Archipelago
archipelago architects is a Belgian architecture and masterplanning firm with 140+ staff across Brussels, Leuven, Paris, and Barcelona, delivering contextual, sustainable design for healthcare, education, residential, commercial, and public-sector clients across Western Europe.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1996
- HeadquartersChicago, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Archipelago does
archipelago (legal entity archipelago architects SA/NV, registered in Belgium under enterprise number BE 0667.985.847) is a privately held architecture and masterplanning firm operating from four offices — Brussels (headquarters, Avenue de Tervuren 253), Leuven, Paris, and Barcelona — with a workforce of 140+ professionals. The firm delivers contextual and sustainable architectural services across four primary sectors: living (residential, social housing, densification), caring (hospitals, care homes, psychiatric and rehabilitation facilities), working (offices, commercial and retail), and learning (schools, universities, research facilities). Notable commissions include the HELORA five-hospital network in Wallonia, the UZ Leuven Campus Gasthuisberg redesign, the CHU Liège Notre Dame des Bruyères extension, the National Bank of Belgium BNB1 renovation targeting BREEAM and WELL Platinum certification, the Kop van Kessel-Lo multifunctional urban complex, and the Greenpeace Belgium HQ adaptive-reuse project.
The firm's core technology stack centres on advanced Building Information Modeling (BIM) for project delivery, supported by an internal Research and Innovation (R&I) Unit committed to circular and resilient design aligned with the UN 2030 Agenda and SDGs. Service delivery combines masterplanning, new construction, renovation, transformation, and contextual/evidence-based design across healthcare, education, residential, commercial, and public-sector clients; proof points include BREEAM 'Very Good' certification on EXOS (Kop van Kessel-Lo) and the 'Smart Building' award at the Green Solutions Awards Belgium 2025 for the Greenpeace HQ project.
Commercially, archipelago operates a project-based professional services model with pricing determined per engagement based on scope and complexity, typically structured as multi-year contracts. Work is secured via direct enterprise client engagement (hospitals, universities, government bodies, corporations), competitive public and private tenders, and consortium partnerships with engineering and architecture firms such as VK Architects & Engineers, Tractebel, SeARCH, Besix RED, David Chipperfield Architects, Macobo-Stabo, and Cordeel. Geographic reach covers Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, with flagship infrastructure, healthcare, and heritage projects anchoring a steady pipeline of long-cycle institutional commissions.
Archipelago firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Archipelago
- Legal name
- archipelago architects SA/NV
- Website
- https://archipelago.be
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1996
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- archipelago architects is a Belgian architecture and masterplanning firm with 140+ staff across Brussels, Leuven, Paris, and Barcelona, delivering contextual, sustainable design for healthcare, education, residential, commercial, and public-sector clients across Western Europe.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Archipelago industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Architecture Services
- NAICS
- Architectural Services (54131)
- SIC
- Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)
Keywords
Where Archipelago is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Chicago
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices4 records
Markets served
Archipelago business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Architecture and Design Services: Professional architecture services including masterplanning, new construction, renovation, and transformation projects for healthcare, education, residential, and commercial sectors
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Project-based professional services |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Archipelago product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Archipelago architects is a European architecture firm delivering contextual and sustainable architectural design, masterplanning, new construction, renovation, and transformation services across four sectors: living (residential), caring (healthcare and care facilities), working (commercial/office), and learning (educational institutions). The firm supports its practice with an internal Research and Innovation unit focused on circular and resilient design aligned with the UN 2030 Agenda and SDGs, and operates from offices in Brussels, Leuven, Paris, and Barcelona with 140+ staff.
Product overview
Archipelago is an architecture firm (archipelago architects SA/NV) providing contextual and sustainable architecture services across four sectors: living (residential housing), caring (healthcare/care facilities), working (commercial/office), and learning (educational institutions). The firm offers architectural design, masterplanning, and research and innovation services, but does not operate as a software product company with discrete named products, modules, or digital offerings.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Architecture Design and Masterplanning Services
- Healthcare and Care Facility Architecture Services
- Residential and Living Architecture Services
- Commercial and Working-Sector Architecture Services
- Educational and Learning-Sector Architecture Services
- Research and Innovation (R&I) Services
Quantifiable outcome
- Greenpeace Belgium HQ won the 'Smart Building' Award at Green Solutions Awards Belgium 2025
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Archipelago
Customer profileNamed customers14 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Archipelago technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
Archipelago partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and regular.
