Siegel & Strain Architects

What Siegel & Strain Architects does

Siegel & Strain Architects is a women-owned, 25-person architectural design firm headquartered in Emeryville, California, founded in 1985. The firm provides architecture, planning, sustainable design consulting, and historic preservation services, with a core practice built around high-performance civic, educational, park, and infrastructure projects. Its technical differentiation centers on zero-net-energy design verified by the New Buildings Institute, embodied carbon reduction (including an in-house '2Build or Not 2Build Carbon Calculator'), climate-responsive passive design, water-conservation strategies, and compliance with the Secretary of the Interior's Standards for historic preservation.

The firm serves federal, state, and local government agencies (including the National Park Service, cities such as Brisbane, and municipal utilities like EBMUD and Union Sanitary District), educational institutions (UC Berkeley, UC Davis, Bishop O'Dowd High School), nonprofit organizations (Save the Redwoods League, NatureBridge, religious institutions), and select private clients. Revenue is generated through project-based professional services fees, structured as a percentage of construction cost or fixed fees per scope, with work acquired primarily through public-sector RFQ/RFP procurement and direct institutional engagement.

The firm operates exclusively through direct delivery with no resellers or marketplace channels, and depends on reputation-driven marketing including 100+ design awards (four AIA COTE Top Ten Green Projects), leadership in AIA, USGBC, and Carbon Leadership Forum, principal-level teaching at UC Berkeley, and a project portfolio website. Strategic priorities include leadership succession (Marjorie Smith's 2022 promotion to Principal), expansion into larger municipal infrastructure, and continued positioning as a national authority on sustainable and historic preservation architecture.

Name

Siegel & Strain Architects

Legal name

Siegel & Strain Architects

Website

https://siegelstrain.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Siegel & Strain Architects is a women-owned, 25-person architectural firm in Emeryville, California, providing sustainable design, historic preservation, and planning services primarily to government agencies, educational institutions, nonprofits, and park operators across California, Oregon, and federal projects.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (54131)

akta.pro primary industry

Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)

Keywords

• Architectural design services
• Sustainable architecture consulting
• Historic building preservation
• Master planning services
• Green building design

Headquarters

HQ city

Emeryville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Architectural Design Services: Architecture and planning services for institutional, civic, educational, and residential projects. Services include master planning, architectural design, historic preservation, and sustainable design consulting. Revenue is generated through project-based fees calculated as percentage of construction cost or fixed fees for specific scopes.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Siegel & Strain Architects is an architectural design firm providing master planning, architectural design, sustainable design, historic preservation, and construction administration services. The firm specializes in civic, educational, parks/camp, infrastructure, and residential projects, with a focus on zero-net-energy buildings, embodied-carbon reduction, and Secretary of the Interior-compliant historic rehabilitation. Revenue is generated through project-based fees calculated as a percentage of construction cost or fixed fees by scope.

Product overview

Siegel & Strain Architects is a women-owned, 25-person architectural design firm based in Emeryville, California. The firm offers a unified suite of professional architectural services rather than a software product platform. Their core service offerings include Architecture & Planning (master planning, programming, site selection, design charrettes), Construction Administration, Sustainable Design (including LEED consulting and zero-net energy design), and Existing Facility Assessment. The firm specializes in five distinct project categories: Civic & Community Buildings, Educational Facilities, Historic Preservation & Adaptive Reuse, Parks & Camps, Infrastructure & Public Works, and Residential Design. All projects are guided by principles of sustainable design, climate responsiveness, and community engagement, with a national reputation for advancing sustainable architecture and achieving zero-net energy performance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Architecture & Planning Services Comprehensive architectural design and planning services for institutional, civic, educational, and residential clients, including master planning, feasibility studies, programming, site planning, design charrettes, existing building evaluation, and needs assessments.
• Construction Administration Construction observation, post-construction review, and post-occupancy evaluation services to ensure project quality and client satisfaction throughout the building process.
• Sustainable Design Services Sustainable design consulting including design/LEED charrettes, sustainability goal setting, materials consulting, green building evaluation, LEED consulting and documentation, carbon calculations, resilient design, site-sensitive design, water conservation, and zero-net energy design.
• Existing Facility Assessment Facilities inventory, FEMA/insurance requirements assessment, needs assessment, and utilization studies for evaluating existing buildings and infrastructure.

