What Voith and Mactavish Architects does

Voith & Mactavish Architects LLP is a Philadelphia-based, woman-majority-owned architecture firm founded in 1988 by Daniela Holt Voith and Cameron Mactavish, operating as a limited liability partnership across offices in Philadelphia and New York. The firm provides full-service architectural design, campus planning, interior design, historic preservation, and adaptive reuse services with a stated specialization in educational environments (higher education and independent schools), supplemented by cultural, religious, hospitality, and residential work. Project-based professional service fees are the sole revenue stream; the firm does not publicly disclose financial figures.

Core technical and process capabilities center on sustainability and preservation: a structured two-step sustainability charette integrated into all projects regardless of scope, WUFI-based heat-and-moisture modeling for Passive House certification, LEED-Gold project execution (Lehigh Business Innovation Building, Pennington Yen Humanities Building, West Chester Business College), and an AIA 2030 Commitment targeting 80% operational energy reduction in 2024 rising to 90% in 2025. The firm is ILFI JUST Label certified and applies an A&D Materials Pledge, with over 50% of staff holding some form of green accreditation.

The go-to-motion is enterprise field sales into institutional buyers through direct relationships, referrals, and conference presence (AIA, SCUP, NBOA, Traditional Building). The customer base spans roughly 30+ named institutions — primarily Lehigh, UPenn, Villanova, Yale, Vassar, Millbrook, St. George's, Lawrenceville, and Hotchkiss — with multiple repeat engagements and project values up to $35 million in construction cost. Leadership expanded in January 2024 from two to five partners, only the second partnership expansion in the firm's 37-year history, signaling active succession planning in a mature, partnership-governed practice.

Name

Voith and Mactavish Architects

Legal name

Voith & Mactavish Architects LLP

Website

https://voithandmactavish.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Voith & Mactavish Architects is a Philadelphia-based, woman-owned architecture firm (founded 1988) providing design, campus planning, historic preservation, and interior design services to higher education, independent schools, cultural, religious, and hospitality clients across the Mid-Atlantic and New England.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (54131), Interior Design Services (54141)

akta.pro primary industry

Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Historic Preservation & Conservation Planning (BPAHAKAH), Sustainable/Green Building & LEED Consulting (BPAHAKAG)

Keywords

• Educational architecture design
• Historic preservation services
• Campus master planning
• Sustainable building design
• Cultural institution architecture

Headquarters

HQ city

Philadelphia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Architecture and Design Services: Project-based architecture and interior design services for institutional clients including higher education, independent schools, cultural institutions, hospitality, and residential projects. Revenue generated through professional service fees for design, planning, and historic preservation work.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Voith and Mactavish Architects is a privately held, woman-owned architecture firm founded in 1988 in Philadelphia that provides architectural design, historic preservation, master planning, interior design, and LEED/sustainable design consulting. The firm serves higher education institutions, independent schools, cultural and religious institutions, residential clients, and hospitality projects, with offices in Philadelphia and New York and 11–50 employees.

Product overview

Voith & Mactavish Architects LLP is a Philadelphia-based architecture firm (founded 1988) offering a comprehensive suite of architectural design services organized around several practice areas: Higher Education Architecture (academic buildings, student centers, residence halls, dining facilities), Primary & Secondary School Architecture (classrooms, performing arts centers, athletic facilities), Cultural & Religious Architecture (museums, theaters, churches), Preservation & Adaptive Reuse (historic rehabilitation), Residential Architecture (custom homes, estates), Interior Design, and Hospitality Design. The firm also provides LEED certification consulting as an add-on service. Their portfolio includes over 100 named projects across educational institutions including Lehigh University, University of Pennsylvania, Villanova, Millbrook School, and many others. They are the longest-running woman-owned architecture firm in Pennsylvania, known for 'innovation in the context of tradition' design philosophy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Architectural Design Services
• Campus Master Planning
• Higher Education Architecture
• Independent Schools Architecture
• Cultural and Religious Architecture
• Preservation and Adaptive Reuse
• Interior Design
• Residential Architecture
• Hospitality Design
• Sustainable and LEED Consulting

Quantifiable outcome

• LEED Gold certification achieved on multiple projects including Lehigh University Business Innovation Building, West Chester University Business College, Pennington School Kenneth K.T. Yen Humanities Building
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers42 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

