What KPS Group does

KPS Group is a privately held, full-service architecture and design firm headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, with a secondary studio in Huntsville and a 60-year operating history dating to its 1965 founding. The firm delivers integrated architecture, interior design, planning and urban design, and building consulting services to institutional and enterprise clients across the Southeast US, with documented reach into nine states via financial-institution branch work. Its technical capabilities center on three specialization areas: LEED-certified sustainable design (with LEED Gold project certifications at Ruffner Mountain Nature Center, Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport, and the Galvez Building), historic preservation and adaptive reuse (exemplified by the Pizitz Building and Bakers Row headquarters), and universal/accessible design for people with disabilities, where it claims a regional monopoly on recreation and competitive adapted athletics facilities.

KPS Group generates revenue through project-based professional services fees on custom engagements ranging from branch banks to multi-hundred-million-dollar civic and healthcare builds (e.g., $200M Birmingham-Shuttlesworth terminal modernization, 415,000 sq ft UAB Medical West Hospital). Pricing is custom per project, contracts span multi-year build cycles, and the go-to-market motion is enterprise relationship-driven: direct engagement with government agencies, healthcare systems, universities, and corporations via RFP responses and repeat-client referrals. The firm maintains nine vertical practices — Corporate/Commercial, Education, Healthcare/Senior Living, Hospitality/Housing, Planning, Public/Non-Profit/Culture, Recreation, Renovation/Adaptive Re-Use, and Worship — with healthcare, education, corporate, and public-sector work identified as primary revenue contributors.

The firm's competitive positioning rests on a 125+ award portfolio (including 2026 ASHE Vista and Healthcare Environment Awards, IOC Award of Special Distinction, and the AIA Alabama 25-Year Award for Southern Progress), FAIA-credentialed principals, and collaborations with nationally recognized design partners such as HKS, Inc. and the late Randall Stout FAIA. KPS Group is independently operated with no disclosed institutional investors, parent company, subsidiaries, or M&A activity; leadership includes Director of Healthcare and SVP Topper Parham and a senior team of sector-specialist principals across Alabama's two studios.

Name

KPS Group

Legal name

KPS Group, Inc.

Website

https://kpsgroup.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1965

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

KPS Group is a privately held Birmingham, Alabama architecture and design firm founded in 1965, providing architecture, interior design, planning, and consulting services to enterprise clients in healthcare, education, government, and commercial sectors across the Southeast US, with specializations in LEED-certified, adaptive reuse, and accessible design.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Birmingham

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

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: Professional architecture and interior design services for commercial, institutional, and government clients. Revenue is generated through project-based fees for design services, typically on major capital projects ranging from millions to hundreds of millions of dollars.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

KPS Group is a full-service architecture and design firm providing architecture, interior design, planning and urban design, building consulting, historic preservation, and LEED-certified sustainable design services for commercial, institutional, healthcare, education, hospitality, government, recreation, and worship clients. They deliver project-based services spanning new construction, renovation, adaptive reuse, master planning, site planning, and landscape architecture across the Southeast United States.

Product overview

KPS Group is an architecture and design firm offering integrated professional services including Architecture, Interior Design, Planning & Urban Design, and Building Consulting. The firm operates a portfolio of specialty practices spanning commercial, healthcare, educational, hospitality, public/civic, recreation, and worship sectors. Notable specialty services include LEED certification consulting, historic preservation, federal courts design, and adapted athletics facility design. Projects range from new construction to complex renovation and adaptive re-use, with the firm having completed over 125 award-winning projects since its founding in 1965.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Architecture Services Full-service architectural design covering commercial, institutional, healthcare, education, hospitality, government, recreation, and worship projects, including master planning, site planning, and landscape architecture for new construction and renovation.
• Interior Design Interior architecture and design services for commercial, healthcare, educational, and hospitality facilities, including space planning, FF&E selection, and custom millwork design.
• Planning & Urban Design Comprehensive planning services including campus master planning, urban design, and strategic planning for community revitalization projects.
• Building Consulting Building consulting services including feasibility studies, programming, and expert witness consultation for construction and design disputes.
• LEED Certification Services Sustainable design services supporting LEED certification for projects including LEED Gold, LEED Silver, and LEED Certified ratings across healthcare, civic, airport, recreation, and adaptive reuse projects.
• Historic Preservation Historic preservation and renovation services for adaptive re-use projects, including restoration of original architectural details and historic tax credit compliance.
• Federal Courts Design Specialized federal courthouse planning and design with expertise in security, circulation, and judicial facility operations.
• Recreation & Sports Facilities Design Design of indoor and outdoor recreation facilities, sports arenas, and adapted athletics venues for competitive and recreational use, with unique specialization in facilities for people with ambulatory disabilities.

