Clark Nexsen
Clark Nexsen is a fully integrated architecture and engineering firm with nearly 400 employees across 9 offices in Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee, serving federal and state government, higher education, K-12, and commercial clients with multidisciplinary design services.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1920
- HeadquartersVirginia Beach, United States
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Clark Nexsen does
Clark Nexsen is a fully integrated architecture and engineering firm founded in 1920 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The firm employs nearly 400 professionals across 9 offices spanning Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee, and operates as a transdisciplinary practice combining architecture with civil, structural, electrical, mechanical, fire protection, process engineering, automation/controls, interior design, landscape architecture, urban planning, lighting, and transportation engineering. Its service portfolio spans higher education, K-12, federal government, state and local government, infrastructure (including bridge design and inspection with 2,800+ bridges inspected for the Federal Highway Administration), science and technology laboratories (over 3.5 million square feet designed since 2010), public safety facilities (nearly 200 training facilities designed over 40 years), community/cultural, parking structures, and commercial/corporate interiors.
The firm generates revenue through project-based professional services fees on architecture and engineering engagements, with pricing quoted per project based on scope, complexity, and client requirements, and typical billing occurring over multi-year contract cycles. Its go-to-market is direct enterprise sales to federal agencies (DoD, Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command, FBI, Army Corps of Engineers, DHS, VA, GSA, CIA, NASA), state and local governments, higher education institutions (NC State, Duke, UVA, Clemson, Wake Tech), K-12 systems, and commercial clients, with a strong emphasis on long-term relationships, repeat business, and federal contracting frameworks.
In 2025, Clark Nexsen joined Johnson, Mirmiran & Thompson (JMT), an employee-owned engineering, architecture, and consulting firm, operating under the brand "Clark Nexsen, A JMT Company." The firm holds industry recognition including ENR MidAtlantic Design Firm of the Year (2020), AIA North Carolina Firm of the Year (2017), a top 25 ranking for university architecture, and a top 10 ranking for military design by Building Design + Construction, supported by a sustained cadence of AIA, ACEC, and APWA awards across multiple state chapters.
Clark Nexsen firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Clark Nexsen
- Legal name
- Clark Nexsen
- Website
- https://clarknexsen.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1920
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- Clark Nexsen is a fully integrated architecture and engineering firm with nearly 400 employees across 9 offices in Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee, serving federal and state government, higher education, K-12, and commercial clients with multidisciplinary design services.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Clark Nexsen industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Architecture & Engineering Design Services
- NAICS
- Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413), Engineering Services (541330), Interior Design Services (54141), Landscape Architectural Services (54132)
- SIC
- Services-Engineering Services (8711), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Community Engagement & Participatory Planning (BPAHAKAO)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Sustainable/Green Building & LEED Consulting (BPAHAKAG)
Keywords
Where Clark Nexsen is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Virginia Beach
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices8 records
Markets served
Clark Nexsen business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Architecture and Engineering Design Services: Professional services revenue from providing integrated architecture, engineering, and design solutions across multiple market sectors including higher education, K-12, government, infrastructure, and commercial. Projects range from small renovations to large-scale new construction, typically billed on a project fee basis.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Project-based professional services pricing |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Clark Nexsen product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Clark Nexsen is a fully integrated architecture and engineering firm providing professional design services across disciplines—architecture, civil, structural, electrical, mechanical, fire protection, and process engineering—combined with interior design, landscape architecture, planning, lighting, and energy/sustainability services. Projects span higher education, K-12, federal/state/local government, infrastructure (bridges, roads, civil), science and technology, public safety, community/cultural facilities, parking structures, and commercial clients. Revenue is earned through project-based professional service fees quoted per scope and complexity.
