eVolo

What eVolo does

eVolo is a privately-held architecture and design media company operating under the legal entity EVOLO, INC., headquartered in the United States and active since 2006. Its core operations comprise three integrated product lines: (1) an online architecture journal hosted at evolo.us, published continuously since 2006 under sections covering news, architecture, design, and art; (2) the annual eVolo Skyscraper Competition, established in 2006 and positioned as a leading international award for high-rise architectural vision, which has reviewed more than 4,000 submissions from 168 countries cumulatively and 80+ countries per annual cycle (e.g., 149 projects in the 2025 cycle, yielding 3 winners and 14 honorable mentions); and (3) a publishing imprint, eVolo Press, releasing limited-edition and themed hardcover and digital books on architecture, sustainability, parametric design, and computational practice. The technology stack is straightforward publishing infrastructure: a WordPress-based CMS powering evolo.us, a separate e-commerce storefront at shop.evolo.us, and digital distribution through Google Play Books and Apple Books under author Carlo Aiello. Content is licensed under Creative Commons (non-commercial, with attribution), and the eVolo trademark is registered in the United States and other countries.

The business model combines four revenue streams: (a) one-time book sales through the owned storefront and global digital retailers, including premium-priced limited editions (the Collector's Edition was capped at 150 copies); (b) transaction-based competition entry fees tied to the annual Skyscraper Competition; (c) advertising and sponsored publishing on the magazine's advertising page; and (d) promotional-sponsorship arrangements with architecture media partners (Archinect, Bustler, e-architect, SkyscraperCity, competitions.archi, architecture.competitions.yearbook, YoungBirdPlan), who provide reach in exchange for visibility. Customer segments are not formally disclosed but consist of individual architecture students, academics, and practicing professionals (entrants and book buyers) plus a small set of media sponsors. No enterprise customers, advertising anchors, or contracted annual purchasers are identified. There are no publicly disclosed funding rounds, no investor relations, and no executive team bios on the company's web properties; ownership and management structure remain undisclosed.

The company operates with 1-10 employees and has not raised external capital according to available data. Strategic emphasis is on maintaining the annual competition cycle, expanding the eVolo Press book catalogue (most recent release in 2019), and growing the media-sponsor distribution network — notably a partnership with YoungBirdPlan that drives Chinese-market submissions. The site continues to publish editorial content in 2025-2026, and the 2025 competition winners were announced in early 2026, indicating ongoing operations with no signs of expansion or contraction.

Name

eVolo

Legal name

EVOLO, INC.

Website

https://evolo.us

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

eVolo is a privately-held architecture media company publishing an online journal and running the annual eVolo Skyscraper Competition. Operating as EVOLO, INC. since 2006, it serves architects, students, and design professionals worldwide via editorial content, books, and competition programming.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Book Sales (Print & Digital): Direct sales of printed hardcover limited-edition architecture books and digital editions via shop.evolo.us, Google Play Books, and Apple Books. Includes collector's editions priced as premium products.
2. Skyscraper Competition Entry Fees: Annual eVolo Skyscraper Competition draws hundreds of project submissions (e.g., 149 projects in 2025) typically supported by registration/entry fees.
3. Advertising & Publishing Partnerships: Advertising and sponsored publishing relationships with architecture media (eVolo carries an Advertising page).
4. Sponsorship of Competition: Competition sponsors (Archinect, architecture.competitions.yearbook, bustler, competitions.archi, e-architect, Skyscrapercity, YoungBirdPlan) provide promotional support in exchange for visibility.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

eVolo operates a digital architecture and design journal at evolo.us that publishes news, projects, and themed magazine issues on avant-garde architecture and sustainable design. It runs the annual eVolo Skyscraper Competition (established 2006) for visionary high-rise design and publishes architecture books through eVolo Press (e.g., EVOLO SKYSCRAPERS series, Digital and Parametric Architecture, Paradigms in Computing, Hyperlocalization of Architecture). Revenue comes from printed book sales (own storefront) and digital editions via Google Play Books and Apple Books, competition entry submissions, advertising, and media sponsorships.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• eVolo Press: Publishing imprint of eVolo that releases architecture and design books.
• eVolo Skyscraper Competition

