What Potter Lawson does

Potter Lawson, Inc. is a private architecture, planning, and interior design firm headquartered at 749 University Row, Suite 300, Madison, Wisconsin. The firm was founded in 1913 and operates with a headcount in the 11-50 range, making it one of Wisconsin's oldest continuously operating architecture practices. Service lines encompass full-scope architecture, master/campus/urban planning, and interior design — the latter applied across commercial, healthcare, hospitality, science and technology, governmental, and educational environments under a differentiated hospitality-inspired design philosophy. The firm emphasizes LEED-certified sustainable design and adaptive reuse of historic structures, as demonstrated by projects including the Hotel Indigo (adaptive reuse of the 1915 Kleuter Wholesale Grocery Warehouse) and multiple LEED Gold and Silver certifications on university residence halls across the UW system and the University of Utah.

Revenue is generated on a project-fee basis through direct project engagements, competitive proposals, and long-term client relationships. The client base is diversified across education (UW-Madison, Edgewood College, Madison College, UW-Whitewater, University of Utah), healthcare and life sciences (Exact Sciences, UW Health, Bell Laboratories, Madison Oral Surgery, Navitus Health Solutions), government and civic (Wisconsin DOC, City of Madison, Vilas County, Madison College Protective Services Education Center), hospitality and mixed-use (Hotel Indigo, Archipelago Village Hilton Dual Flag Hotel, Novo Apartments, Avenir, Octopi Brewing), corporate (American Family Insurance, Fetch Rewards, Park Capital Management), and nonprofit (Domestic Abuse Intervention Services). Notable repeat enterprise engagements include Exact Sciences (worldwide headquarters plus multiple satellite facilities, including a Salt Lake City office) and Nordic Consulting (multiple office projects since 2013).

The firm operates from a single Madison office and is founder/management controlled with no disclosed parent company, external investors, acquisitions, or funding rounds. Distribution is sales-led via direct business development and referrals; marketing is conducted through a portfolio website and organic presence on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Geographic footprint is concentrated in Wisconsin with selected out-of-state engagements in Utah and Illinois, often delivered through sub-consultant or joint-venture relationships with larger national firms such as HOK, Cannon Design, Jacoby Architects, and Knothe & Bruce Architects.

Name

Potter Lawson

Legal name

Potter Lawson, Inc.

Website

https://potterlawson.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1913

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Potter Lawson is a Madison, Wisconsin-based architecture, planning, and interior design firm founded in 1913, serving government, higher education, healthcare, biotech, corporate, and hospitality clients across the Midwest with hospitality-inspired, LEED-aware design services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural and Design Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (541310), Interior Design Services (54141), Architectural Services (54131)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Interior Design Services (BPAHAKAB), Urban Planning & Master Planning (BPAHAKAD), Sustainable/Green Building & LEED Consulting (BPAHAKAG)

Keywords

• Architectural design services
• Interior design services
• Master planning services
• Historic adaptive reuse
• Sustainable building design

Headquarters

HQ city

Madison

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, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Architecture and Design Services: Professional fees earned for architecture, interior design, and master planning services on a project-by-project basis for institutional, corporate, government, and private clients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Potter Lawson is an architecture, planning, and interior design firm delivering full-service architectural design for commercial, residential, hospitality, healthcare, educational, and government buildings; master planning and urban development planning services for municipalities, universities, and private developers; and interior design services with a hospitality-inspired design focus. The firm integrates all three service lines under one roof to serve corporate, mixed-use, science & technology, government, healthcare, and education clients primarily across Wisconsin and the broader Midwest.

Product overview

Potter Lawson is an architecture, planning, and interior design firm offering comprehensive design services. The firm provides three core service lines: Architecture Services for commercial, residential, hospitality, healthcare, educational, and government buildings; Planning Services including master planning, campus planning, and urban development planning; and Interior Design with a focus on hospitality-inspired design. Their portfolio spans corporate, mixed-use, hospitality, science & technology, government, healthcare, and education projects, with notable projects including multi-family residential developments (Novo Apartments, Avenir, Archipelago Village), commercial interiors (Fetch Rewards headquarters, Exact Sciences Innovation Event Space), academic facilities (Business Learning Commons, Genetics Biotechnology Building), and hospitality projects (Hotel Indigo, Hilton Dual Flag Hotel).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Architecture Services Full-service architectural design for commercial, residential, hospitality, healthcare, educational, and government building projects. Includes new construction, renovation, and adaptive reuse for institutional, corporate, government, and private developer clients in Wisconsin and the broader Midwest.
• Planning Services Master planning, campus planning, and urban development planning services for municipalities, universities, and private developers. Includes strategic and functional planning that defines design criteria, area requirements, and phasing for responsive facilities and communities.
• Interior Design Interior design services for commercial, healthcare, hospitality, and residential spaces with a hospitality-inspired design focus. Includes space planning, material and finish selection, furniture specification, and brand-integrated interiors for corporate offices, hotels, multi-family residences, and specialty facilities.