Product overview
Clark Nexsen is a fully integrated architecture and engineering firm offering comprehensive design services across multiple market sectors. The firm operates as a transdisciplinary practice combining architectural design with engineering disciplines including civil, structural, electrical, mechanical, fire protection, and process engineering. The company provides specialized services across sectors including higher education, K-12 education, federal government, state/local government, infrastructure (bridges and transportation), science and technology facilities, community/cultural projects, sustainability, interior design, and public safety facilities. The portfolio also includes specialized offerings such as bridge engineering and inspection services, lighting design, urban planning, and energy management services. Founded in 1920, the firm employs approximately 400 people across 9 offices and serves clients throughout the United States and internationally.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Clark Nexsen Industrial: Industrial-focused division of Clark Nexsen serving industrial market sector clients.
Products and services
- Architecture Services Full-service architectural design spanning multiple market sectors including institutional, commercial, government, and public facilities.
- Engineering Services Comprehensive engineering offerings including civil, structural, electrical, mechanical, fire protection, process engineering, and automation/controls.
- Automation & Controls Building automation and control systems engineering services.
- Civil Engineering Civil engineering services including site development, grading, drainage, stormwater management, and utility design.
- Electrical Engineering Electrical engineering services for buildings and facilities.
- Energy Services Energy management, renewable power generation, and energy system reliability solutions including commissioning and retrocommissioning.
- Fire Protection Engineering Fire protection engineering services for buildings and facilities.
- Mechanical Engineering / Plumbing Mechanical engineering and plumbing systems design services.
- Process Engineering Process engineering services for industrial and manufacturing facilities.
- Structural Engineering Structural engineering services for buildings and infrastructure.
- Urban Design + Planning Urban design and planning services including master planning and comprehensive planning.
- Lighting Studio Architectural lighting design services including interior and exterior lighting solutions.
- Transportation Engineering Transportation and traffic engineering services including roadway design and traffic solutions.
- Interior Design Interior design services for commercial, educational, and institutional spaces.
- Community + Cultural Design Design services for community facilities, cultural institutions, museums, recreation centers, and public spaces.
- Higher Education Architecture Architectural and engineering design services for colleges and universities including academic buildings, student life facilities, and STEM facilities.
- K-12 Education Design K-12 school design services including elementary, middle, and high schools with focus on modern learning environments.
- Government Architecture Federal, state, and local government facility design including offices, public safety facilities, and government buildings.
- Federal Architecture/Engineering Architecture and engineering services for federal agencies including DoD, FBI, USACE, and GSA projects worldwide.
- Infrastructure Services Infrastructure engineering including bridge design, civil engineering, landscape architecture, and transportation engineering.
- Bridge Engineering Bridge design and inspection services including rehabilitation, construction administration, load rating, and inventory management. Has inspected over 2,800 bridges for the Federal Highway Administration.
- Public Safety Facilities Design services for public safety facilities including firing ranges, police and fire stations, training facilities, and emergency communications centers.
- Science + Technology Facilities Laboratory and research facility design services for academic and commercial R&D, having designed over 3.5 million square feet of complex research environments since 2010.
- Sustainability Services Sustainable architecture and engineering services including high-performance building design, decarbonization, energy planning, adaptive reuse, and green building consulting.
- Parking Structures Parking structure design services including parking decks and structured parking facilities.
- Clark Nexsen Industrial Industrial-focused design services for manufacturing, process, and industrial clients, operated as a dedicated division/sub-brand.
Quantifiable outcome
- Physical activity increased across all demographics following the opening of Watauga Community Recreation Center, with enrollment doubling initial projections
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Clark Nexsen
Customer profileNamed customers17 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles6 records
Clark Nexsen technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature6 records
Clark Nexsen partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- JMT (Johnson, Mirmiran & Thompson)coreIn 2025, Clark Nexsen joined JMT, an employee-owned engineering, architecture, and consulting firm. This merger combines Clark Nexsen's century of design excellence with JMT's expanded capabilities and opportunities to serve clients across the United States and beyond. Clark Nexsen now operates as Clark Nexsen, A JMT Company, with JMT's ESOP providing employee ownership structure.