Quantifiable outcome

• 85% reduction in embodied carbon compared to new construction (Yosemite Welcome Center)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Burks Toma ArchitectscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCollaborating architect on Union Sanitary District Enhanced Treatment and Site Upgrade project. S&S led a multi-disciplinary team while Burks Toma served as Architect of Record for the 65,000 sf campus building.
• Carollo EngineerscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPrime engineering firm on Walnut Creek Water Treatment Plant Maintenance Building project. S&S worked with Carollo Engineers as the prime consultant for this municipal utility project.
• National Park ServicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMultiple project partnerships including Redwood Visitor Center (with Save the Redwoods League), Yosemite Valley Welcome Center, National Environmental Science Center, and various visitor center projects. Collaborative design process with NPS staff.
• Save the Redwoods LeaguecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary client for Redwood Visitor Center project, working in close collaboration with National Park Service. League undertook project as gateway to Redwood National and State Parks.
• Karin Payson architecture + designminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerAssociate Architect on Brisbane Public Library project. S&S served as lead architect with Karin Payson as associate architect for the 7,630 sf library.
• Goring & Straja ArchitectsminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCollaboration on Portola Valley Town Center project (LEED Platinum, AIA COTE Top Ten).
• Pyatok ArchitectsminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPrime architect on UC Berkeley Bowles Hall project with S&S serving as Historic Interiors Consultant.
• Gehl StudiosminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrime consultant on Berkeley Civic Center Vision Plan with S&S serving as Historic Preservation Architect. Team developed community vision and design concepts.
• City of CupertinominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerClient for McClellan Ranch Preserve Environmental Education Center project, an 18-acre environmental education park.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Perkins&Will: Global architecture firm with one of the industry's largest sustainable design practices (LEED and ZNE delivery) — broader incumbent that competes for the same institutional clients with substantially greater scale.
• HOK: Major global architecture practice with established sustainability expertise across civic, education, and parks typologies — represents the large-firm competitive set Siegel & Strain faces in public procurement.
• NBBJ: Large global design firm with a strong sustainability and civic/healthcare practice — competes for major institutional commissions with more scale and a wider service offering.

Direct peers

• Mithun: Integrated design firm with deep sustainable design and civic/institutional practice — comparable in scale and in pursuit of ZNE, LEED Platinum, and community-focused public projects.
• Lake|Flato Architects: Texas-based firm with a national portfolio of civic, educational, and parks projects emphasizing regional, sustainable design — a peer in the integrated sustainability-and-place practice model that competes for similar institutional clients.
• BNIM: National architecture and planning firm recognized for high-performance sustainable design, civic and educational projects, and embodied carbon leadership — a strong peer on the integrated sustainability positioning Siegel & Strain occupies.
• EHDD: San Francisco architecture firm with deep expertise in education, civic, and cultural projects combined with a longstanding sustainable design practice — a closely comparable Bay Area peer for institutional and public-sector work.
• Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects: San Francisco-based architecture firm of comparable size with a parallel focus on sustainable design, civic and educational facilities, and historic preservation — direct Bay Area peer with overlapping project typologies and client base.
• KieranTimberlake: Award-winning architecture firm with a national reputation for research-driven, high-performance, and sustainable building design — directly comparable on the zero net energy and embodied carbon innovation axis.

Emerging players

• William McDonough + Partners: Boutique design practice led by a foundational thinker in cradle-to-cradle and regenerative design — an emerging/thought-leader peer that competes on the embodied carbon and regenerative design axis where Siegel & Strain also differentiates.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 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 Siegel & Strain Architects