Schuler Shook

What Schuler Shook does

Schuler Shook is a privately held design consulting firm founded in 1986, headquartered in Chicago, and operating across six offices in the United States (Chicago, Minneapolis, Dallas, San Francisco Bay, New York) and Australia (Melbourne). The firm provides three integrated professional services—lighting design, theatre planning, and audio video design—to clients undertaking construction or renovation of performing arts venues, civic landmarks, higher education facilities, aviation terminals, healthcare facilities, museums, hospitality venues, and historic preservation projects. Its portfolio spans 274+ documented projects across nearly every continent, including recognized landmarks such as Millennium Park, Chicago Riverwalk, the University of Chicago Logan Center for the Arts, O'Hare Terminal 5, and the St. Louis Symphony's Jack C. Taylor Music Center.

The firm operates as a pure-play professional services practice with no proprietary software or hardware platforms. Technical delivery relies on industry-standard design and documentation tools, with a dedicated BIM Manager supporting building information modeling workflows. Service engagements run from early feasibility and concept design through construction administration, with teams of principals, partners, directors, and consultants collaborating across the three disciplines. Schuler Shook has accumulated hundreds of industry recognitions from bodies including the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES), the International Association of Lighting Designers (IALD), the American Institute of Architects (AIA), and the United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT), reinforcing its reputation as a specialist in technically complex, high-visibility venues.

The revenue model is project-based professional services: fees are quoted per engagement based on project scope, complexity, and duration, with multi-year contract cadences tied to construction timelines. The firm employs 69 people across six locations, sells through direct enterprise engagement (responding to RFPs and being engaged early in project feasibility by architects, developers, and institutions), and markets primarily through an extensive project portfolio website and earned-media recognition via awards. There is no disclosed investor base, no funding rounds, and no parent company; ownership remains private with leadership including Partner Jim Baney and Partner Robert Shook.

Name

Schuler Shook

Legal name

Schuler Shook, Inc.

Website

https://schulershook.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Schuler Shook is a privately held, 38-year-old design consulting firm offering integrated lighting design, theatre planning, and audio video design services to institutional, civic, and commercial clients across 69 professionals in six US and Australian offices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Lighting and Theatre Design Consulting

NAICS

Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413)

SIC

Electric Lighting & Wiring Equipment (3640)

akta.pro primary industry

Staging & Rigging Services (MPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Studio Lighting & Grip Infrastructure Services (MPADAIAF)

Keywords

• Lighting design services
• Theatre planning consulting
• Audio video design
• Architectural lighting
• Performance venue design

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 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 Consulting Services: Revenue is generated through professional consulting fees for lighting design, theatre planning, and audio video design services on construction and renovation projects. Services are project-based, typically engaged from early feasibility through construction administration, with pricing quoted based on project scope and complexity.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Schuler Shook is a design consulting firm that provides three integrated services: Lighting Design, Theatre Planning, and Audio Video Design. The firm designs lighting systems, theatrical technical systems, and audio/video infrastructure for construction and renovation projects, serving performance venues, museums, universities, airports, civic buildings, and commercial spaces from feasibility through construction administration.

Product overview

Schuler Shook is a design firm providing three core service offerings: Lighting Design, Theatre Planning, and Audio Video Design. Founded in 1986, the firm works across multiple sectors including performing arts centers, concert halls, educational facilities, hospitality, healthcare, and commercial spaces. The three services are offered both independently and in combination, allowing clients to engage one or more disciplines for their projects. Projects range from intimate theatres to large-scale performing arts centers and civic venues across six offices (Chicago, Minneapolis, Dallas, San Francisco Bay, New York, and Melbourne).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Lighting Design Professional lighting design services for architectural spaces including theatres, concert halls, museums, hospitality venues, and exterior/facade lighting. Services include architectural lighting, theatrical production lighting, and LED fixture specifications.
• Theatre Planning Comprehensive theatre planning and consulting for performance venues including seating layout design, sightline analysis, rigging systems, stage lighting infrastructure, orchestra pits, and backstage support spaces for theatres, opera houses, and performing arts centers.
• Audio Video Design Audio and video systems design for performance venues, corporate spaces, and entertainment facilities, including sound reinforcement, broadcast infrastructure, video production systems, and integrated AV controls.

Quantifiable outcome

• 274 documented projects spanning nearly every continent
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Fisher Marantz Stone (Stantec): Premium architectural lighting design firm now owned by Stantec; serves cultural, civic, healthcare and commercial projects at the same scale and client profile as Schuler Shook, with identical award-driven positioning.
• Bartenbach: Austria-based international lighting design and research firm with strong cultural and performing arts expertise; comparable global project delivery model though based in Europe.
• Horton Lees Brogden (HLB Lighting Design): Architectural lighting design firm with deep performing arts, civic, and cultural project experience; competes head-to-head with Schuler Shook on theatre and concert hall lighting commissions.
• L'Observatoire International: New York lighting design firm with strong cultural, hospitality, and performing arts credentials; peer-level competitor on premium interior and theatrical lighting projects.
• Theatre Projects Consultants: Specialist theatre planning consultancy overlapping directly with Schuler Shook's theatre planning practice — seating, sightlines, rigging, and stage infrastructure design for performing arts centers worldwide.
• AWA Lighting Designers: Independent architectural lighting design firm serving museums, performing arts, and higher education; matches Schuler Shook's project types at a similar boutique scale.
• Tillotson Design Associates: New York-based architectural lighting design firm focused on museums, cultural, and institutional projects with a comparable award-winning boutique practice and overlapping client roster with Schuler Shook.

Broad incumbents

• WSP: Global professional services firm with a substantial lighting and theatrical systems practice; competes at the high end of cultural and transit infrastructure projects where multi-disciplinary bundling matters.
• Arup Lighting: Global engineering/design giant with a prominent lighting design practice; competes for the largest institutional and performing arts commissions as part of a much broader services portfolio.
• Stantec: Global design and engineering firm that owns Fisher Marantz Stone; offers integrated architectural lighting + theatre/AV design at scale that can outbid boutique firms on bundled engagements.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/schulershook
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/schuler-shook

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 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 Schuler Shook