Lothrop Associates

What Lothrop Associates does

Lothrop Associates Architects is a privately held, full-service architecture, interior design, and planning firm founded in 1967 by James Lothrop Sr. and headquartered in White Plains, New York. The firm operates across nine practice sectors: healthcare, commercial and critical facilities, government, hospitality/clubs/recreation, housing and residential, library and education, preservation and repair, aquatics, and religious. Core service modules span the full project lifecycle, including master planning, schematic design, design development, construction documents, bidding and negotiation, construction administration, LEED-certified sustainable design, interior design, and historic preservation under Secretary of Interior Standards. The firm employs standard architectural technology tools including AutoCAD, Revit, computer-aided renderings, and energy modeling for sustainability analysis, and operates four offices across the NY tri-state (White Plains, Rochester, Red Bank, Hartford).

The firm's primary differentiator is its in-house Aquatectonic division, launched in 2013, which specializes in aquatic design for pools, water features, and spas and holds an estimated 80% share of the NYC pool design market. Lothrop serves a mix of government, healthcare, education, institutional, and commercial clients through competitive bidding, RFP responses, and on-call service agreements, with long-term on-call contracts maintained with the NYC School Construction Authority and NYC Health + Hospitals. Notable clients include Westchester County (airport terminal modernization), Columbia County (courthouse renovation), Pace University (building envelope assessment), and Deloitte & Touche (multi-site fitness centers).

The firm is organized as a management-led partnership with no disclosed external investors, venture capital, or private equity ownership. Current leadership includes Principals John Cutsumpas, Jennifer Fernandez, Robert Gabalski, and Arthur J. Seckler III, Principal Emeritus William Simmons (who leads Aquatectonic), plus Associates Glenn Ferguson, Vincent Lisanti, and Mark Porterfield (Technical Director). The firm has earned multiple AIA Honor Awards and Citations across sectors, Preservation League of New York State recognition, and ENR Top 100 Design Firm ranking in 2025, reflecting 55+ years of brand equity and cross-sector credibility in the regional institutional architecture market.

Name

Lothrop Associates

Legal name

Lothrop Associates Architects D.P.C.

Website

https://lothropassociates.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1967

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Lothrop Associates Architects is a 55+ year-old, privately held full-service architecture and interior design firm headquartered in White Plains, NY, serving government, healthcare, education, institutional, and commercial clients across nine practice sectors in the NY tri-state region, with a dominant NYC pool design specialty via its Aquatectonic division.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architecture Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (54131), Interior Design Services (54141), Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413)

akta.pro primary industry

Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)

Keywords

• Architecture design services
• Interior design
• Master planning
• Historic preservation
• Aquatic facility design

Headquarters

HQ city

White Plains

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Architecture and Design Services: Professional services revenue generated through architecture, interior design, and planning projects. Services include master planning, programming, schematic design, design development, construction documents, bidding, construction administration, and program management. Projects are billed on a per-project basis as professional service engagements.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Lothrop Associates Architects is a full-service architecture, interior design, and planning firm delivering projects from schematic design through construction administration across nine sectors: healthcare, government, library + education, housing + residential, hospitality/clubs/recreation, preservation + repair, religious, commercial + critical facilities, and aquatics. The firm operates the Aquatectonic specialty division, which designs pools, water features, and spas and is the dominant pool designer in the NYC market.

Product overview

Lothrop Associates Architects is a full-service architecture, interior design, and planning firm founded in 1967. The firm operates through its core brand and a specialized aquatic design division called Aquatectonic. The portfolio includes nine service modules: Planning Services (master planning, programming, feasibility studies, urban planning, ADA assessments), Basic Services (schematic design through construction documents), Extended Services (construction administration, program management, renderings), Sustainable Design Services (LEED certification, energy modeling), Interior Design Services (space planning, lighting, furniture), Aquatics Design (pools, water features, spas), and Historic Preservation + Repair. The Aquatectonic division dominates the NYC pool market with an estimated 80% market share and is recognized as the premier pool, water feature and spa specialist in the region.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Aquatectonic: In-house aquatic design department specializing in pool, water feature, and spa design for residential, commercial, and community projects. Premier pool design specialist in the NYC region with over five decades of experience.

Products and services

• Architecture, Interior Design, and Planning Services Full-service architecture, interior design, and planning firm serving nine sectors including healthcare, government, library + education, housing + residential, hospitality/clubs/recreation, preservation + repair, religious, commercial + critical facilities, and aquatics. Delivered on a project-by-project basis from schematic design through construction administration.
• Aquatectonic Aquatic Design In-house aquatic design department specializing in pool, water feature, spa, steam room, and sauna design for public, community, education, hospitality, club, and residential properties. Premier pool designer in the NYC region with an estimated 80% market share. Includes aquatic facility planning, pool filtration design, construction administration, and Department of Health filing and inspection.
• Historic Preservation and Repair Services

Quantifiable outcome

• 50+ years of established practice since 1967
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Margaret Wade-Lewis Center (MWL Center)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLothrop Associates Architects is working with the MWL Center to restore the Ann Oliver House in New Paltz as a new center for the organization. The project involves historic preservation work on the 19th-century house to honor the legacy of Ann Oliver, Jacob Wynkoop, and Dr. Margaret Wade-Lewis while establishing a cultural center for Black heritage and community education.
• AKRFminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAKRF served as planning consultant alongside Lothrop Associates for the Compo Beach Master Plan project in Westport, CT. The firm worked with AKRF in a collaborative 18-month planning process including public charrette events and monthly public meetings.
• Rockland Farm AllianceminorOthersThe Cropsey Barn restoration serves the Rockland Farm Alliance which operates the 24-acre property and farmlands. The restored barn enables the Alliance to process, store and distribute crop shares for 280 shareholders.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Perkins Eastman: Large multi-sector architecture and planning firm headquartered in NYC with a similarly broad practice across healthcare, education, senior living, housing, and civic work — a direct comparable on scope and client mix to Lothrop's nine-sector model.
• Beyer Blinder Belle: NYC-based architecture firm with deep historic preservation expertise and a strong public-sector portfolio (courthouses, civic buildings, transit) — directly comparable to Lothrop's preservation/repair and government verticals.
• Magnusson Architecture and Planning: Mid-size NYC architecture and planning firm serving municipal, educational, and residential clients across the tri-state area — closely comparable in size, geography, and public-sector client base to Lothrop.
• SLCE Architects: NYC-based architecture firm with significant affordable housing, mixed-use, and civic project work in the Northeast — comparable to Lothrop's housing/residential and government verticals.
• Dattner Architects: NYC architecture firm focused on civic, educational, and transit-oriented public-sector projects — directly comparable to Lothrop's government and library + education verticals.
• FXCollaborative: Multi-sector NYC architecture and design firm with work in healthcare, education, civic, and commercial — comparable practice breadth to Lothrop, though larger in scale.
• Ennead Architects: NYC architecture firm known for institutional, civic, and educational projects (libraries, courthouses, universities) — directly comparable to Lothrop's library/education and government practice.

Broad incumbents

• HOK: Global architecture and engineering firm operating across healthcare, education, government, and commercial — a much larger incumbent operating in many of the same verticals as Lothrop.
• Gensler: Largest global architecture and design firm with broad overlap in commercial, hospitality, healthcare, and government — operates in the same regional market but at vastly greater scale.

Others

• Counsilman-Hunsaker: National aquatic design and engineering consulting firm specializing in pool, spa, and water feature design for commercial and institutional clients — the most direct specialized competitor to the Aquatectonic division.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 Lothrop Associates