- VK Architects & EngineerscoreLong-standing partnership on hospital and healthcare infrastructure projects including the HELORA network development (5 hospitals in Wallonia) and various hospital redesign projects
- TractebelcoreEngineering consultancy partner for major hospital projects including HELORA network and UZ Leuven Campus Gasthuisberg redesign
- SeARCHcoreCollaboration with SeARCH architects from Amsterdam on the Kop van Kessel-Lo project - a 76,000m² multifunctional urban complex
- Besix REDmajorPartnership on urban transformation projects including Gelatinewijk transformation in Hasselt - 41,300m² brownfield to urban district
- David Chipperfield ArchitectsmajorCollaboration on BNB1 project for National Bank of Belgium - targeting BREEAM and WELL Platinum certification
- Macobo-StaboregularEngineering partner on multiple projects including Grey Lake office building and Kop van Kessel-Lo project
- CordeelregularConstruction partner for Brucargo Centraal logistics warehouses (33,500m²) and Woonzone Hasseltsestraat residential development
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Archipelago competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Perkins&Will: Global architecture practice with one of the deepest healthcare portfolios worldwide, directly competing for European hospital and university commissions. Comparable in evidence-based design methodology and healthcare-sector specialization.
- HKS: US-headquartered firm with significant European healthcare architecture practice and strong sustainable-design credentials. Directly comparable for hospital and academic medical centre commissions.
- MVRDV: Rotterdam-based architecture practice of similar scale with a comparable focus on sustainable, contextual design across mixed-use, residential, and public buildings in Europe. Both compete for the same pool of European institutional and developer clients.
- BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group): Danish-headquartered design practice with strong sustainability and contextual-design credentials, active across healthcare, education, residential, and commercial typologies in Europe. Comparable in mission and award visibility (e.g., Mies van der Rohe nominations).
- Mecanoo: Dutch architecture firm with comparable scale and a strong portfolio across healthcare, education, residential, and public-sector projects in the Benelux and broader European market. Both firms emphasize contextual, research-driven design and sustainability credentials (BREEAM/Leed).
Broad incumbents
- BDP (Building Design Partnership): Large European interdisciplinary design practice with strong healthcare, education, and public-sector portfolios. Competes for the same institutional commissions in the UK and continental Europe at larger project scale.
- OMA (Office for Metropolitan Architecture): Established Rotterdam-based global architecture practice with significantly larger scale and broader typology coverage. Competes for the same European institutional and developer-led commissions at the larger end of the project-size spectrum.
- Zaha Hadid Architects: Globally recognised architecture practice competing for high-profile European cultural, commercial, and infrastructure projects. Operates at a different scale but shares a research-led, design-forward positioning.
Regional players
- Stevens Van Samang: Belgian architecture firm of comparable scale, active across residential, commercial, and public-sector projects in the same Belgian market. A direct competitor for local tenders where archipelago is currently dominant.
- AWG architecten: Dutch architecture firm with strong healthcare and education portfolios in the Benelux market. Overlaps with archipelago on hospital and university commissions across the same regional geography.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Archipelago social profiles
Digital presenceArchipelago financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Archipelago leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Archipelago funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds4 records
Investors4 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Archipelago M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Archipelago
What does Archipelago do?
Archipelago architects is a European architecture firm delivering contextual and sustainable architectural design, masterplanning, new construction, renovation, and transformation services across four sectors: living (residential), caring (healthcare and care facilities), working (commercial/office), and learning (educational institutions). The firm supports its practice with an internal Research and Innovation unit focused on circular and resilient design aligned with the UN 2030 Agenda and SDGs, and operates from offices in Brussels, Leuven, Paris, and Barcelona with 140+ staff.
Is Archipelago a public or private company?
Archipelago is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently operating.
When was Archipelago founded?
Archipelago was founded in 1996. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Archipelago based?
Archipelago is headquartered in Chicago, United States, in the North America region.
How does Archipelago make money?
One revenue line is on record: architecture and Design Services.
Who are Archipelago's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Perkins&Will, HKS, MVRDV, BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) and Mecanoo. Broad incumbents are BDP (Building Design Partnership), OMA (Office for Metropolitan Architecture) and Zaha Hadid Architects. Regional players are Stevens Van Samang and AWG architecten.
Does Archipelago have an API?
No public API is recorded for Archipelago.
What industry is Archipelago in?
Archipelago's product category is Architecture Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAKAA, Architectural Design Services. Its NAICS code is 54131 and its SIC code is 8700.