Quantifiable outcome

• Since inception in 1913, Potter Lawson has made significant and lasting contributions to the Wisconsin community and State of Wisconsin.

Named customers17 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Jacoby ArchitectsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPotter Lawson teamed with Jacoby Architects to design the Donna Garff Marriott Honors Residential Scholars Community on the University of Utah campus — a LEED Gold certified 163,726 SF honors housing project for 310 students.
• Cannon DesignminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPotter Lawson collaborated with Cannon Design on the Gordon Dining & Event Center (115,600 SF, 600+ seat dining facility) and Starin Residence Hall (446-bed LEED Gold residence hall) at UW-Madison and UW-Whitewater respectively.
• HOKminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPotter Lawson associated with HOK for the Wisconsin Secure Program Facility (WSPF) — Wisconsin's most secure correctional facility — contributing justice design expertise to the HOK-led project.
• Knothe & Bruce ArchitectsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPotter Lawson worked with Knothe & Bruce Architects on The Equinox — a 12-story, 115-unit student housing project on the UW-Madison campus.
• MoTiS ArchitectureminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPotter Lawson designed the 1722 Monroe Apartments project in partnership with MoTiS Architecture for Urban Land Interests.
• KBA (studio b architecture)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPotter Lawson collaborated with KBA (studio b architecture) to oversee both interior and exterior design for the Novo Apartments — a 162-unit, 9-story residential development in downtown Madison.
• Great Lakes Management GroupcoreOthersGreat Lakes Management Group operates the Archipelago Village Hilton Dual Flag Hotel (15-story, ~265-room dual-use hotel featuring Hilton Tempo lifestyle hotel and Hilton Homewood Suites), designed by Potter Lawson as part of the master-planned Archipelago Village development on East Washington Avenue in Madison.
• Lumicera Health SolutionsminorOthersLumicera Health Solutions is co-located at the West Place Development alongside Navitus Health Solutions (80,000 SF headquarters) in a 30,000 SF two-story facility as part of a multi-phase master planned development designed by Potter Lawson.
• The Samuels GroupminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPotter Lawson and The Samuels Group were jointly selected by Vilas County Board to review county space needs and develop a specific plan for replacing outdated facilities for Public Health, Child Support, Commission on Aging, and Social Services departments.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Kahler Slater: Milwaukee-based architecture and design firm with similar integrated architecture, interior design, and planning services across corporate, healthcare, education, and hospitality sectors. Closely comparable in scale, regional Midwest focus, and design philosophy emphasis on experience-driven environments.
• Legat Architects: Midwest-based architecture firm with comparable K-12 and higher education, government, and community-sector project portfolio. Operates in the same Wisconsin/Illinois geography with similar integrated design services.
• Uihlein Wilson Architects: Milwaukee-area architecture firm specializing in education, civic, and community projects. Comparable scale and Wisconsin-based operations create direct competition for institutional and municipal clients in the region.
• Flad Architects: Madison, Wisconsin-based architecture firm with comparable size, sector breadth (healthcare, education, science & technology, corporate), and integrated architecture/planning/interior design services. Direct regional competitor in the Wisconsin institutional and corporate design market.
• Hammel, Green and Abrahamson (HGA): Minneapolis-based architecture, engineering, and interior design firm with strong Midwest roots and overlap in healthcare, education, cultural, and corporate sectors. Comparable integrated design practice with broader geographic reach.
• Eppstein Uhen Architects (EUA): Milwaukee-based architecture, planning, and interior design firm with overlapping sector coverage in corporate, healthcare, education, and mixed-use developments. Comparable Midwest footprint and integrated service delivery model make it a direct competitor for the same institutional clients.

Broad incumbents

• CannonDesign: Large national architecture and design firm that has partnered with Potter Lawson on Wisconsin projects (Gordon Dining Center, Starin Residence Hall). Represents a larger incumbent competitor offering similar integrated design services across healthcare, education, and science & technology sectors nationally.
• SmithGroup: National architecture, engineering, and planning firm with deep higher education, healthcare, and science & technology practices. Comparable integrated service offering but at significantly larger scale, competing for the same institutional mega-projects.
• HOK: Global architecture and design firm that has partnered with Potter Lawson on the Wisconsin Secure Program Facility. Represents a large-scale incumbent competing for civic, government, healthcare, and higher education projects in the Midwest.
• Perkins&Will: Global architecture firm with strong healthcare, higher education, and science & technology practices. Competes with Potter Lawson for institutional clients seeking integrated architecture and interior design, particularly for projects with LEED/sustainability requirements.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/potterlawson
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/potter-lawson-inc.
• Instagraminstagram.com/potter.lawson

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Potter Lawson