What KieranTimberlake does

KieranTimberlake is a Philadelphia-based architecture, planning, and research practice founded in 1984 by Stephen Kieran and James Timberlake. The firm transitioned to a 100% employee-owned corporation in 2025 after four decades as a founder- and partner-led practice, and is governed today by a six-person Management Group with Jon McCandlish and Marilia Rodrigues serving as Managing Directors while the founders continue as Design Advisors and Board members. The firm employs 101–250 professionals across disciplines including architecture, building science, ecology, anthropology, economics, and physics, with all staff holding LEED GA or LEED AP credentials.

The practice delivers full-service architecture offerings including programming, planning, and design of new buildings, adaptive reuse, urban and campus planning, performance analysis, building monitoring, and novel building technology development. Underlying technology is a BIM-centric stack integrating environmental analysis and performance simulation; the firm developed proprietary tools including Tally® (a BIM-integrated life cycle assessment application for Autodesk Revit, now operated by C.Scale as of April 2026), Roast™ (customizable comfort survey app), Pointelist™ (high-density wireless sensor network), and the Rice University Campus Planning Query Tool. The firm also develops novel building systems — SmartWrap™ envelope, Cellophane House™, Loblolly House, OpenHome (with Bensonwood), and the ARPA-E funded HESTIA 3D-printed carbon-absorbing structures — and conducts research partnerships with the University of Pennsylvania, Texas A&M, City College of New York, Sika, McGill University, and international collaborators.

Commercial model is project-based professional services with fees set through RFP/RFQ for federal work (U.S. Department of State diplomatic facilities) and through negotiated multi-year contracts for institutional clients. Primary segments are Higher Education (NYU, Harvard, UW, Carnegie Mellon, Brown, Rice, UC Santa Barbara, Iowa State, University of Toronto Mississauga — 9 named anchors), Federal Government (U.S. Department of State embassies and consulates), Arts & Culture (Folger Shakespeare Library), Civic, and high-end Private Residential. The firm has accumulated more than 300 design citations, including the AIA Firm Award (2015), Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award (2010), five AIA COTE Top Ten awards, and seven books, and markets through earned media, publications, conferences, and a Bottling House exhibition program at its Northern Liberties headquarters.

Name

KieranTimberlake

Legal name

KieranTimberlake

Website

https://kierantimberlake.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

KieranTimberlake is a Philadelphia-based, 100% employee-owned architecture, planning, and research practice founded in 1984, serving universities, the U.S. Department of State, and cultural institutions with sustainability-focused design and proprietary BIM, sensor, and life cycle assessment tools.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architecture Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (541310), Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Engagement & Participatory Planning (BPAHAKAO)

akta.pro secondary industry

Capital Projects, Renovation & Minor Construction (EDALALAF)

Keywords

• Sustainable architecture services
• Building performance consulting
• Campus master planning
• Life cycle assessment software
• Prefabricated building design

Headquarters

HQ city

Philadelphia

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. Architecture and Design Services: Full-service architecture firm providing programming, planning, and design of new buildings; adaptive reuse; urban and campus planning; performance analysis tools; building monitoring; and novel building technologies. Projects span educational institutions, civic projects, arts and culture venues, governmental buildings, and private residences.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

KieranTimberlake is a full-service architecture, planning, and research firm providing programming, planning, and design of new buildings, adaptive reuse, urban and campus planning, performance analysis, building monitoring, and novel building technologies for higher education institutions, federal government, cultural organizations, and private clients. The firm also develops proprietary software tools for building performance assessment (Roast™, Pointelist™) and innovative building systems (SmartWrap™, OpenHome).

Product overview

KieranTimberlake is an architecture, planning, and research firm that operates as a platform-plus-tools model, combining core architectural services with proprietary software tools and building technologies. Their product portfolio includes three main software tools—Tally® (life cycle assessment), Roast™ (comfort survey), and Pointelist™ (wireless sensor network)—as well as innovative building systems such as SmartWrap™, Cellophane House™, Loblolly House™, and OpenHome. The firm also develops custom planning tools like the Campus Planning Query Tool. Founded in 1984, the firm provides architecture, planning, research, sustainability consulting, and tool development services for academic, civic, arts, and private clients.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Tally: Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) application for Autodesk Revit that gives architects real-time insight into embodied environmental impacts of material choices.
• Roast
• Pointelist
• SmartWrap

Products and services

• Architecture and Planning Services Full-service architecture, planning, and research practice offering programming, planning, and design of new buildings, adaptive reuse, urban and campus planning, performance analysis tools, building monitoring, and novel building technologies for higher education, federal government, cultural, and private clients.
• Roast™ Comfort Survey Application Customizable thermal comfort survey application that allows users to assess building comfort by recording perceived temperatures, brightness, noise levels, and more, producing data to improve building performance and employee comfort.
• Pointelist™ Wireless Sensor Network High-density wireless sensor network providing real-time temperature and relative humidity measurements via a custom web application for building performance monitoring.
• SmartWrap™ Building Envelope System Mass-customizable building envelope system designed to optimize building performance through prefabricated architectural panels, exhibited at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum.
• OpenHome Prefabricated Residence Platform Customizable, prefabricated, and sustainable residence platform designed to perform at Passive House levels, developed in collaboration with Bensonwood home builders.
• Campus Planning Query Tool Custom interactive planning tool developed for Rice University's Integrated Campus Plan, supporting scenario-based planning with real-time metrics for program, cost, energy, and stormwater.

