Harrison French and Associates

What Harrison French and Associates does

Harrison French and Associates (HFA) is a fully integrated architecture and engineering firm founded in 1990 and headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas. The firm operates as a 100% employee-owned professional services practice (legal entity: Harrison French and Associates, Ltd.), delivering architecture, MEP engineering, interior design, structural engineering, civil engineering, landscape architecture, fire protection engineering, refrigeration, and fueling design under a single multidisciplinary studio model. Its licensed-in-50-states footprint is supported by offices in Bentonville (HQ), Boston, Franklin (MA), Fort Worth, Springfield (MO), Baltimore (acquired via Chesapeake Design Group in August 2025), and Mexico City, staffed by approximately 500-550 professionals across 29 states.

The company's core offering is project-based A+E services billed under custom multi-year contracts across five primary verticals: Retail, Hospitality, Industrial, Healthcare, and Real Estate Development. In November 2025, HFA entered a sixth vertical — Life Sciences / Science + Technology — through its acquisition of TRIA (now TRIA Powered by HFA), adding laboratory R&D, biomanufacturing, and cGMP facility design capabilities and a Fortune 500 client roster including Moderna, Novartis, Biogen, Vertex, Pfizer, and CRISPR Therapeutics. The firm also operates a concept design sub-offering called Matchstick and a prototype management service for chain clients. Notable enterprise relationships include a 30+ year Walmart partnership covering remodels across 5,206 Supercenters and Neighborhood Markets, a Slim Chickens relationship since 2014, and a Parker's Kitchen program since 2022 spanning 100+ convenience stores.

HFA monetizes through professional services fees on a project-by-project basis, with no standard published pricing. The go-to-market is direct enterprise engagement through distributed offices, supported by content marketing (blog, LinkedIn, Instagram), email newsletters, and PR-driven announcements. Recent leadership additions — including a new CFO and a newly created VP of Technology + Digital Innovation role — alongside two completed acquisitions in 2025 indicate an enterprise-scale professional services platform being assembled for further capability and geographic expansion, while retaining the employee-owned operating model.

Name

Harrison French and Associates

Legal name

Harrison French and Associates, Ltd.

Website

https://hfa-ae.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Harrison French and Associates (HFA) is an employee-owned, fully integrated architecture and engineering firm founded in 1990 in Bentonville, AR, serving retail, hospitality, industrial, healthcare, real estate development, and life sciences clients across all 50 states and Mexico through in-house multidisciplinary design and engineering services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Bentonville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Architecture and Engineering Services: Professional services revenue from providing integrated architecture and engineering design services for commercial projects across retail, hospitality, industrial, healthcare, and real estate development sectors.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

HFA is a fully integrated architecture and engineering firm that delivers multidisciplinary design services spanning architecture, MEP engineering, interior design, structural engineering, civil engineering, landscape architecture, fire protection engineering, refrigeration design, and fueling design. The firm serves enterprise clients across retail, hospitality, industrial, healthcare, real estate development, and life sciences sectors, managing projects from concept through construction administration with in-house disciplines coordinated as a single studio. Specialized offerings include the Matchstick concept design service, A+E project delivery solutions, prototyping management, and the TRIA Powered by HFA life sciences design practice.

