Sordo Madaleno

What Sordo Madaleno does

Sordo Madaleno is a third-generation Mexican architecture studio founded in 1937, headquartered in Mexico City with a second studio opened in London in 2023. The firm delivers architectural design across hospitality, residential, mixed-use, civic, cultural, sports, and educational typologies, serving enterprise developers, global hotel brands, and public-sector clients.

Its core offering is full-scope architectural design supported by three internal capabilities that distinguish it from peer firms: an embedded research department, an Innovation & Applied Technology team working on computational design, sustainability analysis, digital fabrication, and immersive environments, and the Obra public laboratory. The firm operates within SOMA Group, which integrates architecture with adjacent development activities, and collaborates with engineering and design partners such as Buro Happold and Epitesz Studio on large, technically complex commissions including the Hungarian Museum of Natural History.

Revenue is generated through project-based fees from direct commissions, invited competitions, and repeat clients, with no disclosed financials. The firm has supervised 9 million+ square meters of construction across more than 505 projects over four decades and holds over 200 design awards, including AD100 Hall of Fame recognition in 2026, supporting premium pricing and access to invited-competition pipelines. Geographic reach now spans Mexico, the United Kingdom, Hungary, Spain, Saudi Arabia, Paraguay, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic.

Name

Sordo Madaleno

Legal name

SORDO MADALENO Y ASOCIADOS, S.C.

Website

https://sordomadaleno.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1937

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Sordo Madaleno is a third-generation Mexican architecture studio founded in 1937, operating from Mexico City and London. The firm delivers architectural design across hospitality, residential, mixed-use, civic, and cultural typologies for global hotel brands, developers, and public-sector clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (54131), Architectural Services (541310), Interior Design Services (54141), Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Interior Design Services (BPAHAKAB)

Keywords

• Architectural design services
• Hospitality architecture
• Residential architecture
• Mixed-use development
• Cultural architecture

Headquarters

HQ city

Mexico City

HQ country

Mexico

HQ region

Latin America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Architectural Design Services: Sordo Madaleno generates revenue through commissions for architectural design services across hospitality, residential, mixed-use, civic, cultural, sports, and educational typologies. Revenue is project-based, derived from direct commissions, invited competitions, and repeat client engagements. As Chairman of SOMA Group, Javier Sordo Madaleno Bringas holds a dual architect-developer position, enabling the studio to conceive, build, and develop at scale on its own terms.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Sordo Madaleno is a third-generation architecture studio providing full-service architectural design across hospitality, residential, mixed-use, civic, cultural, sports, educational, commercial, and religious typologies. The studio delivers projects through direct commissions, invited competitions, and international competitions across Mexico, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America. Services include architecture, interior design, masterplanning, and an embedded research practice using GIS mapping, material studies, and cultural analysis.

Product overview

Sordo Madaleno is a third-generation Mexican architecture studio founded in 1937, operating between Mexico City and London with studios in both locations. The firm practices architecture as generosity—shaping spaces where terrain, tradition, and memory thrive together. Their portfolio spans hospitality, residential, commercial, sports, public, healthcare, offices, industrial, retail, masterplanning, and religious typologies across Mexico, Europe, Middle East, Latin America, and Asia Pacific. Key offerings include architectural design services, the Obra public laboratory and exhibition space, Innovation and Applied Technology (computational design, digital fabrication, immersive environments), a Research Department, and notable projects such as Arte Abierto Baja (public art gallery), Ánima Village (mixed-use commercial destination), New Collection Centre for Hungarian Museum of Natural History, Academia Atlas F.C. (sports complex), Canadian School (educational campus), and Casa SM (family residence). The studio has received over 200 design awards including MCHAP, WAF, Dezeen, and Domus.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Obra: Sordo Madaleno's transdisciplinary laboratory, open library, and public living room — a public space for curiosity, testing, and dialogue. Located in both London and Mexico City, it hosts exhibitions, publications, and events.
• Arte Abierto

Products and services

• Architectural Design Services Full-service architectural design across hospitality, residential, mixed-use, commercial, sports, public, healthcare, offices, industrial, retail, masterplanning, and religious typologies, delivered through direct commissions, invited competitions, and international architectural competitions for enterprise clients including hotel brands, developers, governments, and cultural institutions across Mexico, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over nine million square metres of construction supervised and approximately 2.5 million square metres of development overseen by Javier Sordo Madaleno Bringas over four decades
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered key collaborator and core.

