What designLAB architects does

designLAB architects is a Boston-based architecture studio founded in 2005 by Robert Miklos, FAIA, that provides architectural design, master planning, and adaptive reuse services to arts, cultural, educational, and public-sector institutional clients. The firm operates with approximately ten team members under a horizontal, collaborative studio structure, currently led by partners Kelly Ard, Sam Batchelor, and Ben Youtz, with Robert Miklos serving as partner emeritus. The studio's work is anchored in a proprietary "Critical Stewardship" methodology that integrates historic preservation, environmental responsibility, and community-centered decision-making into project delivery.

The firm's core capabilities span historic preservation, adaptive reuse of Brutalist and other challenging structures, sustainable design with Living Building Challenge and LEED certification expertise, and coastal resiliency design for sea level rise adaptation. Notable technical achievements include the Hitchcock Center for the Environment (one of only 23 Living Building Challenge-certified buildings globally as of 2019), the LEED Gold-certified 485 Broadway renovation for Harvard's History of Art + Architecture department, the $31 million Curley Community Center renovation for the City of Boston completed in 2023, and the 175,000 SF Claire T. Carney Library renovation for UMass Dartmouth. The studio maintains an active academic teaching practice with Harvard GSD, RISD, MassArt, UMass Amherst, Northeastern, Wentworth, Roger Williams University, and Yestermorrow Design/Build School, which functions as both community engagement and a continuous talent and thought-leadership pipeline.

Revenue is generated through project-based professional services fees negotiated per engagement, with clients acquired primarily through invited architectural competitions, direct institutional relationships, and referrals. The client base comprises high-prestige institutions including Harvard, MIT, Dartmouth, Quinnipiac, Wellesley, Seton Hill, Walnut Hill, MassArt, Hitchcock Center, IFAW, City of Boston, and City of Somerville, concentrated across New England with selective Mid-Atlantic presence. designLAB operates as an independent, privately held studio with no external funding, no parent company, and no documented acquisitions or ownership changes since founding. Marketing is conducted through a curated website portfolio, periodic newsletters, design competitions, and academic teaching engagements.

Name

designLAB architects

Legal name

designLAB architects

Website

https://designlabarch.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

designLAB architects is a Boston-based architecture studio founded in 2005 that designs arts, cultural, educational, and public-sector facilities with specializations in historic preservation, adaptive reuse, sustainable design, and coastal resiliency for institutional clients primarily across New England.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (54131), Architectural Services (541310), Interior Design Services (54141)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro primary industry

Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Interior Design Services (BPAHAKAB), Space Planning & Workplace Design (BPAHAKAI)

Keywords

• Architectural design services
• Historic preservation design
• Adaptive reuse architecture
• Sustainable building design
• Institutional architecture

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

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

Revenue model

1. Architecture and Design Services: Project-based professional services for architectural design, including new construction, renovation, adaptive reuse, and master planning for institutional clients. Revenue is generated through design fees for completed projects across arts, cultural, educational, and community sectors.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

designLAB architects is an architecture studio providing full-service architectural design for institutional clients across arts, cultural, educational, wellness, and public sectors. The firm specializes in new construction, renovation, adaptive reuse, and master planning, with deep expertise in historic preservation, sustainable design, and coastal resiliency. Projects span universities, museums, libraries, community centers, and environmental education facilities across the northeastern United States.

Product overview

designLAB architects is an architecture studio offering a unified portfolio of architectural and planning services centered on Critical Stewardship—a design philosophy balancing historic preservation, environmental responsibility, and community impact. The core offering comprises architecture and planning services across arts, education, wellness, libraries, museums, and public sectors, complemented by specialized capabilities in coastal resiliency design and teaching/making programs. Projects range from new construction to adaptive reuse, with several achieving Living Building Challenge and LEED certifications. The firm operates from Boston with a horizontal, collaborative studio culture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Architecture and Planning Services Full-service architectural design for institutional clients spanning new construction, renovation, adaptive reuse, and master planning across arts, cultural, educational, wellness, library, museum, and public-sector projects.
• Coastal Resiliency Design Specialized architectural services for coastal communities addressing sea level rise and climate change adaptation, including dry-proofing methods, elevated structures, and adaptive programming for coastal institutional facilities.
• Historic Preservation and Adaptive Reuse Design Specialized architectural services for the preservation, restoration, and adaptive reuse of historic and Brutalist structures, transforming culturally significant buildings into modern sustainable facilities while preserving architectural heritage.

