What Lake|Flato Architects does

Lake|Flato Architects is a privately held architecture and planning firm founded in 1984 in San Antonio, Texas, by David Lake and Ted Flato. Headquartered in San Antonio with additional offices in Austin and Portland, the firm employs 150+ architects, designers, sustainability specialists, urban designers, and support staff, operating across four core service areas: architecture, interiors, urban design & planning, and campus planning. The firm serves a diversified client base spanning higher education, K-12 schools, hospitality, civic and cultural institutions, mixed-use developments, and custom residential clients, with marquee customers including the University of Pennsylvania, Trinity University, Montana State University, Canyon Ranch, The Holdsworth Center, City of Cedar Park, and Hotel Saint Augustine.

The firm's technical differentiation centers on sustainable, place-based design, evidenced by 17 AIA COTE Top Ten Awards (more than any other firm), 15 completed or under-construction mass timber projects including the first mass timber boutique hotel in North America, and over 3 million square feet of adaptive reuse work. Internal capabilities include an in-house design performance team conducting energy modeling, carbon analysis, daylighting, and thermal simulation, a design technology group producing research investigations and white papers, and a specialized Porch House pre-designed modular residential product. In 2024, founders David Lake and Ted Flato received the AIA Gold Medal, the Institute's highest honor; the firm is also a certified B Corporation.

Lake|Flato generates revenue through professional architecture and design services, billed as a percentage of construction cost for major projects, fixed fees for smaller engagements, and hourly fees for consulting. Work is acquired through direct enterprise client relationships, formal RFP/RFQ processes for institutional and public clients, and referrals, with partners and senior leadership directly engaged in business development. The firm remains partner-owned (17 partners including the two founders), with no disclosed external investment, parent company, or M&A activity.

Name

Lake|Flato Architects

Legal name

Lake Flato Architects

Website

https://lakeflato.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Lake|Flato Architects is a privately held, partner-owned architecture firm founded in 1984, with offices in San Antonio, Austin, and Portland, serving higher education, K-12, hospitality, civic, and residential clients through sustainable, place-based design and an industry-leading portfolio of mass timber and adaptive reuse projects.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (54131), Interior Design Services (54141), Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413)

akta.pro primary industry

Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Landscape Architecture & Site Design (BPAHAKAC)

Keywords

• Sustainable architecture
• Mass timber design
• Adaptive reuse
• Campus planning
• Interior design

Headquarters

HQ city

San Antonio

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 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 Design Services: Lake Flato generates revenue through professional architecture, interior design, urban design, and campus planning services billed as a percentage of construction cost (typical for architecture firms), fixed fees for smaller projects, or hourly fees for certain consulting services. Projects range from small residential commissions to large-scale institutional and commercial developments spanning hundreds of thousands of square feet.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Lake|Flato Architects is a Texas-based architecture and planning firm offering integrated architecture, interior design, urban design and planning, and campus planning services. The firm specializes in sustainable, place-based design with deep expertise in mass timber construction, adaptive reuse, and environmentally responsive buildings for institutional, civic, hospitality, and residential clients.

Product overview

Lake Flato is an architecture and design firm offering a comprehensive portfolio of services centered around place-based, sustainable architecture. The core offerings include Architecture Services, Interiors, Urban Design & Planning, and Campus Planning, supported by specialized innovations in Adaptive Reuse & Renovation, Mass Timber Construction, and Net Zero Design. The firm executes projects across diverse categories including Civic/Cultural, Eco-Lodging & Communities, Higher Education, Hospitality, K-12 Schools, Mixed Use, Multi-Family, Office/Workplace, Parks & Gardens, Ranches, Restaurant/Retail, Residential, Science & Technology, and Visitor/Nature Centers. A notable sub-product is the Porch House, a pre-designed residential concept offering scalable, affordable housing options. The portfolio is distinguished by the firm's industry-leading 17 AIA COTE Top Ten Awards and commitment to sustainable, regenerative design.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Porch House: A pre-designed residential module concept that leverages efficiency, thoughtful design, and innovative construction techniques to reach a broader audience through scalable options.

