What studioWTA does

studioWTA, now operating as practis architecture + design, is a private architectural and design firm founded in 1991 and headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, with a staff of 1-10. The firm provides architectural, planning, and interior design services across residential, commercial, hospitality, healthcare, education, and religious institutional sectors, serving clients primarily in the New Orleans metropolitan area and the broader Gulf Coast region. Its portfolio reflects deep specialization in New Orleans vernacular architecture, historic preservation, and adaptive reuse, with signature projects including Hotel Peter + Paul, Tulane University dormitory and academic renovations, the Sadeghi Center for Plastic Surgery, and a substantial body of custom residential work across historic neighborhoods such as the French Quarter, Marigny, and Uptown.

The firm operates a project-based professional services model, earning revenue through design fees for schematic design, design development, construction documents, and construction administration on a custom, quote-based pricing structure with no public rate card. Customer acquisition is sales-led, relying on a portfolio website (practis.design), direct client engagement, and referrals within the local institutional and high-end residential market. Notable institutional clients include Tulane University, multiple religious and nonprofit organizations (St. Joseph Rebuild Center, Jefferson Presbyterian Church, Harry Tompson Center), and a diversified set of hospitality and commercial operators. The firm does not disclose revenue, ownership, headcount beyond the 1-10 range, or funding history, and operates as an independent boutique practice with no parent company, subsidiaries, or documented partnerships.

The underlying technology is industry-standard architectural design software applied to traditional project delivery workflows; no proprietary platform, AI/ML capabilities, API, or technology product is offered. The firm relies on its accumulated portfolio and local regulatory and design expertise as its primary competitive assets, with a rebranding from studioWTA to practis architecture + design completed in 2023 to consolidate its market identity under a more service-broad name.

Name

studioWTA

Website

https://studiowta.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

studioWTA (practis architecture + design) is a New Orleans–based architecture and interior design firm founded in 1991, providing custom design, historic preservation, and adaptive reuse services to residential, hospitality, education, healthcare, and religious institutional clients in the Gulf Coast region.

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

Community Engagement & Participatory Planning (BPAHAKAO)

Keywords

• Architectural design services
• Residential architecture
• Commercial architecture
• Historic preservation design
• Interior design services

Headquarters

HQ city

New Orleans

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

Revenue model

1. Architectural Design Services: Professional fees for architectural design services including schematic design, design development, construction documents, and construction administration for residential, commercial, hospitality, healthcare, and institutional projects. Revenue generated through project-based consulting engagements with clients in the Gulf Coast region.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

studioWTA (also doing business as practis architecture + design) provides professional architectural, planning, and interior design services for residential, commercial, hospitality, healthcare, education, and religious institutional clients. The firm delivers full-scope architectural services spanning schematic design, design development, construction documents, and construction administration, with particular expertise in New Orleans-area historic preservation and adaptive reuse projects.

Product overview

studioWTA operates as an architecture and design firm, presenting a portfolio of architectural projects across residential, commercial, hospitality, and institutional categories through its website.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Architectural Design Services

Named customers10 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Hart Howerton: National planning, architecture, and design firm with strong mixed-use, hospitality, and residential practice. Overlaps with studioWTA's hospitality and mixed-use sectors at a much broader geographic scale.
• Bohlin Cywinski Jackson: National architecture firm with residential, hospitality, and institutional practice grounded in distinctive regional design. Comparable to studioWTA in its residential/hospitality design quality and craft focus, though serving a national clientele.
• Olson Kundig: Larger national architecture firm with strong residential, hospitality, and adaptive-reuse practice rooted in regional character. Comparable to studioWTA in design philosophy (vernacular/expressive regional architecture) but at significantly greater scale.

Direct peers

• Mathes Brierre Architects: Long-standing New Orleans architecture firm serving commercial, institutional, healthcare, and religious clients across the Gulf Coast. Similar scale, history, and service breadth to studioWTA, including strong local heritage work.
• John C. Williams Architects: New Orleans residential and small-commercial architecture practice with deep local heritage expertise. Comparable to studioWTA's residential and renovation-focused work in the same metropolitan market.
• Waggonner & Ball: New Orleans architecture practice with overlapping expertise in historic preservation, residential, and institutional projects in the Gulf Coast region. Comparable in size and market focus to studioWTA.
• Eskew+Dumez+Ripple: New Orleans-based architecture firm of comparable size that also works across cultural, civic, residential, and hospitality projects with a strong regional design identity. Directly comparable to studioWTA in scale, geography, and design-led positioning.
• Studio ARQ: Small/medium design practice working on residential, hospitality, and adaptive reuse projects in the Gulf Coast/Southern US. Comparable in scale and project-type mix to studioWTA.
• Holly & Smith Architects: New Orleans-area architecture firm with a similar multi-sector portfolio including hospitality, religious, healthcare, and adaptive reuse projects. Closely comparable to studioWTA in size and regional positioning.

Regional players

• Lake|Flato Architects: San Antonio-based regional architecture firm with comparable residential, hospitality, and adaptive-reuse portfolio grounded in regional vernacular. Similar design ethos to studioWTA but operating in a different geography (Texas) with a larger footprint.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/studioWTA
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/studiowta

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 studioWTA