IA Interior Architects

What IA Interior Architects does

IA Interior Architects is a privately-held, employee-owned interior architecture firm founded in 1984 and headquartered in San Francisco. The firm focuses exclusively on interior architecture across four primary market sectors: Corporate Workplace, Hospitality, Retail, and Government. IA serves enterprise clients including Fortune 500 corporations (United Airlines, McDonald's, GitHub, Snap, NetApp, Yext), financial services firms, luxury hospitality brands (Four Seasons, InterContinental), and federal government agencies (DOJ, DHS, EPA, SSA, Department of Education). Notable long-tenured engagements include a confidential financial services firm with 40+ projects across five cities and 1.75M+ SF delivered since 2019.

The firm's service portfolio spans eight integrated offerings: Design, Design Intelligence (data-driven design), Ecos Studio (sustainability consulting supporting SBTi, CDP, and EcoVadis frameworks), Experiential Design, IAXR (Extended Reality for virtual environment collaboration), Lighting Design, Strategy, and Techni. Proprietary methodologies include the Harmonic Principles framework (integrating neuroscience and biophilic design), an in-house research function led by environmental psychologist Dr. Sally Augustin, and first-mover sustainability commitments—IA was the first A&D firm to commit to SBTi near-term and long-term Net Zero 2050 targets. The firm operates 19 US studio locations plus London (Harella House, BREEAM Excellent-rated), with extended Latin American reach through a 2022 strategic partnership with Athié Wohnrath.

IA's business model is project-based professional services with enterprise field sales. Revenue is generated through fee-for-service design engagements spanning strategy, design, experiential graphics, and technical delivery. GTM is direct-to-client with no channel partner or reseller model, supported by thought leadership content marketing (The Harmony Exchange speaker series, research publications, NeoCon CEU sessions) and the internal IAct Awards program. The firm is led by Co-CEOs David Bourke and Tom Powers and is 100% employee-owned through an ESOP structure.

Name

IA Interior Architects

Legal name

IA Interior Architects

Website

https://interiorarchitects.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

IA Interior Architects is a privately-held, employee-owned interior architecture firm founded in 1984, serving enterprise clients across Corporate Workplace, Hospitality, Retail, and Government sectors through 19 US studios plus London. The firm delivers integrated design, strategy, sustainability, and extended reality services to Fortune 500 corporations, federal agencies, and global hospitality brands.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Interior Architecture Services

NAICS

Interior Design Services (54141), Interior Design Services (541410), Architectural Services (54131)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Interior Design Services (BPAHAKAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)

Keywords

• Interior architecture services
• Workplace design
• Hospitality design
• Retail design
• Government facility design

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices19 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Interior Architecture & Design Services: Professional services revenue from providing interior architecture, design, and strategic consulting services to corporate, hospitality, retail, and government clients. Revenue generated through project-based fees for design engagements spanning workplace, hospitality, retail, and government sectors.
2. Strategy Consulting: Workplace strategy, sustainability strategy, and experience design consulting embedded within design engagements. Long-term relationships with national accounts.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

IA Interior Architects is a global interior architecture and design firm founded in 1984, providing professional services including interior architecture, design intelligence, strategy, sustainability consulting (Ecos Studio), experiential design, lighting design, extended reality (IAXR), and technical design for workplace, hospitality, retail, and government environments. The firm delivers project-based design engagements for enterprise corporations and government agencies through 19 studio locations across the US plus London, with global reach extending to 6 continents through strategic partnerships.

Product overview

IA Interior Architects is a global architecture and design firm offering a comprehensive suite of services organized around interior architecture. The firm operates as a single integrated platform with distinct service offerings including Design, Design Intelligence, Ecos Studio (sustainability), Experiential Design, IAXR (Extended Reality), Lighting Design, Strategy, and Techni. These services span four primary market sectors: Workplace, Hospitality, Retail, and Government. The firm was founded in 1984 and maintains 20 studio locations across the US plus London, with a global presence through partnership with Athié Wohnrath in Latin America. The firm is 100% employee-owned through an ESOP structure.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• IAXR: Extended Reality division creating virtual environments for collaboration and workplace design.
• Ecos Studio
• Athié Wohnrath Partnership
• IA Reach Foundation

