YBA Architects

What YBA Architects does

YBA Architects (also known as Yale + Brown) is a privately held architectural and urban design firm headquartered in Portland, Oregon, founded in 2014 by Alex Yale and Matt Brown. The firm delivers integrated professional services across architectural design, urban design, interior design, and adaptive reuse, with core specialization in mixed-use, multifamily, transit-oriented development, urban master planning, and community-centered redevelopment. Its practice is anchored in Pacific Northwest municipal and developer work (e.g., City of Gresham Downtown Rockwood, Port of Camas-Washougal Hyas Point, City of Troutdale Confluence Troutdale, Deacon Development Merx) with additional institutional engagements (Corban University, Oregon DHS) and selective international projects in the UK, South Africa, and the Middle East.

The firm operates with an 11–50 employee footprint (approximately 8 named core team members) using industry-standard design and documentation tools — Revit, AutoCAD, SketchUp, Adobe Suite, and 3D visualization — under a Building Information Modeling (BIM) methodology with LEED-informed sustainable design practices. YBA differentiates through community-centered urban design, deep expertise in entitlement and code navigation (notably pioneering '5-over-2' construction in Portland), and adaptive reuse of existing structures ranging from shipping-container classrooms to historic warehouses. Revenue is generated through project-based professional service fees, typically structured as a percentage of construction cost or fixed phase-based fees. The firm does not disclose pricing and is privately held with no external institutional investment or parent company.

The go-to-market approach is enterprise field sales and relationship-based business development: direct engagement with private developers, government agencies, redevelopment commissions, and institutions, primarily through referrals, an RFP-based competitive process on municipal projects, and a portfolio website (yb-a.com) that functions as the lead-generation hub. Channel reach is essentially direct, with no resellers or marketplace distribution, and growth is constrained by the partner-led, regional architecture firm model.

Name

YBA Architects

Legal name

YBA Architects

Website

https://yb-a.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

YBA Architects is a Portland-based architectural and urban design firm specializing in mixed-use, multifamily, transit-oriented, and master planning projects for municipal agencies, private developers, and institutions primarily across the Pacific Northwest, with selective international engagements.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Design Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (54131), Interior Design Services (54141)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Building Information Modeling (BIM) & Digital Design Services (BPAHAKAK)

Keywords

• Architectural design services
• Urban design planning
• Mixed-use development
• Master planning services
• Adaptive reuse architecture

Headquarters

HQ city

Portland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Architectural Design Services: YBA Architects generates revenue through professional architectural and design service fees. Services include architectural design, urban design, master planning, and interior design for mixed-use, multifamily, commercial, and institutional projects. Revenue is project-based, typically structured as percentage of construction cost or fixed fees for specific service phases.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

YBA Architects is an architectural and urban design firm providing comprehensive architectural design, urban design and master planning, interior design, and adaptive reuse services for mixed-use, multifamily residential, commercial, and institutional projects. The firm delivers full-service project execution from visioning and community engagement through design, entitlements, and construction administration, with a focus on innovative mixed-use, transit-oriented, and community-centered developments.

Product overview

YBA Architects is an architectural and urban design firm offering a unified suite of professional design services including Architectural Design, Urban Design, Interior Design, and Adaptive Reuse. These services are delivered as integrated project types through their portfolio of mixed-use, multifamily, commercial, institutional, and interior design projects. The firm specializes in innovative mixed-use and transit-oriented developments, urban master planning, and transformative community-focused architecture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Architectural Design Services Comprehensive architectural design services for mixed-use, multifamily residential, commercial, and institutional projects, with a focus on innovative design that honors client needs and community context. Trusted partner in creating impactful, innovative projects that honor the needs of clients, their tenants, and the community.
• Urban Design Services Urban design and master planning services rooted in principles of good urbanism, enabling delivery of visionary urban developments that empower and transform communities. Focus on human scale, density, transit-centric development, green spaces, and sustainability.
• Interior Design Services Interior design services delivering elegance, integrity, and attention to detail to ensure each project is complete inside and out, with careful attention to every detail to make each project a work of art.
• Adaptive Reuse Services Creative adaptive reuse of existing structures including shipping containers, warehouses, and buildings into functional modern spaces, including pioneering projects such as the Q21 tilt-up re-invention and the Cuomo Theater adaptive reuse.

Quantifiable outcome

• Q21 project pioneered '5-over-2' construction in Portland, paving the way for now-common seven story buildings
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Mithun: Seattle- and San Francisco-based integrated design firm with strong mixed-use, urban design, and master planning practices. Similar mixed-use TOD focus and institutional clientele, competing for the same Pacific Northwest developer pool.
• LRS Architects: Portland-headquartered architecture firm delivering multifamily, mixed-use, civic, and adaptive reuse projects in the PNW. Comparable mid-sized competitor with overlapping public-sector clients.
• Lever Architecture: Portland mass-timber and sustainability-focused architecture firm working on multifamily, mixed-use, and commercial projects in the PNW. Comparable in scale and innovation orientation, with shared West Coast developer clients.
• Ankrom Moisan Associated Architects: Portland-headquartered architecture firm serving mixed-use, multifamily, and affordable housing developers in the Pacific Northwest. Direct competitor for YBA's core mixed-use and TOD developer client base.
• SERA Architects: Portland-based architecture and urban design firm with overlapping practice in mixed-use, multifamily, civic, and master planning across the Pacific Northwest. Closest in scale, geography, and project typology to YBA.

Broad incumbents

• SHoP Architects: New York-based design firm recognized for large-scale mixed-use, public-sector, and innovative typology projects. Comparable urban-mixed-use focus but at substantially greater scale and geographic breadth than YBA.
• Olson Kundig: Seattle-based architecture firm with a national/international reputation for high-design residential, cultural, and commercial work. Overlaps with YBA on adaptive reuse and design-forward urban projects across the West Coast.
• Perkins&Will: Global architecture practice with a strong presence in healthcare, education, and civic work across major US markets. Comparable on institutional and government clients but with far broader scale and multidisciplinary service offering than YBA.
• ZGF Architects: Major Pacific Northwest architecture practice with a much broader national footprint, working across mixed-use, healthcare, civic, and commercial. Competes with YBA on larger-scale Portland and West Coast commissions but operates at a fundamentally different scale.

Emerging players

• KieranTimberlake: Philadelphia-based research-driven firm with comparable expertise in material innovation, BIM-driven design, and adaptive reuse. Operates at a larger scale but competes for thought-leadership mandates in innovative building typologies similar to YBA's Q21.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 YBA Architects