Quantifiable outcome

• Hitchcock Center achieved Living Building Challenge certification - only the 23rd building in the world
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

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

• ReMain FoundationflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021ReMain Foundation sponsored the Envision Resilience Challenge, a design challenge that brought together graduate students from Harvard, Yale, Northeastern, University of Florida, and University of Miami to reimagine Nantucket Harbor under sea level rise projections. designLAB founder Bob Miklos served as Co-Chair of Advisors with Marty Hylton of the Preservation Institute of Nantucket.
• Harvard University Graduate School of DesigncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic collaboration through the Envision Resilience Challenge, where graduate students developed design solutions for coastal resiliency. Also collaborated on Present As Prologue studio for Curley Community Center future scenarios.
• Rhode Island School of Design (RISD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLed RISD design studio (Present As Prologue) that reimagined the future of Curley Community Center confronting sea level rise. Students created conceptual designs for the year 2100.
• Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner Sam Batchelor founded the MassArt Community/Build Studio, which designs and builds small-scale infrastructure projects for non-profit and public clients in the Boston area using a consensus-based design model.
• Yestermorrow Design/Build SchoolminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerdesignLAB led the flagship community design/build studio in summer 2021, creating a new bus shelter for Middlebury College Campus at Yestermorrow's facility in Waitsfield, Vermont.
• Preservation Institute of NantucketcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-Chaired the Envision Resilience Challenge advisory board with designLAB founder Bob Miklos serving alongside Marty Hylton of this preservation institute.
• UMass Amherst Department of ArchitectureminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFollowing renovation of the Fine Arts Center Bridge, designLAB led a furniture studio where students designed pieces for specific spaces within brutalist structures on campus.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• KieranTimberlake: Award-winning architecture firm with deep expertise in sustainability, building research, and academic/cultural projects. Comparable in sustainability leadership (LEED, Living Building track record) and commitment to research-driven design.
• Ann Beha Architects: Boston architecture firm focused on academic, civic, and cultural institutions with an emphasis on historic preservation and adaptive reuse. Highly comparable in client mix, project typology, and Critical Stewardship-like preservation philosophy.
• Shepley Bulfinch: Boston-based architecture firm with a long-standing higher-education, healthcare, and civic portfolio. Comparable client mix and geographic focus, with broader scale and integrated services.
• William Rawn Associates: Boston/Cambridge architecture firm serving educational and cultural institutions with award-winning academic buildings. Comparable in size, regional concentration, and institutional client profile, including adaptive reuse and academic library work.
• Payette Associates: Boston-based architecture firm specializing in academic, healthcare, and science facilities. Comparable to designLAB in scale, regional focus, and institutional higher-education client base, with similar design excellence positioning.
• Bruner/Cott & Associates: Cambridge, MA architecture firm specializing in adaptive reuse, historic preservation, and academic/cultural projects. Directly comparable in adaptive reuse expertise, sustainability focus, and New England institutional client base.

Emerging players

• NADAAA: Boston-based design practice with strong academic and adaptive reuse work, including notable brutalist structure renovations. Directly comparable in design philosophy, scale, and academic institutional focus.
• MASS Design Group: Mission-driven architecture firm focused on social impact, sustainability, and cultural/educational institutions. Comparable in values-driven approach and sustainability credentials, though operating at slightly larger scale and broader geography.

Broad incumbents

• Sasaki Associates: Boston-based design firm spanning architecture, planning, landscape, and urban design with significant higher-education and cultural institution portfolio. Comparable in client mix and regional presence but operates as a much larger multi-disciplinary practice.
• Arrowstreet: Boston architecture firm with a substantial academic, civic, and cultural institution portfolio. Comparable in client mix and regional presence, but operates as a larger, broader full-service firm.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/designLABBERS
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/designlab-architects

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 designLAB architects