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Rabbit RecyclingminorOthersPartnership with small Philadelphia business for waste management and recycling services. VMA partnered with Rabbit Recycling to create a more robust in-office recycling center to better sort and process sample waste, electronic waste, and plastic products.
• G.P. Schafer ArchitectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Thorndale Farms private office complex project. G.P. Schafer Architect worked with VMA on this unique combination of institutional and residential styles project that received a 2018 Palladio Award.
• Robert A.M. Stern ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Villanova University Performing Arts Center project. VMA worked with Robert A.M. Stern Architects on this significant higher education project.
• Design LabminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation with Design Lab on Moravian Academy Athletic and Wellness Center project (39,000 SF new field house).
• AIA (American Institute of Architects)coreOthersVMA is an AIA 2030 Commitment signatory, committing to targeting energy reduction from baseline operational energy usage (80% in 2024, increasing to 90% in 2025). Staff supported with dues allowance for AIA membership.
• International Living Future Institute (ILFI)coreOthersVMA secured JUST Label from ILFI, a voluntary disclosure tool evaluating employee satisfaction, diversity, equity, inclusion, and community investment. Also committed to A & D Materials Pledge similar to AIA 2030 Commitment.
• Thos. MoserminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Thos. Moser on custom furniture design including the 'Daniela' table for Millbrook School Dining Hall and custom flip-top trestle table. Also collaborated with Deep Landing Workshop on custom lighting fixtures.
• School in Rose ValleyminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerVMA working with School in Rose Valley, PA as a pilot client for new sustainability and materials initiatives, testing ideas on materials reporting similar to AIA 2030 energy reporting.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Beyer Blinder Belle: New York-based firm specializing in historic preservation, adaptive reuse, cultural, and educational architecture. Directly comparable in preservation pedigree, cultural-institution client base, and commitment to sympathetic additions on landmark buildings — a peer in the same East Coast preservation-and-institutional niche.
• HGA: Mid-sized architecture/engineering firm with deep higher education and cultural/heritage practices. Comparable in firm size, institutional client mix, and integration of preservation expertise with contemporary educational design.
• Lake|Flato Architects: San Antonio-based sustainability-focused architecture firm of comparable boutique size, with parallel expertise in LEED/regenerative design, educational/cultural institutions, and adaptive reuse. Comparable commitment to place-based design and AIA 2030-style sustainability targets.
• Sasaki Associates: Boston-based planning and design firm with a renowned campus planning and higher education master planning practice. Comparable in serving elite universities and independent schools on comprehensive master plans and signature buildings, and in the integration of landscape architecture into built-environment commissions.
• EwingCole: Philadelphia-based architecture/engineering firm of similar boutique scale, with overlapping higher education, cultural, and historic adaptive-reuse practices. Comparable market geography (Mid-Atlantic), comparable client mix (institutional), and similar reliance on long-cycle institutional capex.
• Ann Beha Architects: Boston-based architecture firm specializing in cultural, educational, and institutional projects including historic preservation and adaptive reuse. Closely comparable in scale, New England/regional geographic focus, and institutional client mix.
• Selldorf Architects: New York boutique architecture firm with comparable scale, comparable institutional/cultural/educational client base, and similar commitment to contextual, materially-honest design. Overlaps with VMA on museum, cultural, and adaptive reuse commissions.
• Robert A.M. Stern Architects: New York-based architecture firm with a parallel traditional/classical aesthetic and a signature higher education portfolio (residence halls, libraries, performing arts centers). Directly collaborated with VMA on the Villanova Mullen Center for the Performing Arts, making it the closest comparable in design philosophy, client overlap, and project typology.

Broad incumbents

• Perkins&Will: Global architecture practice with one of the largest higher education portfolios in the world (Stanford, Harvard, NYU, etc.). Competes with VMA for the same institutional clients at a much larger scale; relevant for benchmarking VMA's positioning within the broader institutional architecture market.
• Gensler: Largest U.S. architecture firm with a significant education practice and the resources to underbid VMA on large commissions. Functions as a broad incumbent alternative for the institutional clients that anchor VMA's pipeline.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/VoithMactavish
• Instagraminstagram.com/voithmactavish
• Xx.com/VoithMactavish

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

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 Voith and Mactavish Architects