• Epitesz Studiokey collaboratorTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2026Local Hungarian architectural collaborator and partner on the New Collection Centre for the Hungarian Museum of Natural History in Debrecen, Hungary — the studio's first European cultural project, won through invited competition.
• Buro Happoldkey collaboratorTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2026Engineering consultancy collaborating with Sordo Madaleno and Epitesz Studio on the New Collection Centre for the Hungarian Museum of Natural History in Debrecen, providing structural and environmental engineering expertise for the project.
• MiRA (Armani Residences Masaryk developer)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025MiRA is the lead developer of Armani Residences Masaryk in Polanco, Mexico City — Giorgio Armani's first branded residential project in Latin America. Sordo Madaleno serves as architect alongside Armani/Casa. The project represents a $100 million+ investment with 57 residences priced up to US$7 million and has achieved 35% reservation within months of launch.
• Armani/CasacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Giorgio Armani's branded interiors and residential brand, Armani/Casa, is partnered with MiRA and Sordo Madaleno on Armani Residences Masaryk — marking Armani's first branded residential entry into Latin America.
• Arte Abierto FoundationcoreOthersJavier Sordo Madaleno de Haro is founder of Arte Abierto, a foundation dedicated to bringing contemporary art and cultural programming into public life. Arte Abierto is both a foundation and the name of the first public contemporary art gallery in Los Cabos, situated at Ánima Village in Cabo del Sol.
• SOMA GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJavier Sordo Madaleno Bringas serves as Chairman of SOMA Group, a real estate development group that works alongside Sordo Madaleno the architecture studio. The dual architect-developer structure gives the studio structural advantage in conceiving, building, and developing projects at scale on its own terms.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• OMA: Global architecture firm with comparable international competition-led practice, mixed-use and cultural typologies, and similar senior-talent crossover with Sordo Madaleno's London leadership.
• David Chipperfield Architects: Boutique international architecture firm with a similar scale, material-driven design philosophy, and major cultural and civic commissions in Europe and Asia — including museum work directly comparable to Sordo Madaleno's Hungarian Museum project.
• Herzog & de Meuron: International architecture studio with comparable boutique scale, material specificity, and cultural/civic project portfolio. A Senior Associate Principal at Sordo Madaleno's London studio previously held senior roles there.
• Foster + Partners: Global architecture firm with a similar boutique-but-large international footprint, deep hospitality and luxury-residential practice, and comparable competition-driven GTM. Highly comparable in typology mix and client profile.
• Snøhetta: Multi-disciplinary international architecture and design studio with comparable cross-cultural project portfolio, civic and cultural typology strength, and similar boutique-international positioning.

Regional players

• Esrawe + Cadena: Leading Mexican design studio with comparable typology breadth (architecture, interiors, industrial design, furniture) and similar Mexico City base — the closest domestic peer and natural collaborator/competitor in the Mexican market.

Broad incumbents

• Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF): Large global architecture firm with deep mixed-use, hospitality, and large-scale commercial practice — competes for the same mega-commissions Sordo Madaleno targets internationally but at materially larger scale.
• Gensler: Largest global architecture and design firm with extensive hospitality, commercial, and mixed-use practice — competes for enterprise-scale commissions but at far larger scale and broader scope.

Emerging players

• Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG): Contemporary global architecture firm with a comparable international competition-winning practice and similar hospitality, residential, and cultural typologies — though at larger scale and younger in heritage.
• Studio Gang: Mid-sized international architecture studio with comparable typology mix (cultural, civic, residential, mixed-use) and similar brand-driven competition positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sordo-madaleno
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• Facebookfacebook.com/SordoMadalenoArquitectos

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sordo Madaleno