What Cunningham | Quill Architects does

Cunningham | Quill Architects is a privately held, mid-size architecture, urban design, and community planning practice founded in 1996 by Ralph Cunningham, FAIA, and Lee Quill, FAIA, CNU. The firm operates from two offices — a headquarters at Canal Square in Georgetown, Washington, DC, and a Southeast regional office opened in 2022 at Tryon Plaza in Uptown Charlotte, NC — and serves clients across the mid-Atlantic and Carolinas. Service offerings span seven practice areas: Adaptive Reuse & Preservation, Affordable Housing, Commercial Architecture, Institutional & Higher Education, Multi-Family Residential, Single-Family Residential, and Urban Design & Master Planning. Notable projects include the Residences at St. Elizabeths East (250 affordable units, adaptive reuse of a former mental hospital), Dairy Market (adaptive reuse of Monticello Dairy), The Spire (113 affordable units co-located with a church), the Terrell Short-Term Family Housing, and the Dumbarton Oaks Library Reading Room.

The firm generates revenue through traditional professional services — design fees, project management, and construction administration — on a project-by-project, scope-based quoting model. Go-to-market is enterprise/field-sales driven: direct client relationships with government agencies, nonprofit and for-profit developers, higher education institutions, and private residential clients, supplemented by competitive bidding on public RFQs, AIA professional-network referrals, and repeat-client work. The firm carries multiple sustainability credentials on completed projects, including LEED Homes and Multifamily Mid-Rise Platinum, Enterprise Green Communities, LEED Gold, and EarthCraft Gold/Multifamily. The practice is led by the two founding principals together with two additional Principals (David Coxson and John Michael Day) elevated in 2022, and is supported by approximately 20–50 staff including Associate Principals, Senior Associates, and Associates.

Cunningham | Quill competes on a credentialed, award-driven positioning: 140+ design awards since founding, including 87 AIA chapter awards and selection for the 2025 Venice Biennale US Pavilion. The firm has no disclosed external investment, no parent company, and operates as an independent principals-led partnership serving a project mix weighted toward government, institutional, and affordable-housing clients, with selective commercial and custom residential work.

Name

Cunningham | Quill Architects

Legal name

Cunningham | Quill Architects

Website

https://cunninghamquill.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cunningham | Quill Architects is an award-winning, mid-size architecture and urban design practice founded in 1996, serving government, institutional, developer, and residential clients across the mid-Atlantic and Carolinas from offices in Washington, DC and Charlotte, NC.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architecture Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (541310)

akta.pro primary industry

Urban Planning & Master Planning (BPAHAKAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Urban & Regional Planning (Land Use, Zoning, Master Planning) (BPAIANAD), Architectural Reconfiguration & Structural Alterations (HSAPAEAB)

Keywords

• Architecture services
• Urban design planning
• Historic preservation
• Affordable housing design
• Adaptive reuse

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Architecture and Design Services: Professional architecture services for commercial, institutional, residential (single and multi-family), and urban design projects. Revenue generated through design fees, project management, and construction administration services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Cunningham | Quill Architects provides professional architecture, urban design, and community planning services across seven practice areas: Adaptive Reuse & Preservation, Affordable Housing, Commercial, Institutional & Higher Education, Multi-Family Residential, Single-Family Residential, and Urban Design & Master Planning. The firm delivers complete design services from concept through construction administration for government, institutional, commercial, developer, and residential clients in the mid-Atlantic and Southeast United States.

