GGN
GGN is a Seattle-based landscape architecture firm founded in 1999 that provides professional design services for cultural institutions, government agencies, universities, and corporate campuses across the US and internationally.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1999
- HeadquartersSeattle, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What GGN does
GGN (Gustafson Guthrie Nichol) is a Seattle-based landscape architecture firm founded in 1999 by Jennifer Guthrie, Shannon Nichol, and Kathryn Gustafson. The firm provides professional landscape architecture design services, including master planning, design development, and construction administration, for public and private clients across cultural institutions, civic spaces, corporate campuses, educational institutions, and international venues. Its portfolio includes landmark projects such as the Lurie Garden at Millennium Park (Chicago), the National Museum of African American History and Culture and Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard (Smithsonian), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Campus (Seattle), the Museum of Fine Arts Boston expansion, Long Beach Civic Center, Washington State Convention Center Addition, and internationally the Grand Green Osaka (Japan) and the US Embassy Athens Chancery (Greece). GGN operates from a Seattle headquarters at 1932 1st Avenue and a secondary Washington, DC office, with a lean leadership structure of two founding principals (Nichol and Guthrie) and an additional named principal (Tess Schiavone).
The firm has no underlying technology platform, software products, or AI components; its output is human-led design based on creativity, site analysis, and stakeholder collaboration. The business model is project-based professional services, with pricing driven by quotes and contracts rather than standardized pricing, and revenue is generated through winning design competitions, formal RFP processes (especially for government clients), and direct institutional relationships. The client base is predominantly government and municipal (City of Seattle, Seattle Center Foundation, City of Long Beach, City of San Antonio, Washington State Convention Center, US Department of State), cultural (Smithsonian, Museum of Fine Arts Boston), educational (University of Washington), with corporate clients (REI, adidas North America) and a small private residential segment. GGN also extends into a manufactured product line through the Maggie Bench, a signature furniture piece designed for Millennium Park and now produced by Landscape Forms.
Growth signals are qualitative rather than quantitative: the firm maintains active thought leadership through 2025 jury service, university lectures, and ongoing international projects, but no revenue, headcount, funding, or backlog data is publicly disclosed. The competitive position is anchored by the 2017 ASLA National Landscape Architecture Firm Award and the 2011 Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award for Landscape Architecture, which together with the firm's named-principal model and long-tenured client relationships constitute its principal moat.
GGN firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- GGN
- Legal name
- GGN
- Website
- https://ggnltd.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1999
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- GGN is a Seattle-based landscape architecture firm founded in 1999 that provides professional design services for cultural institutions, government agencies, universities, and corporate campuses across the US and internationally.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
GGN industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Landscape Architecture Services
- NAICS
- Landscape Architectural Services (541320)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Landscape Architecture & Site Design (BPAHAKAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Urban Planning & Master Planning (BPAHAKAD), Landscape Construction Project Management & General Contracting (HSAIABAK)
Keywords
Where GGN is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Seattle
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
GGN business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Landscape Architecture Professional Services: GGN generates revenue through landscape architecture design services, including master planning, design development, and construction administration for public and private clients. Projects range from urban parks and civic spaces to institutional campuses and cultural venues.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
GGN product offering
Product offeringCore offering
GGN provides professional landscape architecture design services, including master planning, design development, and construction administration, for public and private clients. Their projects span urban parks, civic plazas, waterfronts, cultural institution campuses, corporate headquarters, and high-end residential gardens, with a focus on sustainable practices, native plantings, and innovative stormwater management. They also offer a proprietary manufactured furniture product, the Maggie Bench, designed for public spaces.
Product overview
GGN (Gustafson Guthrie Nichol) is a landscape architecture firm offering professional landscape architecture and design services. Their portfolio encompasses urban parks, public spaces, institutional campuses, museum landscapes, civic centers, residential gardens, and streetscapes. They also offer a proprietary furniture product, the Maggie Bench, designed for public spaces. GGN does not offer a software product, platform, or digital tools.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Maggie Bench A signature public-space seating element designed for Millennium Park in Chicago, featuring two contoured panels spanning up to eight feet with arms and legs cast as a single aluminum form on each end. The bench is now manufactured by Landscape Forms and is offered for public space installations.
- Professional Landscape Architecture Services End-to-end landscape architecture services including master planning, design development, and construction administration for public and private clients. Projects span urban parks, civic plazas, waterfronts, cultural institution campuses, corporate headquarters, and high-end residential gardens, with a focus on sustainable practices, native plantings, and innovative stormwater management.
Quantifiable outcome
- Multiple ASLA National Awards of Excellence across various project categories
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use GGN
Customer profileNamed customers12 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
GGN technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
GGN partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- LMN ArchitectscoreArchitecture and landscape architecture collaboration on Kreielsheimer Promenade at Marion O. McCaw Hall project. LMN Architects served as architect while GGN was landscape architect. This interdisciplinary collaboration integrated architecture, landscape, lighting, and theater design.
