What Cline Design Associates does

Cline Design Associates is an integrated design services firm founded in 1989 by Gary Cline, AIA, headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. The firm provides multidisciplinary design services across five core disciplines: architecture, planning and urban design, landscape architecture, interior design, and brand/experiential design. Cline serves real estate developers, corporations, municipalities, and institutional clients across the U.S. Southeast and selected growth markets, with offices in Raleigh (headquarters), Charlotte, Austin, and Washington D.C. As of 2019 the firm employed over 90 staff including more than 30 registered architects, has accumulated nearly 100 design awards over three decades, and was ranked the fourth largest architectural firm in the Triangle and sixth in North Carolina by Triangle Business Journal.

The firm operates on a project-fee professional services model, generating revenue from integrated design engagements for residential, mixed-use, commercial, hospitality, workplace, and adaptive reuse projects. Go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven, with principals and senior staff developing business through referrals, reputation, and direct engagement with developers and corporate clients. The customer base is enterprise-leaning, with named projects for developers such as Kane Realty, Hoffman & Associates, Grubb Ventures, Northwood Ravin, and White Point Partners, and corporate clients including JetZero (aerospace), Bumble Inc. (technology), and Eaton Golf Pride (manufacturing). Notable projects include Peace Raleigh Apartments (417 units, 2020), The Signal at Seaboard Station (298 units, 2023), The Forge at Raleigh IronWorks (220-unit adaptive reuse), and the JetZero Experiential Design Center in Long Beach (2026).

In 2023 the firm transitioned to an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), with leadership succession from founder Gary Cline to Michael Mesnard as President and Managing Partner and a firm rebranding to the simplified "Cline" identity. Cline acquired Austin-based Mark Odom Studio in January 2026, establishing its fourth office and expanding into the Texas market. The firm continues to pursue growth through new vertical entry (aerospace via JetZero), geographic expansion (Austin, Washington D.C., Ohio student housing), and service-line development (student housing, hospitality, and branding/experiential design). In 2025 the firm earned the Student Housing Business Innovator Award for the Peer on 7th project near Ohio State University, signaling growing reach beyond the Carolinas.

Name

Cline Design Associates

Legal name

Cline Design Associates

Website

https://clinedesignassoc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Cline Design Associates is an integrated architecture, planning, landscape architecture, interior design, and branding firm serving real estate developers, corporations, and institutions across the U.S. Southeast and select growth markets, operating from offices in Raleigh, Charlotte, Austin, and Washington D.C.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Design Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (54131), Interior Design Services (54141), Landscape Architectural Services (54132)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)

Keywords

• Architecture design services
• Interior design
• Urban planning
• Landscape architecture
• Mixed-use development

Headquarters

HQ city

Charlotte

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Professional Design Services: Cline generates revenue through providing integrated architectural, planning, landscape architecture, interior design, and branding services on a project fee basis. Services are rendered to developers, corporations, and public entities for residential, mixed-use, commercial, hospitality, and workplace projects.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Cline Design Associates is an integrated architecture and design firm that delivers comprehensive services across five disciplines: architecture, planning and urban design, landscape architecture, interior design, and brand design. The firm provides end-to-end design solutions for residential, mixed-use, commercial, hospitality, workplace, and adaptive reuse projects on a project-fee basis to developers, corporations, and public entities.

Product overview

Cline Design Associates is an integrated architecture, planning, landscape architecture, interior design, and branding firm offering comprehensive design services. The company operates as a unified service offering across five core disciplines (Architecture, Interior Design, Planning & Urban Design, Landscape Architecture, and Brand Design) serving diverse market segments including residential, mixed-use, workplace, commercial, hospitality, and renovation/reuse projects. The firm has completed numerous notable projects spanning multifamily apartments, corporate headquarters, adaptive reuse developments, and student housing across North Carolina, Texas, and beyond. Founded in 1989, the firm has expanded to offices in Raleigh and Charlotte (North Carolina), Austin (Texas), and Washington, D.C.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Architecture

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly 100 design awards over 30 years of operation
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• JetZerocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 April 2026Cline (through Mark Odom Studio) is providing architecture and interior design services for JetZero's Experiential Design Center (32,000 sf) in Long Beach, CA and The Hub headquarters (108,000 sf) in Greensboro, NC. The partnership supports JetZero's vision for innovative aerospace workplaces that accelerate collaboration and innovation for the Z4 aircraft program.
• Mark Odom StudiocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Mark Odom Studio, an award-winning architecture and design firm based in Austin, Texas, was acquired by Cline and now operates as 'Mark Odom Studio, a Cline Company.' The acquisition expands Cline's presence in the Texas market and adds expertise in retail, hospitality, infill, multifamily, and single-family residential projects.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Broad incumbents

• Perkins&Will: Perkins&Will is a global architecture and design firm with strong healthcare, corporate, and mixed-use practices, including a Charlotte office. Comparable as a competitor for large corporate workplace and mixed-use projects (e.g., JetZero, Bumble scale), but operates as part of a much broader portfolio beyond regional multifamily.
• Gensler: Gensler is the world's largest architecture and design firm, with deep corporate workplace, hospitality, and mixed-use practices. Comparable as a competitor for large-scale workplace and adaptive reuse projects, but with vastly greater scale and a global footprint.
• HKS Architects: HKS is a national architecture and design firm with significant workplace, mixed-use, and hospitality practices. Comparable as a competitor for corporate and mixed-use projects, particularly in the Sun Belt and Southeast.
• HOK: HOK is a global design, architecture, and engineering firm with significant workplace, mixed-use, and hospitality practices. Comparable as a competitor for corporate headquarters and large mixed-use projects, though it operates across a much broader portfolio.

Direct peers

• SmithGroup: SmithGroup is an integrated architecture, engineering, and planning firm of comparable scale with strong mixed-use, workplace, and urban design practices. Comparable as a multi-discipline design firm with similar integrated service offering and project typologies.
• Moody Nolan: Moody Nolan is a multi-office architecture and design firm with strong mixed-use, multifamily, and workplace practices across the Midwest, Southeast, and Mid-Atlantic. Comparable as a similarly sized, multi-office integrated design firm with a parallel regional expansion trajectory.
• LS3P Associates: LS3P is a Southeast-based architecture, interiors, and planning firm of comparable scale, founded in 1963 with offices across the Carolinas, Florida, and Georgia. Directly comparable as a regional, multi-discipline design firm serving similar real estate developer and institutional clients in the same geographies as Cline.
• Lake|Flato Architects: Lake|Flato is a Texas-based integrated architecture, interiors, and landscape design firm of similar size and design philosophy. Highly comparable as an award-winning, integrated-design practice with strong residential, mixed-use, and adaptive reuse portfolios and a similar approach to place-based design.
• Duda|Paine Architects: Duda|Paine is a Southeast-based architecture firm with strong mixed-use, multifamily, and corporate workplace practices across the Carolinas and beyond. Comparable in scale, geography, and project typology mix to Cline.
• Page (Page Southerland Page): Page is a multi-discipline architecture, engineering, and interiors firm of comparable scale with strong mixed-use, workplace, and healthcare practices across Texas and the Southeast. Comparable in size, integrated service offering, and regional focus, especially given Cline's Texas expansion.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Cline-Design-Associates-117868948235779/timeline
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/1489920
• Instagraminstagram.com/clinedesign_

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cline Design Associates