DumontJanks

What DumontJanks does

DumontJanks is a Boston-based boutique planning and design consultancy co-founded in 2015 by Ricardo Dumont and Gregory Janks. The firm provides campus master planning, landscape architecture, strategic planning, space utilization studies, and financial resource allocation modeling primarily to large institutional clients. Its core differentiator is the integration of quantitative analytics (space utilization metrics, scenario planning models, social network analysis, web-based data visualization) with landscape architecture and urban design — a combination rare in the planning industry. The firm's proprietary space utilization methodology, originally developed for the University System of Georgia (covering 31 institutions and 90 million square feet), was independently adopted by the University of Texas system, providing cross-institutional validation.

The firm operates as a fee-for-service professional consultancy with project-based engagements typically procured through RFP processes and multi-year timelines. Its named team of five professionals has advanced credentials spanning mathematics (PhD, Stony Brook), quantitative economics (Huazhong University), and landscape architecture (RISD, UT Austin, Beijing University of Technology). DumontJanks serves higher education as its primary vertical, with secondary engagements in healthcare systems (Mayo Clinic Arizona, SUNY Upstate, BJC Healthcare), non-profits (Washington National Cathedral), and municipalities (Newburyport, Cleveland Midtown). The firm regularly partners with leading architecture practices including Elkus Manfredi, SOM, Behnisch Architecten, and Ennead to deliver large multi-firm institutional master plans.

The firm's business model rests on a high-touch, project-based consulting approach with no software product, no external funding, and no active recruitment. Business development relies on thought leadership via SCUP, ASLA, NACUBO, and ACUHO-I participation; published writing in Design Intelligence and the Chronicle of Higher Education; peer reputation; and repeat institutional engagements. Notable outcomes include Ohio State's first "no net new space" policy in the country, Vermont State University's 32% footprint reduction proposal, and multiple SCUP and ASLA awards between 2011 and 2022. The firm operates from a single Boston headquarters near Chinatown, with geographic reach across US regions (Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, West, New England) and a single international engagement (Middle East campus).

Name

DumontJanks

Legal name

DumontJanks

Website

https://dumontjanks.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

DumontJanks is a Boston-based boutique planning and landscape architecture consultancy integrating quantitative analytics with design for institutional campus master plans, serving primarily large universities, healthcare systems, and non-profits across the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architecture and Planning Services

NAICS

Landscape Architectural Services (54132), Specialized Design Services (5414), Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Engagement & Participatory Planning (BPAHAKAO)

Keywords

• Campus master planning
• Landscape architecture services
• Space utilization analysis
• Strategic facility planning
• Urban mixed-use planning

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Professional Planning and Design Services: Fee-for-service professional consulting engagements for campus planning, master planning, landscape architecture, strategic planning, space utilization studies, and financial analysis. Engagements are project-based with multi-year timelines typical for comprehensive campus master plans. Revenue is generated through professional service contracts with institutional clients, typically procured through RFP processes.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

DumontJanks is a boutique planning and design consultancy that provides campus master planning, landscape architecture, strategic and financial planning, space utilization studies, and urban mixed-use planning services to universities, healthcare systems, non-profits, and municipalities. The firm's offering integrates data-driven analytics (space utilization metrics, financial resource allocation models, stakeholder network analysis) with landscape architecture and urban design to support multi-year, multi-stakeholder institutional planning engagements typically procured through RFP processes.

Product overview

DumontJanks is a professional services firm specializing in architecture, landscape architecture, and strategic planning for campuses and cities. The company offers services including campus master planning, space utilization analysis, landscape architecture, strategic and financial planning, and urban development consulting. Rather than a software product company, DumontJanks operates as a consulting practice delivering planning and design services across higher education, healthcare, and urban development sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Campus Master Planning Multi-year comprehensive planning engagements for universities and academic institutions that integrate academic, financial, and physical considerations over a ten-year planning horizon; provided to clients such as Harvard Kennedy School, Purdue University (75,000+ students), University of Florida (54,000 students on 2,000 acres), and University of Nebraska (26 million gross square feet across four campuses).
• Landscape Architecture Design of landscapes, open spaces, and outdoor environments for campuses, non-profits, and cities, including award-winning work on the University of Virginia Ivy Corridor (SCUP and BSLA honors) and projects for College of the Holy Cross and Purdue.
• Space Utilization Analysis Studies that apply proprietary analytics methodology, novel utilization metrics, and custom taxonomy overlays to assess classroom, office, social, and research space usage across institutional portfolios; notably delivered for the University System of Georgia (31 institutions, 70 campuses, 90 million square feet) and adopted independently by the University of Texas system.
• Strategic and Financial Planning Data-driven strategic planning and financial resource allocation modeling that supports institutional decision-making, campaign goals, and capital prioritization over multi-year horizons; engagements include Ohio State Framework Plan (resulting in the first 'no net new space' policy in the country) and Washington National Cathedral strategic plan.
• Urban Mixed-Use Planning Framework planning for mixed-use districts, waterfront regeneration, and city-scale development projects, including the Newburyport urban waterfront district study (working waterfront, marina, mixed-use residential, and commercial uses with climate resilience) and Boston 2024 civic planning engagement.
• Healthcare Campus Planning Master planning and development guidelines for academic medical centers and healthcare campuses that integrate clinical, research, educational, and hospitality functions in constrained or urban settings; delivered for Mayo Clinic Arizona (210-acre Phoenix campus) and SUNY Upstate Medical University.
• Student Life and Residential Planning Studies and plans addressing student residential life, housing, dining, and recreation on campuses, including projects for Ohio State, Georgetown University, and College of the Holy Cross.