Product overview

HFA is a fully integrated architecture and engineering studio offering one collaborative partner to manage every stage of projects from concept to launch. The portfolio consists of in-house core services (Architecture, MEP Engineering, Interior Design, Structural Engineering, Civil Engineering, Landscape Architecture, Fire Protection Engineering, Refrigeration, and Fueling Design) augmented by specialized service modules including Matchstick (concept design), A+E Services (project delivery), and Prototyping (prototype management and maintenance). Following the 2025 acquisition of TRIA, HFA expanded into the Science + Technology sector under the TRIA Powered by HFA sub-brand, specializing in life sciences facilities including laboratories, biomanufacturing, and research environments. The company serves five primary industry verticals: Retail, Hospitality, Industrial, Real Estate Development, and Healthcare.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Architecture Full-service architectural design covering all major design disciplines in-house, from concept to launch, for enterprise clients across retail, hospitality, industrial, healthcare, and life sciences sectors.
• MEP Engineering Mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineering services integrated within the firm's A+E offering for commercial building projects.
• Interior Design Interior design services delivered as part of HFA's fully integrated multidisciplinary studio for retail, hospitality, healthcare, and commercial clients.
• Structural Engineering Structural engineering services provided as part of the integrated multidisciplinary studio for commercial and institutional buildings.
• Civil Engineering Civil engineering services for site development, infrastructure, and land development projects across HFA's industrial and real estate development clients.
• Landscape Architecture Landscape architecture services integrated into project delivery for commercial, retail, hospitality, and real estate development projects.
• Fire Protection Engineering Fire protection engineering and code consulting services for commercial, retail, healthcare, and industrial buildings.
• Refrigeration Design Refrigeration engineering services, particularly for grocery, cold storage, and food retail facilities.
• Fueling Design Fueling system design services for convenience retail, travel plaza, and forecourt projects such as Parker's Kitchen.
• Matchstick Concept Design User-focused concept design service serving as the front-end creative offering within HFA's solution suite for rapid ideation and prototyping.
• A+E Services Project delivery solutions encompassing the full range of architecture and engineering services from concept through construction administration, delivered as a single integrated engagement.
• Prototyping Prototype management and maintenance services, including prototype library maintenance for multi-unit brands such as Parker's Kitchen and Slim Chickens.
• TRIA Powered by HFA Life sciences design practice delivering research and development labs, biomanufacturing facilities, and workplace environments for scientists and biotech and pharma clients, acquired from Boston-based TRIA in November 2025.

Quantifiable outcome

• Licensed in all 50 states enabling nationwide collaboration
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• CannonDesign: CannonDesign is an integrated architecture, engineering, and design firm of similar scale with strong healthcare and science + technology practices, mirroring HFA's vertical mix and recently expanded life sciences capability via TRIA.
• Perkins&Will: Perkins&Will is a global architecture firm with leading healthcare and science practices, directly comparable to HFA's healthcare (Sabal-led) and TRIA-driven life sciences verticals.
• EwingCole: EwingCole is a mid-size integrated architecture and engineering firm with strong healthcare, science, and higher education practices, closely mirroring HFA's vertical mix and integrated delivery model.
• DLR Group: DLR Group is an integrated architecture and engineering firm of comparable size (~1,200+ employees) with a national footprint and similar cross-disciplinary delivery model covering workplace, retail, healthcare, and industrial sectors — directly comparable to HFA's integrated A+E studio approach.
• HKS: HKS is a national integrated architecture and engineering firm with deep healthcare and corporate practices, comparable to HFA in serving Fortune 500 enterprise clients and combining architecture with MEP and interior design.
• SmithGroup: SmithGroup is an integrated A+E firm with a national footprint and well-developed science + technology and healthcare practices, highly comparable to HFA's recent TRIA-driven expansion into life sciences design.

Broad incumbents

• Gensler: Gensler is a global architecture and design leader with strong retail, hospitality, and workplace practices; considerably larger than HFA but competing for the same enterprise client engagements (e.g., large retail and hospitality brands).
• Stantec: Stantec is a much larger global A&E firm with a significant architecture practice; broader scope but overlapping in healthcare, industrial, and commercial real estate design services where HFA competes.
• HOK: HOK is a global integrated design firm with healthcare, science + technology, and commercial practices; comparable to HFA in integrated delivery but at meaningfully larger scale and global footprint.
• HDR: HDR is a large employee-owned A&E firm with architecture, engineering, and clinical/healthcare capabilities; broader portfolio but overlapping in healthcare design where HFA is building its practice.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/harrison-french-&-associates
• Instagraminstagram.com/hfa_ae
• Xx.com/hfa_ae
• Facebookfacebook.com/HFAAEHome

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A3 records

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Harrison French and Associates