MVE + Partners

What MVE + Partners does

MVE + Partners is a privately held architecture and planning firm founded in 1974 by Carl McLarand in Orange County, California, and currently led by Matthew McLarand as President and Director of Design. The firm operates an integrated practice across four core service lines: Architecture, Planning, Interiors, and Workshop, delivering master planning, architectural design, interior design, and collaborative visioning for real estate developers, property owners, and institutional investors. Projects span residential, commercial office, mixed-use, master-planned communities, hospitality (including branded residences for Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, Rosewood, and Mandarin Oriental), retail, student housing, and select civic/aviation work.

The firm's technical stack is built on industry-standard architectural tools: Building Information Modeling (BIM) with Revit, 3D modeling in Sketchup, Rhino, and Grasshopper, combined with hand sketching and design visualization software. There is no disclosed proprietary technology platform. The firm holds no patents or trademarks. Differentiation is claimed through an "idea-driven design approach" emphasizing collaborative concept development and concept grounding for every architectural decision.

MVE + Partners generates revenue through professional services fees on a project-by-project basis, with pricing dependent on scope, complexity, and services required (not publicly disclosed). The firm operates five offices: Irvine, CA (headquarters), Los Angeles, San Diego (opened July 2025), San Francisco, and Guadalajara, Mexico, with active project work across approximately ten US states and historical international projects in China, Egypt, and the UAE. Customer concentration is centered on institutional real estate developers (The Irvine Company, Hines, Brookfield Residential, Toll Brothers, Lowe Property Group, Holland Partner Group, Vestar, UDR) and major hospitality operators. The firm is independently owned, with no disclosed external private equity or venture capital backing, and operates as a management-controlled practice with family involvement through the McLarand family.

Name

MVE + Partners

Legal name

MVE + Partners, Inc.

Website

https://mve-architects.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

MVE + Partners is an integrated architecture, planning, and interior design firm founded in 1974 that serves real estate developers, hospitality operators, and property owners across residential, commercial, mixed-use, and hospitality projects in the United States and internationally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Design Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (54131), Architectural Services (541310), Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413), Specialized Design Services (5414), Other Specialized Design Services (541490)

akta.pro primary industry

Retail & Mixed-Use Commercial Construction (IMAFACAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Multi-Family Residential Construction (Apartments, Condos, Townhomes) (IMAFABAB), Hospitality & Entertainment Venue Construction (IMAFACAC), Community Engagement & Participatory Planning (BPAHAKAO), Construction Program Management (Multi-site/Portfolio) (IMAFAAAF)

Keywords

• Architectural design services
• Master planning
• Interior design
• Urban planning
• Mixed-use development

Headquarters

HQ city

Irvine

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Architecture and Design Services: MVE generates revenue through professional architecture, planning, and interior design services. Projects span master planning, commercial office, residential, resort hospitality, and branded residences. Services include schematic design, design development, construction documentation, and construction administration.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

MVE + Partners is an architecture and planning firm delivering integrated design services—architecture, master planning, interior design, and design workshops—for large-scale residential, commercial, hospitality, retail, and mixed-use developments. Projects span concept through construction administration, serving real estate developers, property owners, and institutional investors across the U.S. and internationally.

Product overview

MVE + Partners is an architectural firm offering a unified service portfolio organized around four core disciplines: Architecture, Planning, Interiors, and Workshop. These services are delivered as an integrated practice rather than as discrete modular products—the firm combines master planning, architectural design, and interior design capabilities to serve clients across residential, commercial, hospitality, retail, and mixed-use sectors. Notable project portfolios include the Riverwalk Master Plan in San Diego, Legacy Park in Mesa, OC Vibe in Anaheim, and branded residences such as Mandarin Oriental and The Ritz-Carlton.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Architecture Full-service architectural design covering high-rise residential, commercial office, hospitality, retail, and mixed-use developments from concept through construction administration.
• Master Planning Comprehensive master planning services for large-scale mixed-use communities, including site analysis, yield testing, vision development, and illustrative renderings to shape overall district frameworks.
• Interiors Interior design services for residential, commercial, and hospitality projects including tenant improvements, amenity spaces, and branded residence interiors.
• Planning Urban planning and entitlements services including feasibility studies, specific plans, brownfield redevelopments, and large-scale urban master plans.
• Workshop Design workshop services providing collaborative visioning and conceptual design development with clients and stakeholders.

