Urban Works
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1994
- HeadquartersChicago, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
Urban Works firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Urban Works
- Legal name
- UrbanWorks, Ltd.
- Website
- https://urbanworksarchitecture.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1994
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Urban Works industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Architectural Design Services
- NAICS
- Architectural Services (54131), Interior Design Services (541410), Landscape Architectural Services (54132)
- SIC
- Services-Engineering Services (8711)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Urban Planning & Master Planning (BPAHAKAD)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Community Engagement & Participatory Planning (BPAHAKAO), Urban & Regional Planning (Land Use, Zoning, Master Planning) (BPAIANAD), Sustainable Cities, Urban Development & Green Infrastructure (BPADALAL)
Keywords
Where Urban Works is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Chicago
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Urban Works business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Architectural Design Services: UrbanWorks generates revenue through professional fees for architectural design services, including feasibility studies, site analysis, programming, building design, construction documentation, and construction administration. Fees are typically structured as a percentage of construction cost or hourly rates for specific service phases. The firm also provides interior design, landscape design, and urban planning services as part of integrated project delivery.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Urban Works product offering
Product offeringCore offering
UrbanWorks is a Chicago-based architecture, interiors, and planning firm providing full-service design for educational, healthcare, residential, mixed-use, transportation, and community development projects. Services span feasibility studies, site analysis, programming, building design, construction documentation, and construction administration, supported by interior design, landscape design, urban planning, historic preservation/adaptive reuse, and LEED-certified sustainable design capabilities. The firm delivers projects primarily through direct commissions, competitive public-sector bidding, and invited design competitions.
Product overview
UrbanWorks is a full-service architecture, interiors, and planning firm based in Chicago offering comprehensive design services. The core offerings include architectural design across commercial, residential, educational, healthcare, and mixed-use sectors, supported by urban planning capabilities, interior design, historic preservation and adaptive reuse, sustainable LEED design services, and construction administration. The portfolio spans educational facilities, healthcare buildings, residential developments (multi-family, student housing, senior housing), mixed-use complexes, transportation infrastructure, and sustainable building projects throughout Chicago and the Midwest.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Architectural Design Services
Quantifiable outcome
- Completed 30 years in architecture, interiors, and planning with over 50 documented project awards including multiple American Architecture Awards and AIA awards
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Urban Works
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Urban Works technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
Urban Works partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Chicago Architecture FoundationcoreOngoing collaborative relationship on multiple visioning and exhibition projects including Take Me to the River waterfront planning, Design on the Edge exhibition, and Chicago 2016 Olympic Bid. UrbanWorks has participated in CAF-sponsored exhibitions, competitions, and public programs as a design partner contributing conceptual urban design work.
- Metropolitan Planning CouncilcoreInvited by the Metropolitan Planning Council to develop the vision scheme for Old Cook County Hospital Adaptive Reuse project. UrbanWorks has also received the MPC Burnham Award for Excellence in Planning for Space to Grow project.
- The Resurrection ProjectcoreUrbanWorks developed the unique program for La Casa Student Housing with community-based developer The Resurrection Project. The collaboration provided subsidized college residential experience for Hispanic students. UrbanWorks has completed multiple projects with this partner.
- Populous, Skidmore Owings & MerrillminorUrbanWorks collaborated with Populous and Skidmore Owings & Merrill on Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Olympic Games. UrbanWorks served as a consulting firm alongside these major international design firms on the master planning effort.
- Instituto del Progreso LatinocoreOngoing partnership with Instituto del Progreso Latino for their Main Campus addition and renovation. The building incorporates commercial space and offices for this partner organization which serves the Hispanic community in Chicago.
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Urban Works competitors and assessment
Company assessmentRegional players
- Studio Gang: Chicago-headquartered architecture and urban design practice with comparable civic, education, and community-based portfolio (e.g., Aqua Tower, Writers Theatre). Operates in the same Chicago public-sector and institutional RFP pool but at a larger scale and broader geographic reach than UrbanWorks.
