What Cordogan, Clark & Associates does

Cordogan, Clark & Associates is a privately held, family-owned full-service architectural, planning, engineering, and construction firm headquartered in Aurora, Illinois, with origins traced to 1951 (incorporated under its current name in 1977). The firm delivers integrated design services across K-12 education, higher education, municipal, commercial, healthcare, hospitality, cultural, residential, and recreational verticals for a client base that is heavily weighted toward public-sector and institutional buyers — including school districts, municipalities, state agencies, universities, and nonprofit developers. Operations span the Midwest (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Wisconsin) with additional offices in St. Louis and Lafayette, Indiana, a Beijing-based international projects office supporting work in China, and a 101–250-person staff organized around architecture, master planning, structural engineering, and construction management disciplines.

The firm's core technology stack is built around conventional AEC practice augmented by a proprietary "Target Value Design and Construction Process" that drives cost discipline on publicly bid projects, and signature design competencies such as award-winning double-curved arch mono-truss pedestrian bridge engineering (41st and 43rd Street Bridges, Chicago). Notable technical credentials include LEED Platinum, LEED Gold, and LEED Silver certifications across multiple municipal and educational projects, and the firm participates in international design competitions. Geographic and capability expansion has been executed primarily through merger and partnership — Keystone Architecture (2016), Ittner Architects (St. Louis office), and Lesko Architecture (2023, Cleveland-based K-12 specialist).

Cordogan, Clark generates revenue through professional-services fees on a project-by-project basis, with contracts negotiated per scope rather than via standardized pricing tiers. The go-to-market motion is sales-led and bifurcated: competitive bidding on public-sector RFQs/RFPs (school districts, municipalities, state agencies) and direct negotiation for private developers, nonprofits, and institutional clients. Long-standing client relationships and repeat municipal business (City of Aurora, City of Elgin, East Aurora District 131, Aurora University) drive a meaningful share of repeat engagements, while reputational capital built through national AIA Honor Awards, ENR, ACEC, and PCI recognition functions as the primary top-of-funnel marketing channel.

Name

Cordogan, Clark & Associates

Legal name

Cordogan, Clark & Associates

Website

https://cordoganclark.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Cordogan, Clark & Associates is a private, family-owned architecture, planning, engineering, and construction firm headquartered in Aurora, Illinois, serving K-12, higher education, municipal, and institutional clients across the U.S. Midwest with additional international work in China.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural and Engineering Services

NAICS

Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413), Engineering Services (541330), Commercial and Institutional Building Construction (236220)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Civil & Structural Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Government & Civic Building Construction (Courthouses, City Halls, Public Safety) (IMAFACAF), Residential Design-Build & Renovation-Integrated Builders (IMAFABAE)

Keywords

• Architectural design services
• Master planning services
• Structural engineering services
• Construction management services
• Sustainable building design

Headquarters

HQ city

Aurora

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. Architecture and Engineering Services: Professional architectural and engineering design services for K-12 education, higher education, municipal, civic, commercial, healthcare, hospitality, and residential projects. Revenue generated through design fees, project management, and construction administration services on a project-by-project basis.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Cordogan, Clark & Associates is a full-service architectural, planning, engineering, and construction firm delivering integrated design services for academic, commercial, institutional, and residential projects. Core offerings span architectural design, master and urban planning, structural and civil engineering, and construction administration, organized across K-12 education, higher education, municipal/civic, healthcare, hospitality, commercial, cultural, recreational, and residential project types. Revenue is generated project-by-project through negotiated design and engineering fees on engagements won via competitive public-sector bidding and direct private-sector relationships.

