BWBR Architects
BWBR Architects is a 175-person, 100+ year-old commercial architecture firm headquartered in Saint Paul with offices in Madison and Omaha, specializing in healthcare, behavioral health, education, science+tech, and civic projects for repeat institutional clients across the Midwest and beyond.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1920
- HeadquartersSaint Paul, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What BWBR Architects does
BWBR Architects is a privately held commercial architecture, interior design, and planning firm founded circa 1920, headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota, with additional offices in Madison, Wisconsin, and Omaha, Nebraska. The firm employs 175+ staff organized around five integrated disciplines (architecture, interiors, planning, sustainability, code consulting, and graphic design) and five vertical markets: healthcare, behavioral and mental health, education, science and technology, and civic, corporate and community. The bulk of project work centers on healthcare and behavioral/mental health facilities, including critical access hospital replacements, EmPATH psychiatric units, pediatric behavioral health centers (e.g., 136,000 sq ft Pine Rest Pediatric Center of Behavioral Health, 100-bed Regions Hospital inpatient mental health tower), cancer institute expansions (Mercyhealth), and corporate campus master plans (CHS Inc., 340,000 sq ft).
The firm's principal technical differentiators are its proprietary trademarked Human-Centered Safety® methodology for behavioral health design — built on six tenets (access, connections, technology, calm, integrated safety, culture) — and an emerging Data + Design Analytics practice using Python and Tableau for space utilization analysis. Project delivery is supported by recurring engineering and construction partners (Dunham, IMEG, GRAEF, Kraus-Anderson, Affiliated Engineers, Findorff) and a technology collaboration platform (Newforma Info Exchange) for client file-sharing and activity tracking.
The business model is professional services revenue billed on long-cycle project engagements from concept through construction administration, sold through a relationship-based, principal-led go-to-market motion. BWBR reports a 90% repeat client rate, indicating deep account retention in healthcare systems, higher education institutions, and corporate clients across the Midwest and increasingly beyond (Maryland, Michigan). The firm is currently navigating a generational leadership transition following multiple principal retirements while expanding its sustainability, data analytics, and tribal behavioral health offerings.
BWBR Architects firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- BWBR Architects
- Legal name
- BWBR Architects, Inc.
- Website
- https://bwbr.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1920
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- BWBR Architects is a 175-person, 100+ year-old commercial architecture firm headquartered in Saint Paul with offices in Madison and Omaha, specializing in healthcare, behavioral health, education, science+tech, and civic projects for repeat institutional clients across the Midwest and beyond.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
BWBR Architects industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Architectural Design Services
- NAICS
- Architectural Services (541310), Architectural Services (54131), Interior Design Services (54141), Interior Design Services (541410)
- SIC
- Services-Engineering Services (8711), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Building Information Modeling (BIM) & Digital Design Services (BPAHAKAK)
Keywords
Where BWBR Architects is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Saint Paul
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
BWBR Architects business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Architecture and Design Services: Professional services revenue generated through architecture, interior design, planning, code consulting, graphic design, and sustainability consulting for commercial projects. Revenue is project-based with long project timelines spanning from concept through construction.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
BWBR Architects product offering
Product offeringCore offering
BWBR Architects is a commercial architecture firm providing full-service architectural design, interior design, planning, sustainability consulting, code consulting, and graphic design for complex institutional projects. The firm specializes in healthcare facilities, behavioral and mental health facilities, educational institutions, science and technology environments, and civic/corporate/community buildings across the United States.
Product overview
BWBR Architects offers a comprehensive suite of architecture, interior design, planning, and research services organized around five core disciplines: Architecture, Interiors, Planning, Sustainability, and Code Consulting, supplemented by Graphic Design capabilities. The firm specializes in complex commercial projects across five primary markets: Healthcare, Behavioral + Mental Health, Education, Science + Tech, and Civic/Corporate/Community. Their integrated approach combines traditional design services with specialized offerings including their proprietary Human-Centered Safety methodology for behavioral health facilities and Data + Design analytics for space utilization insights. Projects range from new construction and major renovations to master planning and phased implementations, with services delivered through collaborative teams of architects, planners, interior designers, and specialists across their Saint Paul, Madison, and Omaha offices.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Architecture
- Interiors
- Planning
- Sustainability
- Code Consulting
- Graphic Design
- Human-Centered Safety®
- Data + Design Analytics
Quantifiable outcome
- 90% repeat client rate demonstrates exceptional client satisfaction and long-term relationship building
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use BWBR Architects
Customer profileNamed customers31 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
BWBR Architects technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
Feature2 records
BWBR Architects partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
18 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Dunham AssociatescoreProject partnership on healthcare facility design including the EmPATH Unit project for Emplify Health by Gundersen, where Dunham served as project partner alongside BWBR's architectural services.
- DunhamcoreOngoing project partnership on Woodbury Specialty Center for HealthPartners, providing integrated design services for healthcare facilities.
- IMEG Corp.coreEngineering partner on the Emergency Department Expansion and Renovation project for Aspirus Wausau Hospital, providing MEP engineering services.
- GRAEF-USA, Inc.coreStructural engineering partner on multiple healthcare projects including Aspirus Wausau ED expansion and Upland Hills Health projects.
- ERA Structural EngineeringcoreStructural engineering partner on the Woodbury Specialty Center project for HealthPartners.
- Kraus-AndersoncoreConstruction partnership on the Woodbury Specialty Center project, providing preconstruction and construction management services.
