GGN

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.

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

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

• Landscape architecture services
• Urban park design
• Civic landscape planning
• Institutional campus design
• Public space architecture

Headquarters

HQ city

Seattle

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. 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

Core 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

Named customers12 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• LMN ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerArchitecture 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, SmithgroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerArchitectural 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 + PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesign 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 InstitutioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing 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 ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerArchitecture 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 + PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesign 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 ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerArchitect of Record for Museum of Fine Arts, Boston expansion project in collaboration with landscape architect GGN.
• Ann Beha ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLed the architectural team for US Embassy Athens Chancery rehabilitation project. GGN served as landscape architect on this historic preservation and modernization project.
• Landscape FormsminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerFabricator 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)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerArchitect 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 PartnersminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerProject manager for Long Beach Civic Center P3 project.
• Clark Construction GroupminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerGeneral contractor for Long Beach Civic Center project.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct 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

• Xtwitter.com/ggnmages
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ggnmages
• Instagraminstagram.com/ggnmages
• Facebookfacebook.com/ggnmages

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 GGN