Quantifiable outcome

• Sustainable features saving Birmingham Airport tens of thousands of dollars on utilities each month while doubling terminal size
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments9 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

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• HKS, Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Collaboration partner on UAB Medical West Hospital project, recipient of Healthcare Environment Award 2026.
• Post Architects (Baton Rouge)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesign architect association for 19th Judicial District Court of Appeals in Baton Rouge, a 350,000sf courthouse for the State of Louisiana.
• Jova/Daniels/Busby (Atlanta)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint venture partner for Southern Progress Building project - 150,000sf headquarters on 27-acre wooded site.
• Randall Stout FAIA (Los Angeles)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesign architect collaboration for Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts at UAB - the last project of Randall Stout.
• Zervas Group Architects (Bellingham)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesign architect working with Zervas Group Architects for Campus Services Center at Western Washington University - iconic new gateway structure.
• Corporate RealtyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject developer for Bakers Row adaptive reuse - KPS Group's headquarters in Birmingham's Parkside district.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Williams Blackstock Architects: Birmingham, Alabama-based architecture firm with comparable practice across healthcare, higher education, civic, and adaptive reuse sectors in the Southeast. Directly comparable as a same-region, similarly-sized design firm pursuing the same institutional client base as KPS.
• LBYD Engineers: Birmingham-headquartered design firm providing architecture and engineering services for institutional, commercial, and civic clients in Alabama and the Southeast. Direct peer in size, region, and end-market exposure to KPS.
• Hastings+Chivetta: Architecture firm specializing in higher education, recreation, and athletics facilities including adapted sports venues. Comparable niche overlap with KPS's adapted athletics practice and university recreation center work (e.g., Georgia State Campus Recreation Center).
• Pond & Company: Atlanta-based architecture and engineering firm with healthcare, civic, and federal practices across the Southeast. Comparable in regional presence, vertical mix, and pursuit of institutional clients similar to KPS's portfolio.
• Lord Aeck Sargent (now Lord Aeck Sargent / TSW): Southeast architecture firm with deep higher education, housing, and adaptive reuse practices. Comparable in size, regional focus, and emphasis on historic preservation and sustainable design across institutional clients.

Regional players

• CCR Architecture & Interiors: Architecture and interiors firm with presence in the Southeast US serving corporate, healthcare, and education clients. Comparable in scale and service mix to KPS, with similar vertical orientation toward institutional and commercial work.
• Goodwyn Mills Cawood (GMC): Southeast US architecture, engineering, and planning firm with offices across Alabama and the region. Comparable in market verticals (education, healthcare, civic, commercial) and geographic footprint to KPS, though slightly larger scale.

Broad incumbents

• HKS, Inc. National architecture firm with deep healthcare, civic, and higher education practices and documented JV partner with KPS on UAB Medical West. Comparable through overlap on institutional healthcare projects but operates at much larger scale and broader geography.
• Perkins&Will: Global architecture firm with strong healthcare, higher education, and civic practices that competes for the same institutional RFPs as KPS across the Southeast. Larger scale and broader geographic footprint make it a broad incumbent rather than a direct peer.
• Gensler: Global architecture and design firm with corporate workplace, healthcare, and civic practices that pursues institutional clients in markets overlapping with KPS. Functions as a broad incumbent with materially larger scale.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kps-group
• Instagraminstagram.com/kpsgroup_inc

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 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 KPS Group