Semple Brown Design

What Semple Brown Design does

Semple Brown Design is a Denver-based architecture, interiors, and planning firm founded in 1982, operating from a single headquarters at 1160 Santa Fe Drive. The firm delivers integrated design services spanning master planning, architectural design, interior architecture, and construction administration across workplace, hospitality, cultural, education, multifamily residential, mixed-use, and adaptive reuse typologies. Its client base includes named enterprise accounts such as Slack (40,000 sf Denver office), Chipotle (Cultivate Center and Newport Beach HQ), IMA Financial Group (65,000 sf LEED Gold headquarters), Crestone Capital Advisors, Vestar Capital Partners, Vision Ridge Partners, Sterling Rice Group, Concord Energy, and developer Urban Villages.

The firm's technical differentiation rests on sustainable design practices demonstrated by a LEED Gold Certification, adaptive reuse expertise, and interdisciplinary cross-pollination of design principles across project types. It does not operate proprietary software, an app, or a published API; its production capability is a people-led professional services model with a 11–50 employee headcount and an award-recognized talent base (e.g., AIA Colorado's 2025 Young Architect of the Year awarded to team member Kaylyn Kirby). Awards from AIA, ASID, IIDA, ENR, and Green Globes, plus the CBCA 2026 Arts & Business Partnership Award, document external validation.

Semple Brown makes money through project-based professional services fees, quoted on a per-project basis tied to scope, complexity, and scale, with no standardized public pricing. Distribution is sales-led via direct enterprise engagement, developer relationships, and professional referrals, supported by a portfolio website organized by typology. Geographic footprint is primarily Colorado (Denver, Boulder, Englewood, Arvada, Grand Junction, Colorado Springs, Greeley, Thornton) with selective project capture in California and Abu Dhabi. The firm is privately held with no disclosed funding rounds, parent company, or institutional investors.

Name

Semple Brown Design

Legal name

Semple Brown

Website

https://semplebrown.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Semple Brown Design is a Denver-based architecture, interiors, and planning firm founded in 1982 that delivers integrated design services across workplace, hospitality, cultural, education, multifamily, and adaptive reuse projects for enterprise and developer clients primarily in Colorado with select out-of-state work.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (54131), Interior Design Services (541410), Landscape Architectural Services (54132)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700), Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro primary industry

Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Interior Design Services (BPAHAKAB), Landscape Architecture & Site Design (BPAHAKAC), Urban Planning & Master Planning (BPAHAKAD)

Keywords

• Architecture services
• Interior design
• Master planning
• Sustainable design
• Adaptive reuse

Headquarters

HQ city

Denver

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Architecture Services: Full-service architecture practice spanning master planning, schematic design, design development, construction documentation, and construction administration services for commercial, residential, and institutional projects.
2. Interior Design Services: Interior architecture and design services for commercial office, hospitality, restaurant, and residential projects, including space planning, material selection, and FF&E specification.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Semple Brown Design is a Denver-based architecture firm that provides professional design services spanning architecture, interior design, and planning. The firm delivers master planning, schematic design, design development, construction documentation, and construction administration for commercial, residential, cultural, hospitality, education, and mixed-use projects. It also specializes in sustainable design with LEED certification experience and adaptive reuse of historic structures.

Product overview

Semple Brown Design is a Denver-based architecture, interiors, and planning firm offering comprehensive design services across multiple building types and scales. The company's core offerings consist of three integrated services: Architecture Services, Interior Design Services, and Planning Services, which work together to deliver complete project solutions. Their portfolio spans diverse project categories including Mixed Use, Cultural, Hospitality, Workplace, Restaurant, Residential, Adaptive Reuse, Education, Recreation, Multifamily, and Planning projects. The firm specializes in sustainable design with LEED-certified projects and has particular expertise in workplace design for corporate clients, multifamily residential developments, and urban planning/mixed-use master planning projects.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• LEED Gold Certification achieved for IMA Financial Group headquarters
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Urban VillagesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSemple Brown was selected by Urban Villages to master plan the Rock Drill mixed-use development in Denver's RiNo neighborhood. The 9-acre site comprises historic industrial buildings transformed into a vibrant mixed-use neighborhood with housing, retail, restaurants, and creative office space. This represents a significant strategic partnership for large-scale urban revitalization.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• HOK: Global architecture, planning, and design firm with major workplace, cultural, and education practices. Competes for large-scale corporate and institutional commissions in the same sectors as Semple Brown.
• SmithGroup: Integrated architecture, engineering, interiors, and planning firm with comparable cross-disciplinary model. Competes for workplace, higher education, and cultural commissions at larger scale and broader geographic footprint.
• Perkins&Will: National architecture firm with strong workplace, healthcare, and education practices plus recognized sustainability/LEED leadership. Competes directly with Semple Brown on enterprise accounts and LEED-certified commissions, but at much larger scale.
• Gensler: Largest global architecture and design firm with extensive workplace, hospitality, and mixed-use practices. Competes with Semple Brown for enterprise workplace clients (e.g., Slack, Chipotle-scale accounts) but operates at vastly greater scale and geographic reach.
• NBBJ: Global architecture and design firm with strong workplace, healthcare, and higher education practices. Competes with Semple Brown for enterprise workplace engagements (e.g., corporate headquarters commissions).

Direct peers

• OZ Architecture: Denver architecture firm offering architecture, interiors, and urban planning with similar project typologies (workplace, hospitality, multifamily, mixed-use). Comparable boutique scale and overlapping Colorado/Mountain West client base.
• Anderson Mason Dale Architects: Denver-headquartered architecture firm with comparable cultural, educational, civic, and workplace practices. Direct competitor for institutional and developer-led commissions in the Mountain West region.
• Davis Partnership Architects: Denver-based architecture, interiors, and planning firm with comparable multi-sector practice including workplace, healthcare, and higher education. Direct competitor for the same Mountain West enterprise client base and similar boutique scale.
• Tryba Architects: Denver-based architecture and master planning firm with comparable expertise in mixed-use, cultural, hospitality, and adaptive reuse projects. Direct competitor in the same Colorado urban design market.

Emerging players

• Studio Gang (Studio Gang Architects): Design-forward architecture practice known for cultural, civic, and sustainable projects with comparable design-quality reputation and award recognition. Competes for select cultural and sustainability-led commissions similar to Semple Brown's CMU Asteria and IMA Financial work.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/semplebrown
• Instagraminstagram.com/semplebrown

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Semple Brown Design