Product overview

Cunningham | Quill Architects is an architecture, planning, and design firm offering professional services across seven distinct practice areas: Adaptive Reuse & Preservation, Affordable Housing, Commercial Architecture, Institutional & Higher Education, Multi-Family Residential, Single-Family Residential, and Urban Design & Master Planning. The firm, founded in 1996 by Ralph Cunningham and Lee Quill, operates from offices in Washington DC (Canal Square in Georgetown) and Charlotte NC (Tryon Plaza in Uptown), providing complete design services from concept through project completion. The firm's portfolio includes award-winning projects such as the Residences at St. Elizabeths East, The Terrell Short-Term Family Housing, The Spire, Dairy Market (adaptive reuse of Monticello Dairy), Episcopal Church of the Resurrection, and Dumbarton Oaks Library Reading Room.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Adaptive Reuse & Preservation Transforms historic and existing structures into new functional spaces while preserving architectural heritage and cultural significance. Targeted at developers, government agencies, and institutions seeking to rehabilitate landmark buildings.
• Affordable Housing Design Design of housing developments that provide affordable dwelling units for families and individuals, often in partnership with non-profit developers and government programs. Targeted at non-profit housing developers, government agencies, and mission-aligned developers.
• Commercial Architecture Design of commercial buildings including office spaces, retail establishments, food halls, and mixed-use developments. Targeted at commercial property developers and private sector clients.
• Institutional & Higher Education Architecture for institutional clients including universities, colleges, religious institutions, and cultural buildings. Targeted at higher education institutions, religious organizations, and cultural institutions.
• Multi-Family Residential Design of apartment buildings, condominiums, and other multi-unit residential developments including affordable, market-rate, and mixed-use residential buildings. Targeted at residential developers and real estate investors.
• Single-Family Residential Custom design of individual homes ranging from historic restorations to modern new constructions. Targeted at private homeowners seeking distinctive, contextually appropriate residences.
• Urban Design & Master Planning Comprehensive planning and design services for neighborhoods, corridors, and district-scale developments including community engagement and strategic planning. Targeted at municipal agencies, government planning departments, and community stakeholders.

Quantifiable outcome

• 140+ design awards including 87 AIA chapter awards
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Quinn Evans Architects: Mid-Atlantic architecture firm with a nationally recognized historic preservation and adaptive reuse practice, including affordable housing and cultural/institutional work. Closest direct peer to CQA given overlapping specialty in preservation-led affordable housing and shared DC presence.
• Hickok Cole (now D|13): Washington DC architecture and interior design firm of comparable size serving commercial, multifamily, institutional, and residential clients. Comparable in scale, DC-metro focus, and mixed-use/multifamily practice overlap.
• Bonstra | Haresign Architects: DC-based architecture firm specializing in urban infill, multifamily residential, and contextual design. Comparable boutique scale and similar concentration on multifamily and community-oriented projects in the DC market.
• Shalom Baranes Associates: Long-established DC architecture firm with a portfolio spanning commercial office, residential, cultural, and institutional projects. Comparable in firm size, DC location, and mixed-segment project types.
• WDG Architecture: DC architecture firm with practices in commercial, residential, hospitality, and master planning. Comparable boutique scale and similar segment mix including urban design work.
• David M. Schwarz Architects: Washington DC firm known for contextual, traditional, and mixed-use architecture across commercial, civic, and residential projects. Comparable size and DC-anchored practice with a focus on place-making and contextual design.
• Studios Architecture: Architecture firm with strong DC presence focused on workplace, institutional, and urban mixed-use projects. Comparable segment overlap (commercial, institutional, multifamily) and DC market positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Perkins&Will: Global architecture and design firm with a major DC office and longstanding higher-education, healthcare, and civic practices. Competes with CQA for institutional and government clients but at materially larger scale and broader service portfolio.
• HOK: Global architecture, engineering, and planning firm with a DC office pursuing government, commercial, and institutional work. Larger incumbent that competes on integrated full-service offerings versus CQA's boutique positioning.

Regional players

• LS3P Associates: Charlotte-headquartered architecture, interiors, and planning firm with a strong Southeast regional presence. Relevant comparator as CQA expands its Charlotte office and pursues Southeast market share.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cunninghamquill
• Facebookfacebook.com/cunninghamquill
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cunningham-quill-architects
• Instagraminstagram.com/cunninghamquillarchitects

Compliance6 records

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 Cunningham | Quill Architects