Walker Macy

What Walker Macy does

Walker Macy is a privately held, woman-owned landscape architecture, urban design, and planning firm founded in 1976, headquartered in Portland, Oregon with a second office in Seattle, Washington. The firm delivers project-based professional services to government agencies (cities, counties, state parks, federal), higher education and K-12 institutions, cultural and nonprofit organizations, and select private developers and corporations across the Western United States, with project footprints documented as far as Indiana, Michigan, and Utah. Signature engagements include the $45M Elliott Bay Connections waterfront program in Seattle, the Portland Japanese Garden Cultural Crossing (which earned the National ASLA General Design Award of Excellence in 2020), the Eugene Downtown Riverfront Park, and University of Washington campus work across multiple campuses.

The firm's core offerings span landscape architecture, urban design, and strategic planning, with specialized practice areas in campus planning, waterfront reclamation, resilient and climate-responsive design, and Salmon Safe accredited ecological design. Project delivery uses industry-standard design and documentation tooling — AutoCAD, Revit, Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, SketchUp, Rhino, and LandFX — with no proprietary technology stack. The practice is organized around collaborative studio teams across the Portland and Seattle offices and routinely partners with tier-one architecture firms such as Kengo Kuma & Associates, LMN Architects, EHDD, Andrea Cochran Landscape Architecture, and Skanska on landmark civic and cultural commissions.

Walker Macy generates revenue exclusively through fee-for-service professional consulting engagements priced per project based on scope, complexity, and contract terms. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. The firm pursues work through competitive proposals, RFQ/RFP responses, design competitions, and reputation-based referrals, with WBE certification in Oregon and Seattle providing procurement preference on public-sector and institutional RFPs. Recent operational milestones include Salmon Safe Accredited Design Firm status (2024), relocation of the Portland team to the Telegram Building (2024), and a formal leadership transition completed with Chelsea McCann as managing principal and majority owner alongside principals Lara Rose and Ken Pirie.

Name

Walker Macy

Legal name

Walker Macy

Website

https://walkermacy.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1976

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Walker Macy is a privately held, woman-owned landscape architecture, urban design, and planning firm founded in 1976, serving government, educational, cultural, and private clients across the Western United States from offices in Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Landscape Architecture Services

NAICS

Landscape Architectural Services (54132)

akta.pro primary industry

Landscape Architecture & Site Design (BPAHAKAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Urban Planning & Master Planning (BPAHAKAD)

Keywords

• Landscape architecture services
• Urban design
• Campus master planning
• Waterfront design
• Resilient design

Headquarters

HQ city

Oregon

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

Revenue model

1. Professional Services - Landscape Architecture: Fee-for-service professional consulting engagements for landscape architecture, urban design, and planning projects. Revenue is generated through project-based contracts with public agencies, educational institutions, cultural organizations, and private developers. Projects range from master planning through construction administration.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Walker Macy provides professional landscape architecture, urban design, and planning services through project-based consulting engagements. The firm delivers inclusive public spaces, parks, waterfronts, campuses, civic and cultural sites, and mixed-use developments for public agencies, educational institutions, cultural organizations, and private developers primarily in the western United States. Engagements span master planning through construction administration, with specialized expertise in campus planning, waterfront reclamation, and resilient environmental design.

Product overview

Walker Macy is a landscape architecture, urban design, and planning firm that operates as a single integrated service practice rather than a platform with modular products. The firm's core offerings span landscape architecture, urban design, and planning services, with specialized expertise in campus planning, waterfront design, resilient design, and Salmon Safe accredited ecological design. Their portfolio includes diverse project types such as parks, civic and cultural spaces, higher education campuses, K-12 schools, mixed-use developments, urban spaces, and wineries/resorts. The company is structured around collaborative studio teams working across Portland and Seattle offices, delivering projects throughout the Western United States.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Landscape Architecture Services Comprehensive landscape architecture services creating inclusive places that serve as centers for culture and social life, including parks, waterfronts, civic spaces, campuses, and urban environments.
• Urban Design Urban design services focused on creating vibrant, sustainable urban spaces that connect communities, enhance pedestrian experience, and support economic vitality.
• Planning Strategic planning services including campus planning, waterfront master planning, and comprehensive planning for communities and institutions.
• Campus Planning Specialized campus planning services for colleges, universities, and institutions, setting the stage for successful built environments where buildings and landscape work together to support academics and student life.
• Waterfront Design Waterfront reclamation and design projects including shoreline restoration, public waterfront parks, and waterfront corridor planning.
• Resilient Design Environmental design and resiliency-focused projects achieving high benchmarks for sustainable and climate-responsive outcomes.
• Salmon Safe Accredited Design Ecological design services accredited by Salmon Safe, focusing on salmon habitat protection and watershed health in Pacific Northwest projects.