Products and services

• Architecture Services
• Interior Design
• Urban Design & Planning
• Campus Planning
• Porch House

Quantifiable outcome

• 17 AIA COTE Top Ten Awards — more than any other firm in the industry
• +9 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• KSS ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLake Flato collaborated with KSS Architects as associate architect for the University of Pennsylvania Amy Gutmann Hall project. KSS served as associate architect while Lake Flato was architect of record and design architect for the 116,000 sf mass timber academic building.
• Hennebery Eddy ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHennebery Eddy Architects served as architect of record and design partner for Montana State University Gianforte Hall while Lake Flato served as design partner. The 58,000 sf project is Montana State University's first mass timber structure.
• CorgancoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCorgan and Lake Flato formed a design partnership for the San Antonio Airport Terminal Expansion. Corgan serves as master architect providing programming, planning, schematic design, and construction administration while Lake Flato provides design collaboration for the 900,000 sf, 17-gate terminal facility.
• BOKA PowellcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBOKA Powell served as architect of record for Canyon Ranch Austin while Lake Flato served as design architect and guided site selection and master planning. The 600-acre first ground-up Canyon Ranch resort project includes 280,000 sf of resort space.
• Ten Eyck Landscape ArchitectscoreTechnology or IntegrationTen Eyck Landscape Architects is a recurring landscape architecture partner across multiple Lake Flato projects including The Holdsworth Center, River Bend Residence, Canyon Ranch Austin, Trailborn Grand Canyon, and Pearl Brewery Redevelopment.
• Gilbane ConstructioncoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerGilbane Construction served as general contractor for the University of Pennsylvania Amy Gutmann Hall project. Lake Flato advocated for early engagement of Gilbane in mass timber procurement, which contributed to the project coming in three months early and $500,000 under budget.
• Turner ConstructioncoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerTurner Construction served as general contractor for Trinity University Dicke Hall + Business and Humanities District, the first CLT structure in San Antonio.
• The Beck GroupcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerThe Beck Group served as general contractor for The Holdsworth Center campus (44 acres, 173,000 sf, 15 buildings).

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Gensler: The largest U.S. architecture firm by revenue with a broad workplace, hospitality, and civic practice. Gensler competes for the same large institutional and commercial clients as Lake|Flato, though with a much heavier workplace and commercial tilt.
• HOK: A large global architecture and engineering practice with significant higher education, healthcare, and civic practices. HOK competes with Lake|Flato for the same institutional clients at a much larger scale and broader service offering.
• HKS: A large Dallas-headquartered architecture firm with a strong higher-education, civic, and healthcare portfolio that overlaps directly with Lake|Flato's institutional segments. Operates at meaningfully larger scale.

Direct peers

• Bohlin Cywinski Jackson: An award-winning architecture firm with a similar studio size, regional multi-office footprint, and portfolio spanning higher education, civic, and residential work. BCJ directly competes for design-sensitive institutional commissions where Lake|Flato also bids.
• Perkins&Will: A leading global architecture firm with a deep sustainability practice and a comparable higher-education, healthcare, and civic portfolio. Perkins&Will is among the most direct competitors to Lake|Flato in the sustainable, research-driven, large-institutional architecture segment.
• KieranTimberlake: A design-led, sustainability-focused architecture firm of similar size and ethos, known for high-performance building envelope research and adaptive reuse. KieranTimberlake directly competes with Lake|Flato in the same high-design, sustainability-credentialed niche.
• Olson Kundig: A Seattle- and Spokane-based design-driven architecture firm of comparable size (roughly 150+ staff) with strong residential, hospitality, and civic portfolios. Olson Kundig is a direct peer in the design-led, place-based, award-winning studio segment.

Emerging players

• Studio Gang: A design-led firm with a strong sustainability and civic portfolio, similar in scale and ethos to Lake|Flato. Studio Gang is a rising competitor in the same high-design, sustainability-credentialed institutional segment.
• SHoP Architects: A New York-based design firm with comparable scale, a mixed-use and large-scale civic portfolio, and a strong design reputation. SHoP overlaps with Lake|Flato on mixed-use, civic, and campus-scale commissions.

Others

• Ten Eyck Landscape Architects: A landscape architecture firm that is a recurring partner on Lake|Flato projects (Holdsworth Center, Canyon Ranch, Pearl Brewery). Ten Eyck is included as an ecosystem partner rather than a direct competitor, illustrating the integrated design delivery Lake|Flato pursues.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/lakeflato
• Facebookfacebook.com/lakeflato
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lakeflato-architects

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Lake|Flato Architects