- Kimley-HornminorClark Nexsen and Kimley-Horn partnered for the 10th Anniversary of Hops for Hope fundraising campaign for Children's Flight of Hope, raising $12,739. This demonstrates collaborative community engagement between the two AEC firms.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Clark Nexsen competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- HOK: Global integrated architecture, engineering, and planning firm with comparable higher education, science & technology, healthcare, and government sector portfolios. Closely aligned in offering mix and project scale to Clark Nexsen's institutional and federal work.
- SmithGroup: Integrated architecture and engineering firm with deep higher education, science & technology, federal, and workplace practices. Directly comparable multi-disciplinary A&E model and similar institutional client base.
- Perkins&Will: International architecture and design firm with strong higher education, healthcare, science & technology, and civic practices. Comparable integrated design delivery and similar university/R&D client profile.
- CannonDesign: Integrated architecture, engineering, and planning firm focused on healthcare, higher education, science & technology, and government markets. Highly comparable in offering mix and integrated A&E delivery.
- DLR Group: Integrated design firm delivering architecture, engineering, and planning across higher education, K-12, federal, and civic markets. Similar transdisciplinary delivery model and institutional client footprint.
- HKS: Architecture and engineering firm with leading higher education, government, healthcare, and science & technology practices. Comparable in federal credentials and large-scale institutional project pursuit.
- EwingCole: Integrated architecture, engineering, and planning firm with deep federal, science & technology, healthcare, and higher education practices. Closely comparable in scale, federal portfolio, and East Coast/Mid-Atlantic geographic overlap.
- Mead & Hunt: Employee-owned architecture and engineering firm with comparable federal, transportation, water, and higher education portfolios. Comparable in size, ESOP structure (post-JMT), and infrastructure engineering capabilities including bridges.
Regional players
- Walter|Moore: Mid-Atlantic architecture and engineering firm with comparable higher education, K-12, federal, and infrastructure practices. Geographic overlap in VA/NC and similar institutional client base, but smaller scale.
Broad incumbents
- Stantec: Global AEC firm with broad architecture, engineering, and environmental practices including federal, infrastructure, water, and institutional markets. Larger and broader portfolio; competes on many of the same federal and university pursuits.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Clark Nexsen social profiles
Digital presenceClark Nexsen financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Clark Nexsen leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles23 records
Clark Nexsen funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Clark Nexsen M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Clark Nexsen
What does Clark Nexsen do?
Clark Nexsen is a fully integrated architecture and engineering firm providing professional design services across disciplines—architecture, civil, structural, electrical, mechanical, fire protection, and process engineering—combined with interior design, landscape architecture, planning, lighting, and energy/sustainability services. Projects span higher education, K-12, federal/state/local government, infrastructure (bridges, roads, civil), science and technology, public safety, community/cultural facilities, parking structures, and commercial clients. Revenue is earned through project-based professional service fees quoted per scope and complexity.
Is Clark Nexsen a public or private company?
Clark Nexsen is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Clark Nexsen founded?
Clark Nexsen was founded in 1920. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is Clark Nexsen based?
Clark Nexsen is headquartered in Virginia Beach, United States, in the North America region.
How does Clark Nexsen make money?
One revenue line is on record: architecture and Engineering Design Services.
Who are Clark Nexsen's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are HOK, SmithGroup, Perkins&Will, CannonDesign, DLR Group, HKS, EwingCole and Mead & Hunt. Walter|Moore is listed as a regional player. Stantec is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Clark Nexsen have an API?
No public API is recorded for Clark Nexsen.
What industry is Clark Nexsen in?
Clark Nexsen's product category is Architecture & Engineering Design Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAKAO, Community Engagement & Participatory Planning, with a secondary code of BPAHAKAG, Sustainable/Green Building & LEED Consulting. Its NAICS code is 5413 and its SIC code is 8711.