Quantifiable outcome

• Pioneer Courthouse Square attracts 9 million visitors per year
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Elliott Bay Connections, LLCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWalker Macy leads a large interdisciplinary design team on the $45M Elliott Bay Connections project, a public-private partnership connecting 3/4-mile of Seattle waterfront with 16 acres of revitalized parks. The project involves collaboration with multiple city agencies, state and federal permitting agencies, and local stakeholders.
• Kengo Kuma & AssociatesflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Portland Japanese Garden Cultural Crossing project, which received the 2020 National ASLA General Design Award of Excellence. Kengo Kuma designed the buildings while Walker Macy provided landscape architecture.
• SkanskacoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerProgressive-design build partner for UW Montlake Medical Center redesign project, working with Walker Macy on site redesign.
• Patano Studio ArchitectureminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerArchitecture collaborator on Eagle Harbor Waterfront Park project in Bainbridge Island, WA.
• Dark Light DesignminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCollaborated on Fritz Hedges Waterway Park project with lighting design services.
• LMN ArchitectscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLong-term collaboration partner on multiple Seattle projects including Seattle Asian Art Museum Expansion, Field Arts and Events Hall, and Woodland Park Zoo projects.
• Toole Design GroupminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCollaborated on UO Thirteenth Avenue project for transportation and bike infrastructure design.
• Gehl ArchitectsminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCollaborated on UO Thirteenth Avenue project for urban vitality and pedestrian experience analysis.
• EHDD ArchitecturecoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCollaboration on UC Santa Cruz Coastal Biology Building, first built project from the campus master plan, winner of SCUP/AIA-CAE Excellence in Architecture award.
• Andrea Cochran Landscape ArchitecturecoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerTeam collaboration on Portland Art Museum Rothko Pavilion project where Walker Macy serves as local landscape architect supporting Andrea Cochran's design.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• OLIN: National landscape architecture, urban design, and planning studio of comparable size and service mix. Operates in the same RFP-driven civic and campus market segments as Walker Macy and serves similar public, institutional, and private developer clients.
• SWA Group: West Coast-headquartered landscape architecture, urban design, and planning firm with shared Pacific-coast orientation. Delivers parks, waterfronts, and campus work for similar public and private clients and competes on the same civic RFPs.
• LandArc Landscape Architecture: Portland-based landscape architecture firm competing for the same Pacific Northwest civic, campus, and waterfront assignments. Most direct local geographic peer given shared Portland HQ and overlapping service scope.
• PWP Landscape Architecture: Berkeley-based landscape architecture studio focused on civic, cultural, and campus work for institutions and public agencies. Comparable boutique scale, design-led positioning, and target client segments (higher education, municipalities, cultural nonprofits).
• Sasaki: Integrated landscape architecture, urban design, and planning practice. Operates across campus, civic, and waterfront typologies and competes on master-planning commissions for the same university and government clients as Walker Macy.
• Studio-MLA: California-based landscape architecture firm with strong civic, open space, and education practice areas. Comparable boutique size, West Coast footprint, and overlap on public-agency and university campus RFPs.

Broad incumbents

• James Corner Field Operations: Larger, globally recognized landscape architecture and urban design practice known for iconic waterfront and public realm projects. Competes for the same marquee civic commissions but at a broader portfolio and international scale than Walker Macy.
• Stantec (Urban Places / Landscape Architecture): Global AEC consolidator with a dedicated landscape architecture and urban places practice serving public agencies, campuses, and developers. Competes on integrated, multi-discipline civic RFPs where Walker Macy also pursues but offers deeper geographic and engineering scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/walkermacyla
• Xx.com/walkermacyla
• Facebookfacebook.com/walker-macy-318702218256081
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/walker-macy

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Walker Macy