototype: The Experimental Museum features six immersive "stages" with interactive media, kinetic light, projection, and audioImage courtesy of Roto
New York City celebration
Roto's award is part of Fast Company's 2026 Best Workplaces for Innovators list in the Midsize Companies category. Announced on 14 September, this year's list also includes Anthropic, Chipotle, and American Express.
The winners were celebrated at an awards ceremony on 16 September in New York City. The ceremony took place during the Fast Company Innovation Festival, where Roto hosted a Fast Track session offering festival attendees a behind-the-scenes tour of One Times Square.
After touring the new immersive attraction, attendees heard from Wisne and Sean Ramsay, Roto partner, who spoke about the project's distinctive aspects and innovations.
Later this month, Roto will be exhibiting at the AZA Annual Conference. Attendees can find the company at booth #535. Additionally, Julie Hartunian, Roto design director, will speak in the session Play That Performs: Designing Family Spaces that Drive Engagement and Return Visits on 1 October.
Hartunian will be joined by speakers from Lincoln Children's Zoo, Canopy Strategic Partners, Oregon Coast Aquarium, and Reid Park Zoo to explore what makes family play spaces truly successful.
