HMC Architects
HMC Architects is a 100% employee-owned architecture firm headquartered in Los Angeles that delivers healthcare, education, and civic facility design through seven regional studios across California, Oregon, and Washington.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1940
- HeadquartersLos Angeles, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What HMC Architects does
HMC Architects is a 100% employee-owned architecture firm headquartered in Los Angeles that delivers institutional architectural design across the Western United States. Founded in 1940 and operating through seven regional studios in California (Los Angeles HQ, San Diego, San Jose, Ontario, Sacramento), Oregon (Portland), and Washington (Seattle), the firm serves three core verticals: Healthcare (hospitals, medical offices, behavioral health facilities), Education (PreK-12 and Higher Education), and Community + Culture (civic, convention, aquatics, and public assembly projects). Supporting service areas include interior architecture, experiential graphic design, historic preservation, sustainability consulting, and visualization. Reported client work spans Kaiser Permanente, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital, Seattle Public Schools, Portland Public Schools, Beverly Hills USD, UC San Diego, Cal State Fullerton, San Bernardino CCD, and the Greater Ontario Convention Center expansion (450,000 SF, completion expected 2027).
The firm is built on a project-based professional services model, with custom-quoted fees negotiated per engagement and multi-year contract cadences typical of public-sector capital programs. Technical delivery combines BIM, VR visualization, Lean design methodology, and evidence-based design research; proprietary assets include the "Architecture of Healing: Trauma-Informed Design" framework co-developed with Bassetti Architects, a recognized Lean healthcare design methodology used on contractor-integrated delivery projects, and a sustainability practice that has delivered multiple LEED Platinum-certified projects (Benson Polytechnic HS, Evergreen Valley College, San Bernardino Valley College, Kaiser La Habra). The firm maintains a 501(c)(3), the Designing Futures Foundation, which has deployed more than $1.8M in community nonprofit grants and reinforces a "Design for Good" brand position.
HMC has scaled through inorganic growth, acquiring Rainforth Grau Architects in 2021 (a Northern California K-12 specialist with 40-50 staff) and merging with Bassetti Architects in 2025, which now operates as "Bassetti Architects, a Studio of HMC Architects." Leadership comprises CEO Brian Staton, President Kirk Rose (40 years of healthcare architecture experience), CFO Matt Endsley, COO Arturo Levenfeld, CTO Bill Kwon, and Chief People Officer Alan Lamonica, with Managing Principals embedded in each regional studio. The firm has consistently appeared in ENR Top 500 Design Firms, BD+C Giants 400, and Interior Design Top 100 Giants, and was ranked 50th in the 2026 Top 100 Inspiring Workplaces in North America.
HMC Architects firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- HMC Architects
- Legal name
- HMC Architects
- Website
- https://hmcarchitects.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1940
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- HMC Architects is a 100% employee-owned architecture firm headquartered in Los Angeles that delivers healthcare, education, and civic facility design through seven regional studios across California, Oregon, and Washington.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
HMC Architects industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Architectural Services
- NAICS
- Architectural Services (54131), Interior Design Services (541410)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Interior Design Services (BPAHAKAB)
Keywords
Where HMC Architects is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Los Angeles
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices7 records
Markets served
HMC Architects business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Architecture and Design Services: Professional fees from architectural design services, master planning, interior design, and experiential graphic design for institutional clients including healthcare facilities, educational institutions, and civic buildings. Revenue is project-based with fees negotiated for each engagement.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Project-based professional services with customized fee structures |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels6 records
HMC Architects product offering
Product offeringCore offering
HMC Architects is a 100% employee-owned architecture and planning firm delivering comprehensive architectural design, master planning, interior design, experiential graphic design, historic preservation, and sustainability services. The firm operates seven studio offices across California, Oregon, and Washington, serving institutional clients in healthcare, education, and civic sectors through evidence-based design, trauma-informed frameworks, Lean methodologies, BIM, and VR visualization tools.
Product overview
HMC Architects is a 100% employee-owned architecture firm offering comprehensive architectural design services through multiple specialized practice areas. The firm operates as a unified platform delivering healthcare architecture, higher education design, PreK-12 education facilities, community and civic design, interior architecture, experiential graphic design, sustainability services, and historic preservation. The company has expanded through acquisitions (Rainforth Grau Architects in 2021) and mergers (Bassetti Architects), and supports its mission through the Designing Futures Foundation nonprofit. Services are delivered across seven studio offices in California, Oregon, and Washington, with visualization and VR technology enhancing client engagement and project delivery.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Bassetti Architects (Studio of HMC): A design studio operating under HMC Architects following the 2025 merger.
Products and services
- Architectural Design Services Full-service architectural design services for healthcare, education, and civic facilities, delivered by a 100% employee-owned firm with multiple studio offices across the western United States.
- Healthcare Architecture Specialized healthcare facility planning and design services including hospital replacements, renovations, behavioral health facilities, and medical office buildings, with expertise in Lean and Integrated Project Delivery for healthcare systems such as Kaiser Permanente.
- Higher Education Design Campus design services spanning residence halls, libraries, student centers, academic buildings, athletics facilities, and health and wellness centers for colleges and universities such as Chabot College and UC San Diego.
- PreK-12 Education Design Educational facility design for elementary, middle, and high schools including modernizations, new construction, career technical education (CTE) facilities, and historic restorations for districts such as Beverly Hills USD, Portland Public Schools, and Seattle Public Schools.
