What Herzog & de Meuron does

Herzog & de Meuron is a privately held Swiss architecture firm founded in 1978 in Basel by Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron. The practice delivers comprehensive architectural design and urban planning services for institutional, governmental, and corporate clients worldwide, spanning life sciences campuses, cultural institutions, luxury hospitality, heritage revitalization, and large-scale urban renewal. Its portfolio includes globally recognized buildings such as Tate Modern, the Beijing National Stadium (Bird's Nest), and the Elbphilharmonie, and it was awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2001.

The firm's core technology is architectural and urban design with an emphasis on sustainable materials and ecosystem-integrated planning. Notable technical work includes the Hortus building at the Switzerland Innovation Park Basel Area Main Campus in Allschwil, constructed entirely from low-carbon materials (wood and clay) and engineered to amortize grey energy within 30 years while achieving energy self-sufficiency; the LEED Gold-certified Main Campus HQ housing biopharmaceutical anchor tenant Basilea Pharmaceutica; and the Altstetten urban renewal master plan in Zurich. The practice operates as a single unified design studio rather than a productized platform, with 501–1,000 employees.

Revenue is generated through professional services fees on a project-by-project basis, typically structured as a percentage of construction cost or as fixed design fees. Go-to-market relies on participation in international architectural competitions and direct commissions from blue-chip developers, government bodies, and cultural institutions. The firm currently pursues a globally distributed pipeline of large-scale commissions, including the CA$350M Vancouver Art Gallery redevelopment (with Perkins + Will), the $1.9B Janu Dubai mixed-use development (with H&H), the SIP Main Campus in Allschwil (with Senn Development), and the Palace of Congresses revitalization in Tirana, Albania.

Name

Herzog & de Meuron

Legal name

Herzog & de Meuron

Website

https://herzogdemeuron.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Herzog & de Meuron is a Basel-based Swiss architecture firm founded in 1978, delivering world-class architectural and urban design for institutional, governmental, and corporate clients globally across cultural, life-sciences, hospitality, and urban-renewal sectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (54131)

akta.pro primary industry

Urban Planning & Master Planning (BPAHAKAD)

Keywords

• Architectural design services
• Urban planning
• Sustainable architecture
• Cultural buildings
• Life sciences facilities

Headquarters

HQ city

Basel

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

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. Architectural design services: Fees earned from designing buildings and urban spaces for institutional clients, corporations, and government entities. Revenue is project-based, typically structured as a percentage of construction costs or fixed design fees for major commissions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Herzog & de Meuron is an architecture firm providing architectural design and urban planning services. It designs individual buildings as well as large-scale urban developments for institutional, governmental, and corporate clients worldwide. The firm is recognized for integrating sustainable, low-carbon materials (such as wood and clay) into signature buildings and for delivering LEED-certified campuses, cultural venues, luxury hospitality projects, and urban renewal master plans.

Product overview

Herzog & de Meuron is a Basel-based architecture firm offering comprehensive architectural design and urban planning services. The firm operates as a single unified practice rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture, providing services across multiple project types including life sciences campuses (SIP Main Campus), cultural institutions (Vancouver Art Gallery), heritage revitalization (Palace of Congresses Tirana), mixed-use developments (Janu Dubai), and urban renewal master plans (Altstetten Zurich). Their portfolio includes sustainable design services utilizing low-carbon materials and LEED-certified buildings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Grey energy amortization within 30 years achieved through low-carbon materials
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Senn DevelopmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSenn Development is leading the construction of the SIP Main Campus in Allschwil, Switzerland, a multi-phase life sciences innovation park spanning 120,000 square metres designed by Herzog & de Meuron. The partnership represents a flagship project for the architecture firm in the life sciences sector.
• Perkins + WillflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPerkins + Will is collaborating with Herzog & de Meuron on the CA$350m Vancouver Art Gallery redevelopment project. This represents a major cross-firm collaboration on a high-profile cultural institution project.
• H&H (Dubai-based developer)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerH&H is developing the $1.9 billion Janu Dubai mixed-use project in DIFC district, designed by Herzog & de Meuron. H&H reportedly has over AED30 billion in properties under development across Dubai.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• OMA: Rotterdam-based Pritzker Prize-winning (2000) practice led by Rem Koolhaas, with comparable international portfolio across cultural institutions, urban masterplans, and mixed-use developments.
• Foster + Partners: UK-based Pritzker Prize-winning (1999) architecture firm led by Norman Foster with an analogous global mega-project portfolio spanning cultural, commercial, and institutional commissions — the closest direct competitor to H&dM at the top of the architecture market.
• Snøhetta: Norway-headquartered multidisciplinary practice working at similar scale across cultural, public, and masterplan commissions globally — a credible emerging direct peer to H&dM.
• Zaha Hadid Architects: London-based Pritzker Prize-winning (2004) firm producing signature, parametric architecture across cultural, commercial, and infrastructure projects globally.
• BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group): Copenhagen/New York-based practice with a comparable global mega-project portfolio spanning cultural, residential, and commercial commissions at the premium end of the market.
• Gehry Partners: Los Angeles-based Pritzker Prize-winning (1989) firm led by Frank Gehry, producing similarly iconic, high-profile cultural and institutional architecture worldwide.
• Renzo Piano Building Workshop: Italian Pritzker Prize-winning (1998) practice renowned for cultural institutions (Centre Pompidou, The Shard) — directly comparable to H&dM in museum and cultural-sector commissions.
• David Chipperfield Architects: London-based practice (Pritzker 2023) with a museum and cultural-institution portfolio (Neues Museum Berlin, Royal Academy refurbishment) directly competing with H&dM for civic and cultural commissions.
• SANAA: Tokyo-based Pritzker Prize-winning (2010) duo (Sejima & Nishizawa) with a strong museum and cultural-institution focus directly overlapping H&dM's commissioning pipeline.

Broad incumbents

• SOM (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill): Large global architecture and engineering firm with a much broader portfolio (commercial towers, infrastructure, healthcare) that competes with H&dM for large institutional commissions but is not specialized in H&dM's cultural/luxury niche.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/herzogdemeuron
• Facebookfacebook.com/Herzog.deMeuron

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 Herzog & de Meuron