What Structural Design Group does

Structural Design Group (SDG) is a Nashville, Tennessee-based structural engineering consulting firm founded in June 1999 by six structural engineers, several of whom previously worked together at Stanley D. Lindsey and Associates. The firm provides consulting structural engineering design and construction administration services for healthcare, educational, hospitality, multi-family, commercial, institutional, industrial, federal, and civic facilities throughout the United States, with selective international engagement in China, Singapore, and Saudi Arabia. SDG's project portfolio includes large-scale, complex assignments such as the $170 million, 200,000 sq ft Piedmont Medical Center, Vanderbilt's 470,000 sq ft Jim Ayers Tower, and approximately 50 parking garages designed since founding. The firm has completed more than 10,000 projects cumulatively and maintains a 100% employee-owned structure with six principals and four associate principals sharing day-to-day operations.

The firm delivers structural designs using Building Information Modeling (BIM) across both Revit and Bentley 3D platforms, with BIM deployed on nearly all projects to coordinate with architectural and MEP disciplines. Specialized technical capabilities include earthquake-resistant design (particularly for healthcare facilities in high-seismic regions such as California, Alaska, and western states), FEMA 361 storm shelter design for 200 and 250 mph wind zones, post-tensioned and precast concrete systems for parking structures, floor vibration studies for vibration-sensitive equipment (MRI, operating rooms), sustainable design aligned with LEED principles, and independent third-party peer review. Design engineers average 13.5 years of experience, the majority hold master's degrees, and most are licensed PEs or SEs, supporting multi-state project delivery.

SDG generates revenue exclusively through professional services fees for design, construction administration, and peer review engagements, with project-specific quote-based pricing and no public rate card. The go-to-market is enterprise field sales: principal-level client contact on every project, with work secured through long-standing design partnerships with architectural firms (ESa, Blair + Mui Dowd, GMC) and direct relationships with institutional facility owners such as Vanderbilt, HCA Healthcare, AdventHealth, and Middle Tennessee State University. Over 90% of work is attributable to repeat clients, reflecting deep relationship-based distribution rather than transactional or channel-driven demand generation.

Name

Structural Design Group

Legal name

Structural Design Group

Website

https://sdg-structure.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Structural Design Group is a 100% employee-owned, Nashville-based structural engineering consulting firm founded in 1999 that designs healthcare, education, hospitality, commercial, and federal facilities across the United States using BIM (Revit/Bentley) and specialized seismic and high-wind expertise.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Nashville

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, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Structural Engineering Consulting Services: Provides consulting structural engineering design and construction administration services for various building types including healthcare, educational, hospitality, multi-family, commercial, institutional, and industrial facilities. Revenue is generated through professional consulting fees for design services, construction administration, and peer review services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Structural Design Group provides consulting structural engineering design and construction administration services for healthcare, educational, hospitality, multi-family, commercial, institutional, and industrial facilities located throughout the United States. The firm delivers nine core service lines (high-rise, parking, specialized structures, seismic, wind, BIM, sustainable design, floor vibration studies, and peer review) with principal-level involvement on all projects and over 90% of work from repeat clients.

Product overview

Structural Design Group provides consulting structural engineering design and construction administration services through a unified platform of specialized offerings. Their core services include High-Rise Design, Parking Structure Design, Specialized Structures Design, Earthquake-Resistant Design, Wind-Resistant Design, Building Information Modeling (BIM), Sustainable Design, Floor Vibration Studies, and Peer Review. The firm utilizes BIM technology (Revit and Bentley 3D) across almost all projects and serves healthcare, educational, hospitality, multi-family, commercial, institutional, and industrial facilities throughout the United States.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• High-Rise Design Structural engineering design services for high-rise projects including condominiums, apartment buildings, hotels, and office buildings, including those in high-wind areas and moderate- to high-seismic zones.
• Parking Structure Design Structural engineering design services for parking structures, including both precast and post-tensioned parking garages. SDG has designed approximately 50 new parking garages averaging 625 cars each since 1999.
• Specialized Structures Design Structural engineering design services for industrial process structures such as complex reinforced concrete and structural steel chemical and wastewater treatment tanks, and long-span structures including convention centers and performing arts facilities.
• Earthquake-Resistant Design Seismic/earthquake-resistant structural design services throughout the United States, with extensive experience in the stringent requirements for healthcare facilities and projects in Alaska, California, and western states. SDG has 3 licensed SEs in California.
• Wind-Resistant Design Structural engineering design services for structures in Hurricane- and Tornado-prone regions, including FEMA 361 Storm Shelters and Safe Rooms designed for wind speeds of 200 and 250 mph.
• Building Information Modeling (BIM) Services Building Information Modeling (BIM) services utilizing Revit and Bentley 3D software platforms to model structural systems in 3D and combine them with architectural and MEP models, facilitating coordination between design disciplines and improving construction documentation.
• Sustainable Design (LEED) Structural engineering services incorporating sustainable design practices and LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) design principles for high-performance, sustainable buildings, delivered by LEED-accredited professionals.
• Floor Vibration Studies Specialized floor vibration study services for both new and existing construction, including MRI facilities, operating rooms, imaging equipment, and high-powered microscopes, delivered in collaboration with Dr. Brad Davis of Davis Structural Engineering.
• Peer Review Independent, third-party structural peer review services for a wide variety of projects including hotels, condominiums, casinos, medical facilities, pedestrian bridges, office buildings, and parking structures.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 10,000 projects completed since 1999
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting and historical.