Quantifiable outcome

• University System of Georgia methodology resulted in significantly shifted subsequent capital requests
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Elkus Manfredi ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing collaboration with Elkus Manfredi Architects on major institutional planning engagements including the University of Florida Strategic Development Plan and the Princeton University mixed-use and research district. The partnership combines DumontJanks' planning and landscape architecture expertise with Elkus Manfredi's architectural capabilities.
• SOM (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCurrently collaborating with SOM on the University of Delaware campus master plan. DumontJanks leads academic and library space planning while SOM provides architectural leadership.
• Behnisch ArchitectencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with Behnisch Architecten on the University of Rochester Framework Plan (Phase I). The two-day design workshop led to an 18-month engagement envisioning a physical framework based on the 'One-University' idea.
• Forest City WashingtonminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Forest City Washington on the Georgetown University campus framework plan to explore multiple scenarios for student life, financial, and design perspectives, helping move the university quickly into construction on a new residence hall.
• Ennead and Lord Aeck SargentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDumontJanks led a collaboration with Ennead and Lord Aeck Sargent on Georgia Tech's Tech Square Phase III — a comprehensive ten-year plan for the expansion of the innovation district. DumontJanks provided planning leadership within the team.
• CannonDesignminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPartnered with CannonDesign on the College of the Holy Cross Recreation Center landscape design, where the firm was invited to place a new recreation building on the campus hills.
• Lee PartnersminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerSupported Lee Partners in assisting the Washington National Cathedral with its strategic plan, providing physical planning advice, exploring the Cathedral Close's potential, and developing financial models for the reopened Cathedral College.
• Mt. Auburn Associates and FutureworksminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerSubconsultants on the Massachusetts Strategic Framework for Higher Education, providing ten-year workforce supply and demand projections as part of the statewide data analytics effort.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• CannonDesign: Large national architecture and planning firm with substantial higher education and healthcare practices — an actual DumontJanks partner (e.g., Holy Cross Recreation Center). Offers broader integrated services (architecture, engineering, planning) at much greater scale than DumontJanks.
• SmithGroup: Major national design firm (now including Lord Aeck Sargent, a DumontJanks partner) with one of the largest U.S. higher education campus planning practices. Competes on similar RFPs for flagship institutional master plans and frameworks.
• Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM): Global architecture and engineering firm and current DumontJanks partner on the University of Delaware master plan. Frequently competes for large institutional planning and architectural commissions where DumontJanks operates as the planning subconsultant.
• Perkins&Will: Large global architecture firm with a deep higher education practice, regularly competing for university master plans and academic framework work. Offers full architectural and planning services at significantly greater scale.

Direct peers

• OLIN: Leading landscape architecture and urban design studio with deep higher education and urban planning credentials (e.g., Washington Monument grounds, Barnes Foundation). Competes directly for the landscape architecture and urban design portions of campus master plans.
• Sasaki Associates: Most directly comparable peer — DumontJanks' co-founders (Dumont and Janks) both previously worked at Sasaki, and Sasaki is the gold-standard campus planning and landscape architecture firm in U.S. higher education. Same client base, same planning methodology tradition, same institutional R&D function.
• Shepley Bulfinch: Architecture and planning firm with a strong higher education practice, providing master planning, campus frameworks, and academic space planning for universities and academic medical centers — closely aligned with DumontJanks' core offering.
• Ayers Saint Gross: Specialized architecture and planning firm deeply focused on higher education campuses with integrated planning, architecture, and landscape practices. Serves a comparable set of public and private universities with master planning and framework plan work.
• Reed Hilderbrand: Design-focused landscape architecture and master planning firm with a strong higher education portfolio. Comparable in scale and ethos to DumontJanks — boutique firm doing data-informed campus landscape and planning work for elite institutions.
• Elkus Manfredi Architects: Active strategic partner with DumontJanks on flagship projects (University of Florida Strategic Development Plan, Princeton). Provides architecture while DumontJanks leads planning — competes together and against similar pairing structures in the higher ed market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 DumontJanks