- Freelon, Adjaye Associates, Davis Brody Bond, SmithgroupcoreArchitectural team for National Museum of African American History and Culture. GGN collaborated as landscape architect with this team of architects, structural engineers, civil engineers, and MEP engineers on the Smithsonian museum project.
- Foster + PartnerscoreDesign Architect for Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard at Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery. Foster + Partners designed the glass canopy while GGN provided landscape design. Smith Group served as Architect of Record.
- Smithsonian InstitutioncoreOngoing client relationship for multiple projects including National Museum of African American History and Culture (2016), Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard (2007), and other landscape architecture work at Smithsonian properties.
- LMN ArchitectscoreArchitecture partnership on Washington State Convention Center Addition project. GGN provided landscape architecture while LMN served as associate architect. Project includes 8 acres of urban landscape across four city blocks.
- Foster + PartnerscoreDesign Architect for Museum of Fine Arts, Boston expansion. GGN served as landscape architect on this 16.5-acre campus project linking the museum to the historic Olmsted-designed Back Bay Fens.
- CBT ArchitectscoreArchitect of Record for Museum of Fine Arts, Boston expansion project in collaboration with landscape architect GGN.
- Ann Beha ArchitectscoreLed the architectural team for US Embassy Athens Chancery rehabilitation project. GGN served as landscape architect on this historic preservation and modernization project.
- Landscape FormsminorFabricator partner for Maggie Bench, a signature furniture piece designed by GGN for Millennium Park. The bench was named for Maggie Daley and is now manufactured by Landscape Forms.
- Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM)coreArchitect partnership on Long Beach Civic Center project. SOM served as lead architect with GGN providing landscape architecture for this 15.87-acre mixed-use civic development.
- Plenary Edgemoor Civic PartnersminorProject manager for Long Beach Civic Center P3 project.
- Clark Construction GroupminorGeneral contractor for Long Beach Civic Center project.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
GGN competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects: Charlottesville-based landscape architecture firm with strong cultural and ecological design portfolios. Directly competes for cultural institution campuses and ecologically driven civic commissions.
- Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates (MVVA): Brooklyn-based landscape architecture firm known for Brooklyn Bridge Park and major urban park commissions. Competes directly with GGN for marquee urban park and waterfront civic projects.
- Peter Walker Partners (PWP Landscape Architecture): Berkeley-based landscape architecture firm with a comparable portfolio of memorial, civic, and cultural landscapes (e.g., 9/11 Memorial). A direct competitor for high-prestige institutional and memorial commissions.
- Land Morphology: Seattle-based landscape architecture firm focused on Pacific Northwest urban and waterfront projects. Directly competes with GGN in its home Seattle market for civic, park, and waterfront commissions.
- Sasaki Associates: Watertown, MA-based integrated design practice spanning landscape architecture, planning, and urban design. Directly competes for campus, civic, and large-scale master planning commissions of the type GGN pursues.
- James Corner Field Operations: New York-based landscape architecture and urban design firm known for High Line and large public realm projects. Directly competes for high-profile urban park, waterfront, and civic landscape commissions of the same caliber GGN pursues.
- OLIN: Philadelphia- and NYC-based landscape architecture and urban design firm of comparable scale and prestige. Directly competes with GGN for major civic, cultural, and institutional commissions, including parks, museum campuses, and waterfronts.
- Reed Hilderbrand: Cambridge, MA-based landscape architecture firm with comparable cultural, campus, and urban work. Directly competes with GGN for university and museum landscape commissions.
- SWA Group: Large, multi-office landscape architecture, planning, and urban design firm. Directly competes with GGN for civic plazas, waterfronts, and cultural institution landscape commissions across the US and internationally.
- Hood Design Studio: Oakland-based landscape architecture and urban design studio with strong cultural and civic portfolio. A direct peer for community-focused cultural and urban park projects on the West Coast.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
GGN social profiles
Digital presenceGGN financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
GGN leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
GGN funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
GGN 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 GGN
What does GGN do?
GGN provides professional landscape architecture design services, including master planning, design development, and construction administration, for public and private clients. Their projects span urban parks, civic plazas, waterfronts, cultural institution campuses, corporate headquarters, and high-end residential gardens, with a focus on sustainable practices, native plantings, and innovative stormwater management. They also offer a proprietary manufactured furniture product, the Maggie Bench, designed for public spaces.
Is GGN a public or private company?
GGN is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was GGN founded?
GGN was founded in 1999. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is GGN based?
GGN is headquartered in Seattle, United States, in the North America region.
How does GGN make money?
One revenue line is on record: landscape Architecture Professional Services.
Who are GGN's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects, Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates (MVVA), Peter Walker Partners (PWP Landscape Architecture), Land Morphology, Sasaki Associates, James Corner Field Operations, OLIN, Reed Hilderbrand, SWA Group and Hood Design Studio.
Does GGN have an API?
No public API is recorded for GGN.
What industry is GGN in?
GGN's product category is Landscape Architecture Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAKAC, Landscape Architecture & Site Design, with a secondary code of BPAHAKAD, Urban Planning & Master Planning. Its NAICS code is 541320.