- LouckscoreEngineering partner on Woodbury Specialty Center providing civil engineering and site design services.
- Affiliated Engineers, Inc.coreMEP engineering partner on Upland Hills Health projects including the New Mineral Point Clinic.
- VierbicherminorCivil engineering partnership (formerly KD Engineering) on Upland Hills Health projects.
- S&D BuildersminorConstruction partner on Upland Hills Health New Mineral Point Clinic project.
- FindorffcoreGeneral contractor partner on Upland Hills Health Mount Horeb Clinic Renovation project.
- Greenfire Management ServicescoreIndigenous-owned management company partnering on the Adolescent Recovery and Wellness Center for GLITC, providing development and management expertise for Native American projects.
- DSGWcoreIndigenous architect partner collaborating on the Adolescent Recovery and Wellness Center project, bringing specialized expertise in culturally responsive design for tribal communities.
- Portages HealthcoreBehavioral care provider partner on the Adolescent Recovery and Wellness Center, providing clinical expertise for substance use disorder and mental health treatment facility design.
- First American Design StudiominorDesign partner on the Adolescent Recovery and Wellness Center project serving GLITC member tribes.
- IMEGminorEngineering partner on Adolescent Recovery and Wellness Center project.
- Living Design LabcoreArchitect of record collaboration on the University of Maryland Medical Center Child and Adolescent Inpatient Psychiatry Unit Renovation project.
- NewformacoreTechnology platform partnership providing Info Exchange collaboration software for client and project partner file sharing, communication, and activity tracking throughout design and construction.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
BWBR Architects competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Perkins&Will: Global architecture firm with one of the largest healthcare practices in North America. Comparable to BWBR as a multi-discipline design firm serving hospitals, academic medical centers, and behavioral health, but at a vastly larger scale and with a much broader geographic and sector footprint.
- CannonDesign: Integrated design firm with strong healthcare, education, and science+technology practices including behavioral health expertise. Direct functional comparable to BWBR across verticals and disciplines, but with a national footprint, larger headcount, and ownership under the CannonDesign/Moore family.
- SmithGroup: National architecture and engineering firm with notable healthcare, higher education, and science+technology practices. Comparable in delivering complex institutional projects with integrated design services, though larger and with offices across the U.S. West and East.
- HKS Architects: Large national architecture practice with a flagship healthcare design group delivering hospitals, specialty centers, and academic medical facilities. Comparable in healthcare sector focus and integrated interiors/planning services, but operates at substantially greater scale and with a national brand.
- HDR Architecture: Employee-owned design firm with a substantial healthcare architecture practice alongside engineering services. Comparable in integrated design and healthcare focus, but operates as part of a much larger global engineering and architecture platform.
- DLR Group: Large integrated design firm with healthcare, education, and civic practices. Comparable in multi-discipline delivery and sector mix, but significantly larger and with a national/international footprint, often competing for the same large healthcare and education RFPs as BWBR.
Direct peers
- HGA (Hammel, Green and Abrahamson): Minneapolis-based architecture, engineering, and interior design firm with comparable size and a similar healthcare, education, and corporate practice mix. Closest direct peer in scale, geography (Midwest-rooted), and service portfolio, and a direct competitor for many of the same clients and talent in the Twin Cities market.
- EwingCole: Philadelphia-based architecture and engineering firm with a strong healthcare, science+technology, and higher education focus. Comparable in its healthcare-led portfolio and integrated service model, but with East Coast orientation and a similar specialist-firm positioning.
- Kahler Slater: Milwaukee-based integrated design firm with healthcare, corporate, education, and community practices. Direct Midwest peer of comparable size and discipline breadth; competes with BWBR for healthcare and corporate clients in Wisconsin and the upper Midwest.
Regional players
- Wipfli (Architectural services): Midwest professional services firm (formerly Wipfli Hewins) with architecture and planning services concentrated in Wisconsin and the upper Midwest. Less healthcare-specialized than BWBR but a regional peer competing for education, civic, and corporate work in adjacent geographies.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
BWBR Architects social profiles
Digital presenceBWBR Architects financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
BWBR Architects leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
BWBR Architects funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
BWBR Architects 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 BWBR Architects
What does BWBR Architects do?
BWBR Architects is a commercial architecture firm providing full-service architectural design, interior design, planning, sustainability consulting, code consulting, and graphic design for complex institutional projects. The firm specializes in healthcare facilities, behavioral and mental health facilities, educational institutions, science and technology environments, and civic/corporate/community buildings across the United States.
Is BWBR Architects a public or private company?
BWBR Architects is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently operating.
When was BWBR Architects founded?
BWBR Architects was founded in 1920. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is BWBR Architects based?
BWBR Architects is headquartered in Saint Paul, United States, in the North America region.
How does BWBR Architects make money?
One revenue line is on record: architecture and Design Services.
Who are BWBR Architects's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Perkins&Will, CannonDesign, SmithGroup, HKS Architects, HDR Architecture and DLR Group. Direct peers are HGA (Hammel, Green and Abrahamson), EwingCole and Kahler Slater. Wipfli (Architectural services) is listed as a regional player.
Does BWBR Architects have an API?
No public API is recorded for BWBR Architects.
What industry is BWBR Architects in?
BWBR Architects's product category is Architectural Design Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAKAA, Architectural Design Services, with a secondary code of BPAHAKAK, Building Information Modeling (BIM) & Digital Design Services. Its NAICS code is 541310 and its SIC code is 8711.