Quantifiable outcome

• 15 LEED Platinum and 14 LEED Gold certified projects
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers12 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

Feature5 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• University of PennsylvaniacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022ARPA-E funded research partnership on 3D-printed carbon-negative structures (HESTIA project) in collaboration with Texas A&M University and The City College of New York. KieranTimberlake serves as co-principal investigator.
• Texas A&M UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner in ARPA-E funded HESTIA project for 3D-printed carbon-absorbing building structures.
• The City College of New YorkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner in ARPA-E funded HESTIA project for 3D-printed carbon-absorbing building structures.
• SikacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMaterials partner in ARPA-E HESTIA project providing expertise in concrete materials science for 3D printed structures.
• McGill University (BARN)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBuilding-Architecture-Research Node (BARN) research collaboration awarded in 2021.
• Centennial Parkside Community Development CorporationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner on US Department of Energy's Buildings Upgrade Prize awarded in 2023.
• Signetron IncminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in DOE Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy's Advanced Building Construction project for Streamlining BIM/CAD/CAM Conversions for Panel Manufacturing.
• Rocky Mountain InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in DOE Advanced Building Construction project for panel manufacturing optimization.
• cocoon constructminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in DOE Advanced Building Construction project for panel manufacturing optimization.
• Michael Stacey Architects and University of NottinghamminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartners in International Aluminum Institute's Towards Sustainable Cities programme to quantify in-use benefits of aluminum in architecture.
• GerHubcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Designing the 21st Century Ger project to reduce coal consumption in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, improving air quality in one of the world's most polluted cities.
• UNICEF Mongolia and UNICEF InnovationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartners in 21st Century Ger project to reduce coal use and improve air quality in Mongolian capital.
• Arc'teryx and The North FaceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartners providing expertise and resources for 21st Century Ger sustainable shelter research.
• Jefferson Hospital and University of the ArtsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartners in Emergency Medicine Foundation Physician Wellness Research Grant studying emergency department layout effects on healthcare provider communication and patient care.
• BensonwoodcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on OpenHome design platform - a customizable, prefabricated, sustainable residence designed to perform at Passive House levels.
• C.ScalecoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerC.Scale acquired Tally from Building Transparency in April 2026, with KieranTimberlake providing development support for Tally 2.0.
• SagegreenlifeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on living wall design for Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts' Anabeth and John Weil Hall at Washington University in St. Louis.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• BNIM: Mid-sized architecture and planning firm with a strong sustainability and performance-driven practice, similarly focused on higher-education, civic, and federal clients and multiple AIA COTE Top Ten recognitions.
• Lake|Flato Architects: Research- and sustainability-oriented practice of comparable scale, with deep higher-education and civic portfolios and an emphasis on regional, place-based design — closely aligned with KieranTimberlake's values and client mix.
• CookFox Architects: Sustainability-focused New York architecture firm with a similarly transdisciplinary team, expertise in higher-education and cultural buildings, and a research-led practice model that mirrors KieranTimberlake's Tally / Roast / Pointelist approach.
• Payette: Boston-based architecture firm specializing in high-performance science, healthcare, and academic facilities, with comparable scale, research orientation, and university client roster.
• SHoP Architects: Design-driven New York practice known for innovative academic, residential, and large-scale institutional buildings, with comparable emphasis on computational design and prefabrication.
• Snøhetta: Transdisciplinary architecture and design practice with a strong research culture, sustainability focus, and a comparable mix of cultural, educational, and public projects.
• Miller Hull Partnership: Pacific Northwest architecture firm with a research-driven, sustainability-first practice and significant higher-education and civic work — comparable in scale, ethos, and building-performance orientation.

Broad incumbents

• Perkins&Will: Large global AEC firm with a major higher-education and healthcare practice, frequently competing against KieranTimberlake for institutional commissions but with broader service lines and international reach.
• Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM): Global architecture and engineering firm with deep higher-education and federal portfolios, including embassy and large-scale campus projects that overlap with KieranTimberlake's work.
• HOK: Large multidisciplinary practice with significant higher-education, civic, and science-and-technology work, frequently short-listed alongside KieranTimberlake for major institutional commissions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kierantimberlake
• Instagraminstagram.com/kierantimberlake
• Xx.com/kierantmberlk
• Facebookfacebook.com/kierantimberlake

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 KieranTimberlake