Quantifiable outcome

• 325 Gold Nugget Awards demonstrating industry recognition for design excellence
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers12 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

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Choate Construction CompanyminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 16 December 2024General contractor for the Johnson Lexus Durham dealership redesign project. Worked with MVE on construction aspects of the automotive dealership transformation.
• Morrison Engineers PLLCminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 16 December 2024Structural engineering partner for the Johnson Lexus Durham project.
• Bass Nixon and Kennedy, Inc.minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 16 December 2024MEP engineering partner for the Johnson Lexus Durham automotive dealership project.
• Lighting Design Alliance (LDA)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 16 December 2024Lighting design consultant for the Johnson Lexus Durham project, contributing to the sophisticated showroom lighting design.
• KIER ConstructioncoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerConstruction partner for the Residences at Sugar Alley rebuild project. KIER Construction collaborated with MVE and Lowe Property Group to re-envision and rebuild the 193-unit mixed-use property after a devastating 2022 fire.
• Bridge Investment GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDevelopment partner for Post District Residences in Salt Lake City. Collaborated with Lowe Property Group, Blaser Ventures, and MVE on this adaptive reuse and new construction mixed-use project featuring 580 residential units.
• HOLLAND PARTNER GROUP OPERATIONS, LLCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMaster plan developer for Gateway Crossings project. Partnered with MVE on Orlo & Alba at Gateway Crossings in Santa Clara, delivering 725 new homes near Caltrain and Santa Clara University.
• H&S VenturescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDevelopment partner for OC Vibe, a visionary 100-acre mixed-use destination around the Honda Center in Anaheim. MVE designed the residential district with distinct architectural expressions.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• WATG: Hospitality and mixed-use architecture specialist with strong California presence; competes head-to-head with MVE on branded-residences and resort work (Mandarin Oriental, Ritz-Carlton) where MVE is also actively growing.
• KTGY: Irvine-based architecture and planning firm focused on residential, mixed-use, and master-planned communities across the Western U.S. — directly competitive with MVE for the same developer and homebuilder clients in California.
• Steinberg Hart: California-based architecture practice with comparable scale serving residential, mixed-use, and urban infill developers; pursues the same enterprise client accounts (UDR, Holland, Irvine Company) as MVE.
• TCA Architects: Southern California architecture firm specializing in multi-family residential and mixed-use; directly competes with MVE's residential studio for developer clients across the LA/OC/SD markets.
• AO: Architecture practice focused on multi-family, student housing, and mixed-use; closely comparable to MVE in scale, building typology mix, and California client base.
• Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo (now WATG | Wimberly): Hospitality-focused architecture and interior-design practice; directly comparable to MVE in branded-residences and luxury-resort work, often pursuing the same Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, and Mandarin Oriental accounts.

Broad incumbents

• Gensler: The largest global architecture, design, and planning firm; overlaps with MVE across mixed-use, hospitality, and master-planning work. Kap Malik (MVE's Director of Hospitality) joined from Gensler, underscoring direct competition for the same enterprise client pool.
• HKS Architects: Large architecture firm with a significant hospitality and mixed-use practice; competes with MVE on enterprise-scale hospitality and urban-mixed-use pursuits.
• Page: Multi-disciplinary architecture, engineering, and planning firm similar in scale and integrated-delivery model to MVE; competes in mixed-use and residential master planning in the Western U.S.
• Perkins&Will: International architecture firm with a meaningful urban-design and master-planning practice; competes with MVE on large mixed-use master-plan RFPs alongside Gensler and HOK.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/mve_architects
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/mvepartners
• Facebookfacebook.com/mve.architects
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mvepartnersinc
• Instagraminstagram.com/mve_partners

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 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 MVE + Partners