What TSW does

TSW (Tunnell, Spangler, Walsh & Associates) is a privately held, full-service design firm founded in 1989 and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, operating additional offices in Chattanooga (Tennessee), Lexington (Kentucky), and Tulsa (Oklahoma). The firm is organized around three integrated disciplines — Planning, Architecture, and Landscape Architecture — and supplements these with Community Engagement services. With approximately 45 full-time employees, TSW delivers projects from conceptual master planning through construction documents and construction administration, including permitting and ongoing advisory work. In Kentucky and Indiana, the firm operates under its legal name Tunnell, Spangler, Walsh & Associates to comply with regional naming requirements.

The firm's primary customers are public-sector government entities (cities, towns, counties, and urban county governments) and private developers and property owners, with the government segment described as the primary vertical. Notable engagements span downtown master plans and comprehensive plans (City of Douglasville Downtown Greenspace, Town of Farragut Mixed-Use Town Center Visioning, Lexington-Fayette Urban Growth Master Plan covering approximately 2,833 acres, Rome-Floyd/Cave Springs Comprehensive Plan), corridor and streetscape projects (Juniper Complete Street, $5M Midtown Alliance / City of Atlanta), civic and community buildings (Snellville Library & Business Center, Meybohm Building), adaptive reuse (The Mill / Historic Excelsior Mill, The Kimpton Sylvan Hotel), and large private master plans (Glenwood Park, Las Catalinas 1,200-acre hill town in Costa Rica, Fair Oaks / Robson Ranch 17,000 acres). Geographic reach covers the U.S. Southeast and other U.S. regions, with international projects in Costa Rica, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent & the Grenadines.

TSW generates revenue entirely through professional design fees negotiated on a project-by-project basis, with no subscription, licensing, or product revenue. The firm runs a sales-led GTM model, winning work through municipal procurement, RFP responses, referrals, and a portfolio-driven website plus social media presence (Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram), supplemented by sustained pursuit of industry awards from bodies including ASLA, CNU, APA, ULI, the Georgia Downtown Association, and the Atlanta Regional Commission. Ownership appears to remain with the firm's principals; there is no disclosed external investment, parent company, or acquisition activity in the source material.

Name

TSW

Legal name

Tunnell, Spangler, Walsh & Associates

Website

https://tsw-design.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

TSW is a 45-employee, principal-led planning, architecture, and landscape architecture firm headquartered in Atlanta with offices in Chattanooga, Lexington, and Tulsa, serving U.S. municipalities and private developers on master plans, civic buildings, streetscapes, and community engagement projects.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Atlanta

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Professional Design Services: TSW generates revenue through fees for professional planning, architecture, and landscape architecture services. Projects are delivered from master planning through construction documents and construction administration, encompassing community engagement, permitting, and full design services for communities, buildings, and green spaces.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

TSW (Tunnell, Spangler, Walsh & Associates) is a full-service design firm providing integrated planning, architecture, and landscape architecture services. The firm delivers projects from master planning through construction documents and construction administration, encompassing community engagement, permitting, and full design services for communities, buildings, and green spaces. With approximately 45 full-time employees across offices in Atlanta, Chattanooga, Lexington, and Tulsa, TSW combines its three core disciplines in a multidisciplinary, holistic approach to create livable, walkable, and sustainable places.

Product overview

TSW (Tunnell, Spangler, Walsh & Associates) is a full-service design firm offering integrated planning, architecture, and landscape architecture services as a unified multidisciplinary practice. The firm's service offering is organized into three core disciplines: Planning Services (master planning, comprehensive plans, corridor studies, coding, and guidelines), Architecture Services (full architectural services from concept to construction documents), and Landscape Architecture Services (parks, trails, streetscapes, and open spaces). These services are delivered through a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach with principals actively involved in every project. TSW operates offices in Atlanta, Georgia; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Lexington, Kentucky; and Tulsa, Oklahoma, and operates under the name Tunnell, Spangler, Walsh & Associates in Kentucky and Indiana. With approximately 45 full-time employees, the firm focuses on livable communities, walkability, placemaking, and sustainable design principles.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Planning Services Comprehensive urban planning services including master planning, comprehensive plans, corridor studies, zoning codes, and regulatory frameworks for sustainable and equitable development.
• Architecture Services Full architectural services for civic and community buildings, houses of worship, multifamily residential, townhouses, and mixed-use developments, from concept through construction documents.
• Landscape Architecture Services Landscape architecture services for parks, recreation facilities, streetscapes, trails, and open spaces, including site planning, hardscape and softscape design, and construction documents.
• Community Engagement Public engagement services including stakeholder interviews, workshops, charrettes, online surveys, and community input processes to incorporate public feedback into planning and design.

Named customers13 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Sasaki Associates: Multidisciplinary design firm integrating planning, landscape architecture, and architecture. Directly comparable to TSW in offering integrated master planning and placemaking services to civic and developer clients.
• SWA Group: Landscape architecture and urban design firm focused on public spaces, parks, and master planning. Highly comparable to TSW's landscape architecture and placemaking practice.
• OLIN: Landscape architecture and urban design studio known for award-winning public realm work. Comparable to TSW in scale, recognition, and placemaking focus on streetscapes and parks.
• Dover, Kohl & Partners: New Urbanism town planning firm specializing in master plans, codes, and charrettes — a CNU Charter Award-winning peer that competes directly with TSW for public-sector New Urbanist planning engagements.
• PlaceMakers: Planning and coding firm focused on New Urbanist form-based codes and master plans for cities and developers. Narrowly comparable to TSW's planning and coding service line.

Broad incumbents

• Perkins&Will: Global architecture and planning firm with practice areas overlapping TSW's multidisciplinary offering. Serves overlapping public and developer clients but at significantly larger scale.
• AECOM: Global infrastructure and design consultancy offering planning, architecture, and landscape architecture at much larger scale. Competes with TSW on large civic and corridor master plans.

Regional players

• Cooper Carry: Mid-Atlantic-based architecture firm with civic, multifamily, and mixed-use practices. Comparable regional A&E firm competing with TSW for similar developer and institutional work.
• Lord Aeck Sargent (now part of KAI): Southeastern US architecture firm with civic, residential, and adaptive reuse practices. Operates in the same regional market and competes for similar developer and municipality clients.

Emerging players

• W Architecture and Landscape Architecture: Boutique landscape architecture and planning firm with waterfront and public realm focus. Comparable in size, multidisciplinary orientation, and award-driven positioning to TSW.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xfacebook.com/TSWdesign
• Facebookfacebook.com/TSWdesign
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tsw-design
• Instagraminstagram.com/tsw_design/?hl=en

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 TSW