What Hobbs+Black Architects does

Hobbs+Black Architects is a privately held, full-service architecture, planning, and interior design firm founded in 1965 by William S. Hobbs and headquartered at 1435 Coit Avenue NE, Grand Rapids, Michigan. The firm operates five offices (Grand Rapids HQ, Ann Arbor, Detroit, Lansing, Scottsdale) across the U.S. Midwest and Southwest with a stated headcount in the 101–250 range, employing licensed architects, interior designers, and planners organized around eleven sector studios: Civic + Government, Food + Beverage, Healthcare, Industrial + R&D, Learning, Living Spaces, Retail + Mixed Use, Senior Living, Parking, Workplace, and Worship.

Name

Hobbs+Black Architects

Legal name

Hobbs+Black Architects

Website

https://hobbs-black.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1965

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Hobbs+Black Architects is a privately held, 60-year-old U.S. architecture, planning, and interior design firm serving institutional, healthcare, industrial, civic, and corporate clients across eleven sector studios from five offices in Michigan and Arizona.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Ann Arbor

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Architecture Services: Professional architectural services including design, planning, and interior design for commercial, healthcare, industrial, residential, and civic projects. Revenue is generated through project-based fees for design services, master planning, facility assessments, and interior design work.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Hobbs+Black Architects is a professional architecture firm providing full-service architecture, planning, and interior design services. The firm delivers facility assessments, master planning, conceptual site plans, and complete architectural design for projects across 11 sector studios including civic, healthcare, industrial, retail, senior living, workplace, learning, residential, parking, food and beverage, and worship.

Product overview

Hobbs+Black Architects is an architecture and design firm established in 1965, offering three core service lines: Architecture, Planning, and Interior Design. The firm operates across multiple specialized studios covering sectors including Healthcare, Industrial/R&D, Living Spaces (residential), Retail/Mixed Use, Senior Living, Parking, Workplace (corporate offices), Civic/Government, Learning (education), Food/Beverage, and Worship. The portfolio includes notable projects such as the McLaren Oxford medical campus, Sartorius Center of Excellence research facility, Interior Environments showroom, Tower on Grand high-rise development, Restoration Hardware retail galleries, and various corporate headquarters. The firm maintains five office locations in Michigan (Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor, Detroit, Lansing) and Arizona (Scottsdale/Phoenix).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Architecture Services Full-service architecture services with over 60 years of practice, providing design for civic, healthcare, industrial, retail, workplace, senior living, and other sectors.
• Planning Services Institutional and retail developer planning including facility assessments, master planning, and site planning from small-scale studies to comprehensive campus plans.
• Interior Design Studio Award-winning interior design portfolio spanning education, corporate office, healthcare, hospitality, and senior living sectors.
• Civic + Government Studios Architecture and design services for civic and government facilities including municipal buildings and civic infrastructure.
• Healthcare Studios Healthcare facility design including hospitals, medical campuses, ambulatory care centers, and healthcare office buildings.
• Industrial + R&D Studios Industrial and research & development facility design for manufacturing plants and research centers.
• Learning Studios Educational facility design for schools, universities, and learning centers.
• Living Spaces Studios Multi-family residential and apartment design for modern living environments.
• Retail + Mixed Use Studios Retail and mixed-use development design for retail centers and commercial properties.
• Senior Living Studios Senior living facility design including independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing, and memory care.
• Parking Studios Parking structure design for healthcare, educational, and commercial facilities.
• Workplace Studios Corporate office and headquarters design for workplace environments.
• Food + Beverage Studios Food and beverage facility design for restaurants, hospitality, and related venues.
• Worship Studios Religious and worship facility design.

Named customers8 records

Segments9 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SHAW ConstructioncoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2025Construction partner for Interior Environments Showroom project completed January 2025. Collaborated with Hobbs+Black, Apex, CCS, and Paragon on the 10,000-square-foot showroom design.
• Portage Capital, LLCcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Developer partner for the Sartorius North American Operations Center project in Ann Arbor Research Park. Portage Capital controlled the building site and partnered with Hobbs+Black for the 130,000-sf research center development.
• J.S. VigcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2022General contractor that mobilized to begin construction on the Sartorius project in 2022 after Hobbs+Black began issuing construction documents.
• iDesign SolutionsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLab consultant for the Sartorius biopharmaceutical research center project, working with Hobbs+Black on the design.
• RACER Design StudiominorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerDesign Architect and Architect of Record for Pontiac Community Recreation Center project. Hobbs+Black served as Associate Architect.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Neumann Smith: Neumann Smith is a Michigan-headquartered architecture, planning, and interiors firm serving civic, healthcare, education, and workplace clients. Comparable in size, regional footprint, and full-service architecture + planning + interiors model to Hobbs+Black.
• SmithGroup: SmithGroup is one of the largest integrated architecture and design firms in the United States with deep roots in Michigan and offices nationwide. Like Hobbs+Black, it serves higher education, healthcare, workplace, and science & technology clients with a multi-disciplinary architecture + interior design model, making it the most direct comparable peer in scale and sector mix.
• Integrated Architecture: Integrated Architecture is a Michigan-based multi-disciplinary design firm offering architecture, interior design, and planning for healthcare, senior living, education, and commercial clients. Directly comparable in regional presence, service mix, and target sectors to Hobbs+Black.
• TMP Architecture: TMP Architecture is an Ann Arbor-based architecture firm with a strong K-12 and higher education portfolio alongside civic, healthcare, and workplace work. Comparable in Michigan concentration, size band, and education-sector specialization to Hobbs+Black's Learning studio.
• Ghafari Associates: Ghafari is a Dearborn, Michigan-headquartered architecture and engineering firm serving industrial, manufacturing, healthcare, and workplace clients across the Midwest. Comparable to Hobbs+Black in regional Michigan base, multi-sector offering, and full-service architecture + interiors capability.

Broad incumbents

• Stantec: Stantec is a large multi-disciplinary design and consulting firm offering architecture, engineering, and environmental services with strong healthcare, education, and community development practices. Comparable in civic, healthcare, and education work to Hobbs+Black, but with significantly broader service portfolio.
• Gensler: Gensler is the largest global architecture and design firm with extensive workplace, retail, healthcare, and mixed-use practices. Comparable in workplace and retail/mixed-use portfolio overlap with Hobbs+Black, though Gensler operates at vastly greater scale and geographic breadth.
• Perkins&Will: Perkins&Will is a global architecture and design firm with deep healthcare, higher education, and science practices. Comparable in healthcare and research facility design to Hobbs+Black's Healthcare and Industrial+R&D studios, but at significantly larger scale.
• CannonDesign: CannonDesign is a large national architecture and engineering firm with significant healthcare, education, and science & technology practices. Comparable in healthcare and senior living focus to Hobbs+Black, but operates at much larger scale across many geographies.
• HKS Architects: HKS is a national architecture firm best known for healthcare, civic, and large-scale commercial work. Comparable in healthcare studio depth and civic/government portfolio to Hobbs+Black, though HKS operates at materially larger scale with national reach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/hobbsblackarch
• Facebookfacebook.com/hobbsandblack
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hobbs---black-associates-inc-

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Hobbs+Black Architects