Direct peers
- Wheeler Kearns Architects: Chicago-based mid-size architecture firm with overlapping expertise in community-oriented residential, educational, and adaptive reuse projects. Similar headcount range and Chicago public/nonprofit client mix, including award-winning work in affordable housing and education.
- Landon Bone Baker Architects: Chicago architecture firm of comparable size focused on affordable housing, community development, and educational facilities. Direct peer for UrbanWorks' nonprofit and public-sector residential/school commissions in the Chicago market.
- Moody Nolan: Largest African-American-owned architecture firm in the U.S., with strong education, civic, and community-focused portfolios. Direct competitor for minority-led, mission-driven public-sector RFPs and a comparable equity-design positioning to UrbanWorks, but at significantly larger scale and national reach.
- Valerio Dewalt Train: Chicago-based architecture firm with overlapping education, civic, and community development portfolio and comparable mid-size scale. Direct peer for Chicago-area public-sector commissions and award-program visibility.
Broad incumbents
- Perkins&Will: Global architecture practice with significant Chicago presence and broad education, healthcare, and civic portfolios. Competes with UrbanWorks for larger institutional and healthcare commissions and increasingly for community-equity work where UrbanWorks has historically specialized.
- Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM): Global architecture and engineering firm that collaborated with UrbanWorks on the Chicago 2016 Olympic master plan. Competes at the high end of civic, healthcare, and master-planning commissions; serves as an upper-bound peer for project scale.
Others
- Populous: Global sports and convention architecture firm that collaborated with UrbanWorks on the Chicago 2016 Olympic Bid. Adjacent peer for large-scale civic master-planning and convention facility work (e.g., McCormick Place).
Emerging players
- HACIA (Hispanic American Construction Industry Association) member firms: HACIA-affiliated architecture and construction firms compete for the same Hispanic-community-focused projects (HACIA Project of the Year Award) that UrbanWorks has repeatedly won. Represents an emerging competitor cohort as the minority-led architecture segment grows.
- Site Design Group: Chicago-based landscape architecture and urban design practice with shared focus on public realm, urban planning, and community-engaged design. Comparable for UrbanWorks' urban planning, landscape, and participatory community engagement projects.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Urban Works social profiles
Digital presenceUrban Works financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Urban Works leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles15 records
Urban Works funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Urban Works M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Urban Works
What does Urban Works do?
UrbanWorks is a Chicago-based architecture, interiors, and planning firm providing full-service design for educational, healthcare, residential, mixed-use, transportation, and community development projects. Services span feasibility studies, site analysis, programming, building design, construction documentation, and construction administration, supported by interior design, landscape design, urban planning, historic preservation/adaptive reuse, and LEED-certified sustainable design capabilities. The firm delivers projects primarily through direct commissions, competitive public-sector bidding, and invited design competitions.
Is Urban Works a public or private company?
Urban Works is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Urban Works founded?
Urban Works was founded in 1994. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Urban Works based?
Urban Works is headquartered in Chicago, United States, in the North America region.
How does Urban Works make money?
One revenue line is on record: architectural Design Services.
Who are Urban Works's main competitors?
Studio Gang is listed as a regional player. Direct peers are Wheeler Kearns Architects, Landon Bone Baker Architects, Moody Nolan and Valerio Dewalt Train. Broad incumbents are Perkins&Will and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM). Populous is listed as an others. Emerging players are HACIA (Hispanic American Construction Industry Association) member firms and Site Design Group.
Does Urban Works have an API?
No public API is recorded for Urban Works.
What industry is Urban Works in?
Urban Works's product category is Architectural Design Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAKAD, Urban Planning & Master Planning, with a secondary code of BPAHAKAO, Community Engagement & Participatory Planning. Its NAICS code is 54131 and its SIC code is 8711.