Products and services

• Workplace Design Transformative interior architecture services for corporate workplaces including headquarters, tech campuses, financial services offices, and office restacks. Addresses hybrid work transition, return-to-office, employee experience, and workplace agility needs for enterprise clients.
• Hospitality Design Global hospitality interior design services for hotels, spas, resorts, boutique hotels, and lodging environments. Reflects local culture, brand standards, and authentic guest experiences for luxury and brand-standard hospitality clients.
• Retail Design Experiential retail environment design for powerhouse brands, local icons, and market disruptors. Focuses on storytelling, people-centric experiences, flagship stores, and shopping center environments across luxury, grocery, and multi-brand retail.
• Government Services Comprehensive strategy consulting, interior design, and architectural services for Federal, State, and Municipal government agencies. Addresses accessibility compliance, security requirements, sustainability mandates, and budget constraints.
• Strategy Consulting Human-centered strategic consulting for workplace transformation, change management, and experience-driven design. Includes workplace strategy, sustainability strategy, and experience design consulting embedded within design engagements.
• Sustainability Consulting (Ecos Studio) Sustainability-focused consulting studio providing environmental strategy, ESG reporting, and sustainable design expertise. Supports SBTi, CDP, EcoVadis, and AIA 2030 Commitment compliance frameworks. First A&D firm to commit to both SBTi near-term and long-term Net Zero 2050 targets.
• Experiential Design
• IAXR (Extended Reality) Extended Reality services creating virtual environments for workplace collaboration, allowing teams to work in virtual three-dimensional spaces that support organizational culture and design exploration.
• Lighting Design Specialized lighting design services for interior environments, integrating with broader interior architecture projects.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3,000+ metric tons CO2e reduction achieved through United Airlines headquarters decarbonization
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers33 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Athié WohnrathcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership between two of the largest interiors and architecture firms in the western hemisphere. Combines 1500 professionals in 37 locations to offer multi-faceted perspective on workspaces. Athié Wohnrath brings design-build expertise extending IA's service offerings in Latin America. Ivo Wohnrath and Sergio Athié (Founding Partners of A|W) noted partnership enables relevant exchange of experiences and projects to streamline delivery methodology.
• Brightworks SustainabilitysupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerStrategic partner in creating and maintaining IA Ecos Studio sustainability practice. One of first science-focused sustainable consulting firms in US. Used advanced technical resources to collect emissions data and review for completeness and quality assurance for IA's SBTi commitment.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Gensler: Global A&D powerhouse with a major workplace and hospitality practice spanning offices, retail, and hospitality interior design. Directly comparable as a multi-sector interior architecture competitor serving enterprise clients at greater scale than IA.
• HOK: Global A&D firm with significant workplace, hospitality, and government practices. Comparable scale, sector breadth, and enterprise client roster to IA's four primary verticals.
• Stantec: Large publicly-traded professional services firm with an active interior architecture practice. Co-presented with IA at industry events and competes for similar enterprise, government, and healthcare design mandates.
• JLL (Interior Design / Design Works): Global commercial real estate services firm with an integrated interior design practice competing for workplace and corporate real estate transformation mandates. Co-presented with IA at industry events.

Direct peers

• Perkins&Will: Large multi-discipline architecture and interior design firm serving workplace, healthcare, and corporate clients. IA hired Tom Kasznia from Perkins&Will's Chicago studio, underscoring direct competitive and talent overlap.
• M Moser Associates: Global workplace design and build firm headquartered in Asia with US presence; closest direct competitor on people-centric workplace interior architecture and design-build delivery at multi-national scale.
• Ware Malcomb: US commercial architecture and interior design firm serving office, hospitality, retail, and industrial clients. Direct overlap in workplace interiors and similar mid-to-large project scale; IA hired Marit Jensen from Ware Malcomb.
• Unispace: Global workplace strategy and interior design firm with comparable studio model and Fortune 500 corporate client base. Closely competitive in enterprise workplace transformation engagements.
• Rockwell Group: Hospitality-led design firm with strong cultural and entertainment portfolio. Directly comparable on the hospitality side and a competitor for senior design talent — IA hired Saerom Moon from Rockwell Group.

Regional players

• HKS Architects: US-headquartered A&D firm named alongside IA at NeoCon events. Competes for similar commercial workplace, healthcare, and corporate campus interior engagements.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/iaarchitects
• YouTubevimeo.com/ia-interior-architects
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ia-interior-architects
• Instagraminstagram.com/ia_design
• Facebookfacebook.com/interiorarchitects

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles21 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 IA Interior Architects