Manns Woodward Studios

What Manns Woodward Studios does

Manns Woodward Studios (operating as MW Studios) is a privately held architectural design firm headquartered in White Marsh, Maryland, founded in 2003 by Principal Architects Robert Manns, AIA and David Woodward, AIA. The firm specializes in community-centric facility design with a focus on public safety infrastructure, including fire and EMS stations, police and sheriff's headquarters, emergency operations centers, public safety training facilities, and firing ranges. MW Studios also designs civic, cultural, and mission-critical facilities such as libraries, community centers, animal shelters, judicial buildings, religious facilities, federal/defense facilities, and corporate headquarters. Each engagement is delivered by a dedicated studio team that pairs architects, project managers, and GIS analysts with retired fire and law enforcement subject-matter experts.

Technically, MW Studios operates as a professional services firm employing GIS analysts and VR-based project visualization and client collaboration tools; there is no proprietary software product or platform. Revenue is generated through project-based design fees under multi-year contracts awarded via competitive bids, RFPs, and direct engagements with municipal, county, state, and federal government clients across more than 20 U.S. states. The firm pursues work both directly and through strategic teaming partnerships with peer architecture firms (RGB Architects, ALM2S, LAYER Architecture, Artifex A/E, Schrader Group) to access geographies and project scopes where it lacks local incumbency. The firm has completed over 300 projects totaling more than 7 million square feet of mission-critical facilities and reports 30+ design professionals.

Operationally, MW Studios has no parent company, no subsidiaries, no disclosed funding rounds, no M&A activity, and no public revenue disclosure. The firm is owner-operated by its co-founding principals and reports only Robert Manns as identified leadership in the available material, with no other executive bios surfaced; headcount is 11–50. Marketing is limited to the firm website (mwsarch.com), a LinkedIn profile, a Facebook page, a careers page, and industry events/seminars. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is project-specific.

Name

Manns Woodward Studios

Legal name

Manns Woodward Studios

Website

https://mwsarch.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Manns Woodward Studios is a Maryland-based architectural design firm specializing in public safety facilities (fire, EMS, police, EOCs) and community-centric civic, judicial, federal, and cultural buildings, serving government clients across more than 20 U.S. states with a team of 30+ design professionals and retired fire/law enforcement subject-matter experts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Design Services

akta.pro primary industry

Building Information Modeling (BIM) & Digital Design Services (BPAHAKAK)

Keywords

• Public safety architecture
• Fire station design
• Law enforcement facilities
• Civic architecture services
• Government facility design

Headquarters

HQ city

White Marsh

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Architecture and Design Services: Project-based professional services for architectural design of public safety, civic, and government facilities. Revenue is generated through design fees for new construction, renovations, and master planning engagements with government and institutional clients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Manns Woodward Studios is an architectural design firm that provides full-service planning and design for public safety facilities (fire stations, police stations, emergency operations centers, training facilities, firing ranges), civic and cultural buildings (libraries, community centers, animal shelters, judicial and municipal facilities), and mission-critical corporate facilities. The firm also delivers sustainable design consulting including LEED certification support and engages in strategic teaming with partner architecture firms for complex multi-disciplinary projects. Revenue is generated through project-based professional design fees charged to government, municipal, institutional, and corporate clients.

Product overview

MW Studios is a full-service architectural design firm offering a comprehensive portfolio of design services for community-centric facilities. The core offerings include Public Safety Design (fire stations, police stations, emergency operations centers, training facilities, and firing ranges), Civic & Cultural Facilities (community centers, libraries, animal services, judicial facilities, religious facilities, and municipal administration), and Mission Critical & Corporate Facilities. The firm operates with a studio team structure including architects, project managers, GIS analysts, and retired fire and law enforcement experts. Supporting services include Strategic Teaming partnerships and Sustainable Design with LEED certification expertise. With over 20 years of experience and 300+ projects completed across 20+ states, the firm has designed more than 7 million square feet of mission-critical facilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Public Safety Design

Quantifiable outcome

• Harford County Administrative Building renovation saved minimum $250,000 in operating expenses per year

Named customers8 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

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• RGB ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with RGB Architects and Schrader Group Architecture for the design of North Providence Public Safety Complex in Rhode Island. MWS was specifically tasked with focusing on the 28,000-square foot Fire Department program.
• ALM2S ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTeamed with ALM2S Architects for Timnath Police Station project in Colorado. ALM2S provides full professional services including master planning with site plan approval and full architectural and engineering design services, while MWS provides public safety consulting.
• LAYER ArchitecturecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with LAYER Architecture on Engine 10 Ladder 11 fire station project in South Philadelphia. MWS worked with LAYER to create a strong and trusting relationship between the client, the design team, and the Philadelphia Fire Department.
• Artifex A/EminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Artifex A/E of Bangor, Maine for Lewiston Police Headquarters needs assessment and master planning exercise.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Cole & Goyette Architects and Planners: New England architecture firm specializing in public safety, municipal, and educational facility design for government clients. Comparable niche focus on police, fire, and civic facilities with a similar project-based, multi-state service model.
• Clark Nexsen: Mid-Atlantic/Southeast architecture and engineering firm with a recognized public safety and civic practice serving municipal, state, and federal clients. Comparable in serving fire, police, and civic clients through competitive RFP processes across multiple states.
• FGM Architects: Midwest-based architecture firm with significant public safety, civic, and K-12 government practice, delivering fire stations, police stations, and municipal buildings through competitive public procurement. Comparable in vertical specialization on community-serving government facilities.
• WGM Architects: Virginia-based architecture firm with a dedicated public safety practice designing fire stations, police facilities, and emergency operations centers for municipal clients. Closely comparable niche focus, government client base, and Mid-Atlantic footprint to MW Studios.

Broad incumbents

• LEO A DALY: National architecture, planning, and engineering firm with an established public safety and government services practice. Larger and broader portfolio than MW Studios, but directly competes in public safety and civic facility RFPs across the U.S.
• Jacobs: Global professional services firm with a substantial buildings and infrastructure design practice serving federal, state, and local government clients. Competes with MW Studios on larger civic and public safety pursuits, particularly federal and defense-related projects.
• HOK: Global architecture and engineering firm with substantial government, civic, and mission-critical practices. Competes with MW Studios on larger public safety and civic pursuits and represents the upper bound of the competitive landscape.
• HDR Architecture: Global architecture and engineering firm with civic, justice, and federal government practices designing courthouses, public safety facilities, and municipal buildings. Larger competitor with overlapping client base in government facility design.
• CannonDesign: Large national design firm with civic, justice, and public safety practices serving federal, state, and local government clients. Overlaps with MW Studios in civic and government facility design but operates at significantly larger scale and broader scope.
• Stantec: International design and consulting firm with dedicated architecture and buildings practices serving government and civic clients. Comparable end markets in public facilities but vastly larger scale and broader service portfolio.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/mwsarch
• Xx.com/mwsarch

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Manns Woodward Studios