Lawrence Group
Lawrence Group is a privately held, St. Louis-headquartered architecture and design firm founded in 1983, delivering integrated architecture, interior design, master planning, and related services from four offices to enterprise clients in healthcare, higher education, retail, and mixed-use development across all 50 U.S. states.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1983
- HeadquartersAustin, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Lawrence Group does
Lawrence Group is a privately held, St. Louis-headquartered architecture and design firm founded in 1983, operating nationally across all 50 states from four regional offices (St. Louis, New York, Austin, Tampa). The firm delivers integrated architecture, interior design, master planning, landscape architecture, furniture procurement, and graphic design services to enterprise clients across nine vertical markets — with healthcare, higher education, and student housing as primary verticals and workplace, retail, hospitality, senior living, multi-family, and community as secondary verticals. Its client base includes major healthcare systems (BayCare, SSM Health, Health First, Austin Regional Clinic), universities (University of St. Thomas Houston, Southeast Missouri State University), national retail brands (Edward Jones, H&R Block, National Vision, Panera, Tend Dental), and developers (New + Found for City Foundry STL). Several relationships span decades and involve multi-site national rollouts.
Lawrence Group operates a project-based professional services revenue model, with fees negotiated per engagement and contracts typically structured as multi-year engagements. The firm uses industry-standard CAD/BIM tools (Revit) alongside sustainable and evidence-based design methodologies; there is no proprietary technology product, software platform, or AI-driven design capability disclosed. Pricing is custom and quote-based, with no published rate cards or subscription tiers. Marketing and business development run through direct enterprise sales, RFP responses, client referrals, industry awards (Zweig Hot Firm #67, Interior Design Top 50), and content marketing via the firm website and social channels.
The firm has scaled through both organic growth and acquisitions, most notably the 2023 merger with KWK Architects that deepened its higher education and student housing capabilities. In March 2026, co-founder Steve Smith stepped down and Mike Schnaare was promoted to President & CEO, formalizing a leadership transition. Active projects — including a $45M residence hall, a 500,000 sq ft pediatric hospital, a 5-story replacement hospital, and a 100-location retail rollout — indicate a sizable multi-year backlog distributed across commercial, institutional, and residential end markets. No public revenue, headcount disclosure, or external funding is reported; ownership remains founder/management-controlled with no identified private equity or venture capital investment.
Lawrence Group firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Lawrence Group
- Legal name
- Lawrence Group
- Website
- https://thelawrencegroup.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1983
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Lawrence Group is a privately held, St. Louis-headquartered architecture and design firm founded in 1983, delivering integrated architecture, interior design, master planning, and related services from four offices to enterprise clients in healthcare, higher education, retail, and mixed-use development across all 50 U.S. states.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Lawrence Group industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Architectural Services
- NAICS
- Architectural Services (54131), Landscape Architectural Services (54132), Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416)
- SIC
- Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Sustainable/Green Building & LEED Consulting (BPAHAKAG)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Office Tenant Representation (BPAJALAA)
Keywords
Where Lawrence Group is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Austin
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices4 records
Markets served
Lawrence Group business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Architecture and Design Services: Lawrence Group generates revenue through professional architecture, interior design, master planning, landscape architecture, furniture procurement, and graphic design services for commercial, healthcare, education, and residential projects. Revenue is project-based, typically through fee arrangements for design services on new construction, renovation, and adaptive reuse projects.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Custom project-based pricing for architecture and design services |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels9 records
Lawrence Group product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Lawrence Group is a national architecture and design firm providing integrated professional services including Architecture, Interior Design, Master Planning, Landscape Architecture, Furniture Procurement, and Graphic Design. Services are delivered to enterprise clients across healthcare, higher education, student housing, workplace, retail, hospitality, senior living, multi-family housing, and community markets in all 50 U.S. states through offices in St. Louis, New York, Austin, and Tampa.