Product overview

Cordogan, Clark & Associates is a full-service architectural, planning, engineering, and construction firm with solid expertise in academic, commercial, institutional, and residential projects. The firm offers integrated services spanning architecture, master planning, structural engineering, and construction management. Their portfolio is organized into distinct service categories including K-12 Education, Higher Education, Commercial, Civic/Cultural, Healthcare, Hospitality, Municipal, Residential (multifamily, student housing, and single-family), Master Planning, and Recreational projects. The firm is particularly recognized for sustainable design, with several LEED-certified projects, and has received multiple awards including the 2024 National AIA Honor Award for the 41st and 43rd Street Pedestrian Bridges in Chicago.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Foster School project remained on target within $48.5 million budget with 90% of contracts completed
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Lesko ArchitecturecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 November 2023Cleveland-based architectural firm partnered with Cordogan Clark in November 2023. Founded in 1953 by Nicholas Lesko, Lesko Architecture specializes in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade school design. The partnership expanded both firms' reach and service capabilities in the Midwest region, with Lesko celebrating its 70th year in business.
• Keystone ArchitecturecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 February 2016Lafayette, Indiana-based architectural firm merged with Cordogan Clark in February 2016. Keystone Architecture, headed by Rob Galbraith, had been in business for over 25 years with expertise in academic buildings, stadiums, medical facilities, commercial and office space, banks, and custom homes. The merger extended Cordogan Clark's presence in Indiana.
• Ittner ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSt. Louis-based architectural firm that merged with Cordogan Clark, handling projects in the St. Louis and Missouri region including East St. Louis High School transformation.
• Housing Opportunity Development Corporation (HODC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNonprofit affordable housing developer partnering with Cordogan Clark on projects including Mt. Pisgah Apartments in Evanston and Poupard Place in Northbrook. HODC serves as nonprofit developer while Cordogan Clark provides architectural and engineering services.
• Skender ConstructioncoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerGeneral Contractor and Construction Manager for affordable housing projects including Poupard Place. Skender provides construction management services while Cordogan Clark serves as Architect and Structural Engineer.
• AECOMcoreTechnology or IntegrationStructural and civil engineering partner for 41st and 43rd Street Pedestrian Bridges project. AECOM served as structural and civil engineer while Cordogan Clark provided architectural design.
• Spangler, Semler, Schlenker (Philadelphia)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesign architects from Philadelphia selected Cordogan Clark as associate architect for Matteson Public Library project to provide schematic design through construction administration services.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Legat Architects: Illinois-based A&E firm with strong Midwest K-12 and higher education practice; comparable full-service design firm operating in similar Midwestern geographies and serving overlapping school district and municipal clients.
• Wight & Company: Integrated architecture, engineering, and construction firm based in the Chicago suburbs offering design-build services to K-12, higher ed, municipal, and commercial clients across the Midwest — a closely comparable integrated A&E+C model.
• FGM Architects: Midwest-based architecture firm specializing in K-12 and higher education projects; directly comparable in target market, project type, and regional footprint to Cordogan Clark's education vertical.
• EwingCole: Multi-disciplinary architecture, engineering, and planning firm with comparable civic, education, and cultural institution portfolios; similar integrated delivery model and project scale.
• Hastings+Chivetta: St. Louis-based architecture firm with strong K-12, higher education, and civic practice; closely comparable in size, geography, and target public-sector clients.

Broad incumbents

• CannonDesign: Large integrated A&E firm with deep higher education, healthcare, and science & technology practices; competes with Cordogan Clark on Midwest university and civic projects at greater scale.
• Perkins&Will: Global architecture firm with strong healthcare, education, and civic practices; competes for the same major public sector projects in the Midwest at larger scale and broader geographic reach.
• SmithGroup: Integrated design firm combining architecture, engineering, and planning; overlaps with Cordogan Clark on higher education, civic, and urban design projects with broader national coverage.
• DLR Group: Integrated design firm with significant K-12, higher education, and civic portfolios; competes for public sector RFPs with greater scale, integrated MEP engineering, and broader geographic reach.

Regional players

• Solomon Cordwell Buenz (SCB): Chicago-based architecture firm with strong higher education, residential, and mixed-use portfolios; comparable in regional market and project mix (student housing, university buildings, urban design).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cordoganclark

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries3 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 Cordogan, Clark & Associates