Looney Ricks Kiss

What Looney Ricks Kiss does

Looney Ricks Kiss (LRK) is a privately held architecture, interiors, planning, and urban design firm founded in 1983 by Carson Looney, Frank Ricks, and Richard Kiss in Memphis, Tennessee. The firm operates from eight offices across Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, Florida, Texas, and Pennsylvania, serving enterprise and institutional clients in sectors including commercial, residential, hospitality, civic, healthcare, education, and sports/entertainment. Its core services span full architectural design, interior design, master planning and urban design, and a specialized historic preservation/adaptive-reuse practice built around the revival of nearly 100 historic structures — most notably Crosstown Concourse in Memphis, which has received over 30 industry awards. Differentiated practice areas include New Urbanism and traditional neighborhood development, vertical urban village design, and sustainability/LEED-credentialed delivery, supported by four AIA Fellows and a LEED Fellow on staff.

LRK's business model is professional-services-based, generating revenue through project-based design fees, project management fees, and consulting engagements quoted on a per-project basis tied to scope, complexity, and duration, typically structured as multi-year contracts. Distribution is executed through direct, principal-led enterprise sales targeting developers, corporations, healthcare systems, educational institutions, and government entities, with the firm's multi-office footprint enabling regional relationship management. Marketing and demand generation rely on industry award submissions (AIA, ULI, PCBC, NAA, ENR), association engagement, earned media in outlets such as Forbes and Smithsonian, and a public project portfolio website, rather than paid digital channels. The firm has no external investors, no parent company, and shows no evidence of private equity involvement; ownership appears to rest with founders and principals, with management succession supported by ongoing principal and senior associate promotions.

Name

Looney Ricks Kiss

Legal name

LRK Inc.

Website

https://lrk.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Looney Ricks Kiss is a privately held architecture, interiors, planning, and urban design firm founded in 1983, operating from eight US offices and serving enterprise clients across commercial, residential, hospitality, healthcare, education, civic, and mixed-use sectors, with a signature specialty in historic adaptive reuse.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architecture Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (54131), Interior Design Services (541410)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro primary industry

Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Community Engagement & Participatory Planning (BPAHAKAO)

Keywords

• Architecture services
• Urban planning
• Interior design
• Historic preservation
• Adaptive reuse

Headquarters

HQ city

Memphis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Architectural Services: Full-service architectural design for commercial, residential, hospitality, civic, healthcare, and educational projects. Revenue is generated through design fees, project management fees, and consulting services for new construction and renovation projects.
2. Interior Design Services: Interior design services for commercial, residential, multifamily, and hospitality projects, including space planning, finishes selection, and construction documentation.
3. Urban Planning and Design Services: Master planning, urban design, and planning services for communities, districts, and transit-oriented developments.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

LRK is a multi-disciplinary architecture and planning firm providing architectural design, interior design, urban planning, and historic preservation / adaptive reuse services. The firm delivers building design, master planning, and interior architecture projects for commercial, residential, healthcare, education, hospitality, and mixed-use clients through eight offices across the United States.

Product overview

Looney Ricks Kiss (LRK) is a nationally recognized architecture, interiors, planning, and urban design firm offering a comprehensive suite of design services. The firm's core offerings span architectural design, interior design, urban planning and design, and historic preservation/adaptive reuse. LRK operates across multiple markets including multifamily, mixed-use, hospitality, commercial, civic, and single-family residential sectors, serving clients nationwide through eight offices. The firm's integrated approach combines architecture, interiors, and planning services within a unified practice rather than as separate product modules.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Architectural Design Services Full-scope architectural design for new construction and renovation projects across commercial, residential, healthcare, education, hospitality, and mixed-use sectors, delivered to enterprise and institutional clients.
• Interior Design Services Interior architecture and design services integrated with building projects, led by a dedicated Studio Director of Interiors and delivered to enterprise clients across sectors.
• Urban Planning Services Master planning and urban design services for districts, campuses, and mixed-use developments, supporting municipalities, developers, and institutional clients.
• Historic Preservation / Adaptive Reuse Services Specialty services for the restoration, rehabilitation, and adaptive reuse of historic structures, supporting developers, institutions, and municipalities with preservation-compliant design.
• Sustainable / LEED Design Services Sustainability-led design consulting and LEED certification support, led by a LEED Fellow, helping clients meet green building targets across project types.