Product overview
Lawrence Group is a national architecture, design, and planning firm offering an integrated suite of services including Architecture, Interior Design, Master Planning, Landscape Architecture, Furniture Procurement, and Graphic Design. The firm serves diverse markets including Healthcare, Education, Student Housing, Workplace, Retail, Hospitality, Senior Living, Multi-Family Housing, and Community development. As a full-service design firm rather than a software company, Lawrence Group's 'products' are its service offerings, which are delivered across multiple office locations (St. Louis, New York, Austin, Tampa) to clients nationwide.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Architecture Services Full-service architectural design for commercial, institutional, and residential projects across multiple markets including healthcare, education, retail, and hospitality.
- Interior Design Interior design services for commercial spaces, focusing on functionality, aesthetics, and client-specific requirements across healthcare, retail, hospitality, and workplace sectors.
- Master Planning
- Landscape Architecture
- Furniture Procurement
- Graphic Design
Quantifiable outcome
- City Foundry STL draws more than 2.2 million visitors annually and catalyzed growth of St. Louis' Midtown neighborhood
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Lawrence Group
Customer profileNamed customers14 records
Segments8 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Lawrence Group technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Lawrence Group partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- KWK ArchitectscoreLawrence Group and KWK Architects, both St. Louis-based architecture firms, announced their merger effective 2023. KWK relocated to Lawrence Group's headquarters while retaining its brand and employees. KWK specialized in higher education and student housing, strengthening Lawrence Group's position in these markets. Paul Wuennenberg, KWK co-founder, joined as Principal focused on student housing.
- BayCare Health SystemcoreLawrence Group serves as design architect for BayCare's freestanding emergency department projects, including the conversion of a former CVS pharmacy on South Dale Mabry Highway into a 13,305-square-foot emergency care facility with $9 million construction value. BayCare Properties LLC purchased the site for $6 million in February 2025.
- Southeast Missouri State UniversitycoreLawrence Group serves as design architect for SEMO's Roy Blunt Health Professions Hall, a 55,000-square-foot facility supporting the Department of Allied Health, Kinesiology, and Sport Sciences. Groundbreaking celebrated with completion expected in 2028.
- SSM HealthcoreLawrence Group completed design of SSM Health's 42-bed behavioral health inpatient unit at Saint Louis University Hospital Campus. General contractor was Alberici Constructors, Inc. Lawrence Group also designed SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital topping off ceremony project.
- Health FirstcoreLawrence Group is designing Health First's Cape Canaveral Replacement Hospital on Merritt Island, FL - a 5-story facility with ground elevated 13 feet above sea level. Managing Principal Ray Wong leads Florida operations for this and other Health First projects.
- Austin Regional Clinic (ARC)coreLawrence Group served as architect for ARC Greenlawn Specialty clinic, the healthcare provider's 36th clinic in Central Texas and first with an Ambulatory Surgery Center. General contractor was Rogers O'Brien Construction.
- New + Found (City Foundry Developer)coreLawrence Group served as Design Architect for City Foundry STL, a 15-acre adaptive reuse development by New + Found. The project won ICSC Gold Award and Sustainability Commendation, and has drawn 2.2+ million visitors annually.
- Edward JonescoreLawrence Group has designed thousands of Edward Jones branch offices across the country over a decades-long relationship. The firm evolved with the client as they expanded, reinventing branch office design while maintaining brand consistency.
- H&R BlockcoreLawrence Group has rolled out thousands of H&R Block retail locations over 24 years, managing the seasonal constraint of completing new or renovated offices within seven months to be open by January 1 for tax season.
- America's Best Contacts and Eyeglasses (National Vision)coreLawrence Group has worked with National Vision to roll out 40-80 America's Best locations per year for 20 years, handling construction documents, permit submissions, and due diligence with jurisdictions across the country.
- Tend DentalcoreLawrence Group developed a rollout package and architectural kit of parts for Tend dental locations starting in 2018. Completed 20+ locations in New York, Washington D.C., and Nashville, now scaling to 100 locations with Lawrence Group as design partner.
- Panera BreadcoreLawrence Group collaborated with Panera to launch five unique Urban Cafe concept locations in Manhattan, developing the small box concept for rapid pickup-focused cafes. Ongoing partnership for new Panera cafe designs nationwide.