• ESa (Earl Swensson Associates)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary design partner on multiple hotel and parking structure projects including Nashville Edition Hotel and Residences (28-story luxury tower), Tempo by Hilton Nashville, Motto by Hilton, and 1111 Church Street mixed-use project. Long-standing collaborative relationship on commercial and hospitality developments in Nashville.
• Blair + Mui Dowd ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborating with SDG to provide structural design services for the Vanderbilt University Hospital Jim Ayers Tower, the largest facility expansion at Vanderbilt to date. 15-level, 470,000-square-foot tower project.
• Davis Structural Engineering (Dr. Brad Davis)supportingTechnology or IntegrationCollaboration on floor vibration studies for both new and existing construction. Dr. Davis provides expertise for MRI facilities, operating rooms, imaging equipment, and high-powered microscopes. Dr. Davis is associate professor at University of Kentucky and co-author of AISC Design Guide 11.
• GMC (design firm)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesign partner on multiple projects including MTSU Stephen & Denise Smith Student-Athlete Performance Center, Smyrna High School Addition, and Ensley Office Building and Parking Garage.
• Stanley D. Lindsey and AssociateshistoricalStrategic or Co-development PartnerSeveral founding partners and key employees previously worked at Stanley D. Lindsey and Associates before forming Structural Design Group in 1999. Historical professional connection.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Stanley D. Lindsey and Associates: Nashville-based structural engineering consulting firm and historical predecessor to SDG (multiple founding partners came from SDL&A in 1999). Same service mix, geography, and healthcare/education client profile, making it the most directly comparable peer.
• DeSimone Consulting Engineers: Structural engineering consulting firm with offices in multiple US cities serving healthcare, hospitality, and high-rise residential clients. Closely aligned service mix and project types with SDG, including high-seismic and high-wind design work.
• Severud Associates: Mid-size structural engineering consulting firm specializing in healthcare, education, and institutional facilities. Similar size, project profile, and consulting-only delivery model as SDG.
• Martin/Martin Consulting Engineers: Structural and civil engineering firm serving healthcare, education, hospitality, and mixed-use developments. Comparable service portfolio and project types to SDG with a similarly regional operating model.

Broad incumbents

• KPFF Consulting Engineers: Large US structural and civil engineering consulting firm with deep healthcare, education, and civic project portfolios. Operates the same consulting structural engineering model as SDG but at much greater scale and broader geographic reach.
• Walter P Moore: National structural engineering and diagnostics firm with extensive healthcare, sports, and high-rise work. Directly comparable services (seismic design, parking structures, healthcare facilities) and significantly larger scale than SDG.
• Magnusson Klemencic Associates (MKA): Seattle-based structural and civil engineering consultancy known for high-rise, healthcare, and seismic-resistant design. Highly comparable technical profile to SDG's seismic and high-rise capabilities, with a similar principal-led delivery model.
• Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates (WJE): National engineering consultancy with structural engineering, diagnostics, and preservation practices. Overlaps with SDG on healthcare structural design, peer review, and historic preservation (e.g., Neuhoff Boiler project), but operates at meaningfully larger scale.
• ARUP: Global engineering consultancy with significant structural engineering depth in healthcare, high-rise, and seismic design. SDG's expertise in healthcare seismic and high-wind design maps to ARUP's broader practices, though ARUP is multi-disciplinary and far larger.

Emerging players

• Hoefer Welker (formerly Hoefer Wysocki): Architecture and engineering firm with strong healthcare and higher education practice across the US. While primarily architectural, it competes for integrated design commissions in SDG's core healthcare and education verticals, making it a partial competitor for design partner relationships.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SDG_Nashville
• Facebookfacebook.com/structuraldesigngroup
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/structural-design-group

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 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 Structural Design Group