Quantifiable outcome

• Crosstown Concourse achieved highest Fitwel certification level
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Bounds & Gillespie ArchitectsminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 30 May 2023LRK worked in association with Bounds & Gillespie on the Central Station Hotel project, where Bounds & Gillespie served as the architectural partner responsible for historic tax credit rehabilitation of the 1914 railroad station.
• Trane TechnologiesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLRK's Crosstown Concourse serves as a working example of Trane's Connected Building concept, demonstrating how HVAC systems can be integrated into sustainable building operations.
• Urban Land Institute (ULI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLRK has deep involvement with ULI both in Tennessee and nationally. The firm sponsors ULI meetings and conferences and has presented projects including Crosstown Concourse, The Gulch, Jackson Walk, Memphis Ballpark Neighborhood, and Harbor Town at ULI events.
• US Green Building Council (USGBC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLRK has extensive involvement with USGBC through its LEED-accredited professionals (17 in Memphis alone) and LEED Fellow. The firm has been recognized for sustainable design leadership including Krissy Buck Flickinger becoming Memphis' first NGBS Green Verifier.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• archimania: archimania is a Memphis-based architecture and design firm with a strong local reputation in residential, civic, and adaptive reuse work. As a Memphis peer, it competes for the same regional clients and talent pool, providing a useful regional comparable.

Broad incumbents

• Perkins&Will: Perkins&Will is a global architecture practice with strong healthcare and higher education portfolios, directly overlapping LRK's healthcare (Church Health, FedEx Family House) and education (University of Memphis, Notre Dame) segments. It is a broader incumbent competing for similar enterprise clients.
• HOK: HOK is a large, globally established architecture, engineering, and planning firm with deep healthcare, sports, and civic practices that overlap LRK's strongest verticals. As a much larger incumbent, it competes for the same institutional clients but with broader geographic reach and a deeper bench.
• Gensler: Gensler is the largest U.S. architecture and design firm, with category leadership across commercial, hospitality, mixed-use, and workplace interiors. It is a much broader incumbent that competes with LRK on enterprise-scale commercial and mixed-use commissions.

Direct peers

• LEO A DALY: LEO A DALY is a privately held full-service architecture, planning, and engineering firm of comparable size with broad sector coverage including civic, healthcare, hospitality, and mixed-use. Its integrated practice model and size profile make it a direct comparable to LRK.
• DPZ CoDesign: DPZ CoDesign (Andrés Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk) is the foundational New Urbanism practice behind Seaside and Celebration, directly comparable to LRK's traditional neighborhood development and Town Architect work at Baldwin Park, Celebration, and Painted Tree.
• DLR Group: DLR Group is an integrated design firm of comparable scale offering architecture, interiors, and planning services across civic, education, hospitality, and mixed-use markets. Its full-service delivery model and sector overlap with LRK (mixed-use, multifamily, civic, education) make it a closely comparable direct peer.
• SmithGroup: SmithGroup is an integrated architecture, engineering, and planning firm of similar mid-to-large size with strength in higher education, healthcare, and urban design. Its integrated practice model and emphasis on sustainability parallel LRK's positioning.
• HKS: HKS is a Dallas-headquartered full-service architecture, interiors, and planning firm of comparable scale with strength in healthcare, sports, and urban mixed-use work. Like LRK, it blends architecture, planning, and interiors and operates across multiple U.S. regions, making it a strong direct peer for project type and market overlap.

Emerging players

• Torti Gallas + Partners: Torti Gallas + Partners is a planning and architecture firm specializing in urban design, TOD, and traditional neighborhood development. Its focus on master-planned and mixed-use communities aligns closely with LRK's planning and TND portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/lrk_insider

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 Looney Ricks Kiss