- MaritzcoreLawrence Group has maintained a relationship with Maritz since 2014, completing more than 30 campus projects totaling 650,000 square feet at the 73-acre Fenton campus. Most recently completed the 1385 Plaza project incorporating native Missouri landscape design.
- SSM Health Foundation - St. LouisminorMike Schnaare, healthcare design leader and President of Lawrence Group, was elected to the board of SSM Health Foundation in St. Louis. His experience in healthcare environments supports the foundation's initiatives in health equity, community impact, and access to high-quality care.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Lawrence Group competitors and assessment
Company assessmentRegional players
- Vocon: Architecture and design firm with strong workplace, retail, and hospitality practices. Comparable to Lawrence Group's New York office practice (Rob Gatzke previously served at Vocon's NY office).
Direct peers
- HKS: Major healthcare-focused architecture firm with national reach and additional education and commercial practices. Closely comparable to Lawrence Group's healthcare-led portfolio and enterprise client base.
- EwingCole: Architecture and engineering firm specializing in healthcare, higher education, and science & technology facilities. Comparable to Lawrence Group in healthcare design depth and project complexity.
- Lamar Johnson Collaborative (LJC): St. Louis-based architecture, interior design, and planning firm with overlapping healthcare, workplace, and multifamily practices. A direct regional competitor; notably a prior employer of Lawrence Group's new hire Bob Buckman.
- CannonDesign: National architecture, engineering, and design firm with deep healthcare and higher-education practices. Directly comparable to Lawrence Group in vertical mix (healthcare systems, universities) and project delivery model.
- DLR Group: Architecture, engineering, and planning firm with healthcare, education, and workplace practices and national reach. Comparable in service breadth and integrated design offering.
- Legat Architects: Mid-size architecture firm with higher-education, K-12, and student-housing expertise. Comparable to Lawrence Group's higher-education and student-housing vertical and similar firm scale.
- SmithGroup: Integrated design firm with strong healthcare, higher-education, and workplace practices and multiple U.S. offices. Highly comparable to Lawrence Group's market mix and office-network model.
Broad incumbents
- HOK: Global design, architecture, and engineering firm with major healthcare, education, and workplace practices. Broader and larger-scale incumbent competing for the same enterprise clients.
- Perkins&Will: Global architecture firm with significant healthcare, higher-education, and science practices. Operates at a larger scale than Lawrence Group with overlapping client types and project typologies.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Lawrence Group social profiles
Digital presenceLawrence Group financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Lawrence Group leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles12 records
Lawrence Group subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Lawrence Group funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds3 records
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Lawrence Group M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Lawrence Group
What does Lawrence Group do?
Lawrence Group is a national architecture and design firm providing integrated professional services including Architecture, Interior Design, Master Planning, Landscape Architecture, Furniture Procurement, and Graphic Design. Services are delivered to enterprise clients across healthcare, higher education, student housing, workplace, retail, hospitality, senior living, multi-family housing, and community markets in all 50 U.S. states through offices in St. Louis, New York, Austin, and Tampa.
Is Lawrence Group a public or private company?
Lawrence Group is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Lawrence Group founded?
Lawrence Group was founded in 1983. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Lawrence Group based?
Lawrence Group is headquartered in Austin, United States, in the North America region.
How does Lawrence Group make money?
One revenue line is on record: architecture and Design Services.
Who are Lawrence Group's main competitors?
Vocon is listed as a regional player. Direct peers are HKS, EwingCole, Lamar Johnson Collaborative (LJC), CannonDesign, DLR Group, Legat Architects and SmithGroup. Broad incumbents are HOK and Perkins&Will.
Does Lawrence Group have an API?
No public API is recorded for Lawrence Group.
What industry is Lawrence Group in?
Lawrence Group's product category is Architectural Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAKAG, Sustainable/Green Building & LEED Consulting, with a secondary code of BPAJALAA, Office Tenant Representation. Its NAICS code is 54131 and its SIC code is 8700.