- Community + Culture Design Civic and community facility design including convention centers, community centers, aquatic centers, libraries, and public gathering spaces for municipal and civic clients such as Greater Ontario California.
- Interior Architecture Interior design services combining creativity, research, and planning to deliver spaces that positively impact people in learning, healthcare, and civic environments.
- Sustainability Services
Quantifiable outcome
- 100% employee ownership model
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use HMC Architects
Customer profileNamed customers11 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
HMC Architects technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
HMC Architects partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and strategic.
- Bassetti ArchitectscoreBassetti Architects merged with HMC in 2025, expanding design impact across the West Coast. Now operating as 'Bassetti Architects, a studio of HMC Architects,' the partnership enhances capabilities in higher education, historic preservation, and civic projects. The combined entity strengthens HMC's presence in Seattle and Portland markets.
- Rainforth Grau ArchitectscoreHMC acquired Rainforth Grau Architects in 2021 as part of strategic growth. The firm, led by Jeff Grau, operated as a full-service K-12 education-specialized firm with 40-50 staff serving northern California school districts. Jeff Grau continues as PreK-12 principal-in-charge at HMC, bringing 35 years of experience and 350+ school projects.
- Group 4 ArchitecturestrategicHMC Architects collaborated with Group 4 Architecture on the Chabot College Library and Learning Connection project. Group 4 served as architect of record while HMC provided design expertise for this 100,000 SF higher education facility.
- Designing Futures FoundationcoreHMC's nonprofit foundation (501(c)(3)) founded in 2009 has invested more than $1.8M in transformative nonprofits serving communities. The foundation focuses on equitable access to design education, sustainability through education and climate justice, and responding to needs of vulnerable populations.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
HMC Architects competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- ZGF Architects: Architecture and design firm with major West Coast presence (including Portland and Seattle offices) and strong healthcare and higher education practices. Closely comparable to HMC in regional concentration, sector mix, and employee-ownership-adjacent culture.
- EwingCole: Architecture and engineering firm with specialized healthcare and higher education practices. Comparable to HMC in domain depth on complex medical and academic projects, though with East Coast concentration.
- SmithGroup: Integrated design firm with strong healthcare, higher education, and science & technology practices serving institutional clients nationwide. Highly comparable to HMC's sector mix and project complexity, with overlapping client profiles (health systems, universities, civic organizations).
- CO Architects: Los Angeles-headquartered architecture firm with a leading healthcare design practice serving academic medical centers and health systems across the Western US. Directly comparable to HMC in regional footprint, healthcare specialization, and institutional client base.
- Perkins&Will: Global architecture firm with deep healthcare and education practices serving institutional clients through integrated design. Comparable to HMC in sector focus and project types (e.g., academic medical centers, K-12 modernization, civic buildings), but with substantially broader geographic reach and headcount.
- NBBJ: Seattle-headquartered architecture and design firm with a leading healthcare practice serving academic medical centers and health systems. Comparable to HMC in healthcare specialization, Pacific Northwest presence, and large-scale institutional project delivery.
- LPA Design Studios: California-based integrated design firm with prominent K-12, higher education, and healthcare practices. Comparable to HMC in West Coast regional focus, education sector depth, and institutional client roster.
- CannonDesign: Integrated design firm with leading healthcare, higher education, and science practices serving institutional clients. Comparable to HMC's value-based design approach and institutional focus, with deeper engineering integration.
Broad incumbents
- HOK: Global architecture, engineering, and planning firm with major healthcare, education, and civic practices. Comparable to HMC in sector focus but operates at much greater scale with international reach and integrated engineering services.
- HDR: Large global architecture/engineering/consulting firm with substantial healthcare and education practices serving institutional clients. Comparable to HMC in sector overlap but materially larger, with integrated engineering and advisory capabilities HMC does not offer.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
HMC Architects social profiles
Digital presenceHMC Architects financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
HMC Architects leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles15 records
HMC Architects subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries2 records
HMC Architects funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
HMC Architects M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A1 record
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about HMC Architects
What does HMC Architects do?
HMC Architects is a 100% employee-owned architecture and planning firm delivering comprehensive architectural design, master planning, interior design, experiential graphic design, historic preservation, and sustainability services. The firm operates seven studio offices across California, Oregon, and Washington, serving institutional clients in healthcare, education, and civic sectors through evidence-based design, trauma-informed frameworks, Lean methodologies, BIM, and VR visualization tools.
Is HMC Architects a public or private company?
HMC Architects is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently operating.
When was HMC Architects founded?
HMC Architects was founded in 1940. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is HMC Architects based?
HMC Architects is headquartered in Los Angeles, United States, in the North America region.
How does HMC Architects make money?
One revenue line is on record: architecture and Design Services.
Who are HMC Architects's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are ZGF Architects, EwingCole, SmithGroup, CO Architects, Perkins&Will, NBBJ, LPA Design Studios and CannonDesign. Broad incumbents are HOK and HDR.
Does HMC Architects have an API?
No public API is recorded for HMC Architects.
What industry is HMC Architects in?
HMC Architects's product category is Architectural Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAKAA, Architectural Design Services, with a secondary code of BPAHAKAB, Interior Design Services. Its NAICS code is 54131.