Products and services

• eVolo Architecture Magazine (evolo.us) Online architecture and design journal at evolo.us that publishes news, projects, and themed issues on avant-garde architecture, sustainable design, and innovation from schools and professional studios worldwide. Sections include News, Magazine, Competition, About, Shop, and Jobs.
• eVolo Skyscraper Competition Annual international competition established in 2006 that recognizes outstanding ideas redefining skyscraper design. Receives entries from more than 80 countries per cycle and is judged by a panel of renowned architects, engineers, and city planners.
• EVOLO SKYSCRAPERS 3 Hardcover, 650 full-color page book (ISBN 978-1938740220) showcasing 150 innovative skyscraper projects submitted to the eVolo Skyscraper Competition.
• The Blindspot Initiative: Design Resistance and Alternative Modes of Practice eVolo Press hardcover (238 pages) by Jose Sánchez documenting 21 design practices expanding their fields through intersection with robotics, material science, film, simulation, or software.
• Temporal Architecture (eVolo_07) Digital book (250 pages) by Carlo Aiello documenting architectural works designed for temporary use, including pavilions, installations, and pop-up structures featuring novel materials and fabrication processes.
• [ours] Hyperlocalization of Architecture: Contemporary Sustainable Archetypes Hardcover (264 full-color pages, ISBN 978-1938740084) by Andrew Michler exploring contemporary sustainable architectural archetypes through case studies across multiple regions.
• Paradigms in Computing: Making, Machines, and Models for Design Agency in Architecture 400-page book edited by Dr. David Jason Gerber and Mariana Ibañez bringing together essays and projects illustrating the plurality of computing approaches within design and mediated practices.
• Digital And Parametric Architecture (eVolo_06) Digital book (300 pages) exploring digital tools, advanced modeling software, and computer-aided design in architecture, including 3D modeling, digital fabrication, and parametric design.
• eVolo Skyscrapers 2: 150 New Projects Redefine Building High 628-page book (follow-up to the original eVolo Skyscrapers) featuring 150 new skyscrapers submitted to the eVolo Skyscraper Competition, examining sustainable systems, new urban methods, and adaptive vertical communities.
• (IN)formal LA: The Space of Politics Perfect-bound book (136 pages) by Victor J. Jones tracing Los Angeles's spatial practices and pedagogies through essays, photos, projects, and interviews addressing the political dimensions of the city's informal spaces.
• Architecture Xenoculture (eVolo_05) Magazine issue (by Juan Azulay, Benjamin Rice, and Carlo Aiello) exploring the work of architects and designers who detach from established forms to embrace unexpected, alien, and emerging architectural possibilities.

Quantifiable outcome

• 4,000+ projects reviewed by an international panel of architects, engineers, and city planners since 2006
• +2 more outcomes

Ideal customer profiles2 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 flagship, core and minor.

• ArchinectflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerArchinect is listed as a Competition Sponsor of the eVolo Skyscraper Competition and provides promotional support to drive submissions to the annual architecture competition.
• BustlercoreGTM or Marketing PartnerBustler is listed as a Competition Sponsor and amplifies eVolo's Skyscraper Competition announcements and editorial content to an architecture audience.
• e-architectcoreGTM or Marketing Partnere-architect is listed as a Competition Sponsor, providing editorial reach for the Skyscraper Competition and related architecture content.
• SkyscraperCitycoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSkyscraperCity is listed as a Competition Sponsor and helps distribute the Skyscraper Competition to high-rise architecture enthusiasts globally.
• competitions.archicoreGTM or Marketing Partnercompetitions.archi is listed as a Competition Sponsor, providing a listing platform for architecture competitions including the eVolo Skyscraper Competition.
• architecture.competitions.yearbookcoreGTM or Marketing Partnerarchitecture.competitions.yearbook is listed as a Competition Sponsor (banner ACY) and serves as a yearbook/listing destination for architecture competitions including eVolo.
• YoungBirdPlan (designverse.com.cn)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerYoungBirdPlan is listed as a Competition Sponsor and drives Chinese-market submissions and visibility for the eVolo Skyscraper Competition.
• SOFTlabflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerSOFTlab is credited with the webdesign of evolo.us ('Webdesign by: SOFTlab'), and SOFTlab + The Living are also referenced as collaborators on a ReGeneration exhibition installation at the New York Hall of Science, indicating a long-running design partnership with eVolo.
• Google Play BookscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorGoogle Play Books serves as a distribution channel for digital editions of eVolo's books (e.g., EVOLO SKYSCRAPERS 3) sold under author Carlo Aiello.
• Apple BookscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorApple Books serves as a distribution channel for digital editions of eVolo's books (e.g., EVOLO SKYSCRAPERS) sold under author Carlo Aiello.
• ēnssominorGTM or Marketing Partnerēnsso (a California pen company) is featured repeatedly in the eVolo design sidebar ('Retractable Fountain Pen') with promotional coverage of their Kickstarter campaigns for the BOLT, UNO, XS, and ARIA pens.
• EVOLO, INC.flagshipOthersEVOLO, INC. is the corporate trademark holder of the 'eVolo' mark in the United States and other countries (© 2006-2022), indicating eVolo Architecture Magazine operates as a publication of EVOLO, INC.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• YoungBirdPlan: China-based architecture and design competition platform driving international submissions. Comparable competition-organizer role to eVolo and a regional/emerging competitor and sponsor in the architecture competition space.

Direct peers

• Archinect: Architecture platform aggregating news, jobs, and competitions for students and professionals. Directly comparable to eVolo as a competition-amplifying media channel (and is itself an eVolo competition sponsor).
• ArchDaily: Largest online architecture publication globally, publishing continuous architecture news, projects, and product coverage. Closely comparable to eVolo's editorial journal model and architecture-project curation approach.
• Designboom: Long-running online architecture and design magazine featuring curated projects, interviews, and competitions. Comparable to eVolo in audience (design-forward architects and students) and editorial format.
• Dezeen: Leading architecture and design online magazine covering projects, products, and competitions. Overlaps directly with eVolo's editorial focus on avant-garde architecture and design storytelling.
• World Architecture Community: Global architecture community and editorial platform featuring student and professional projects, events, and competitions. Comparable community-led, project-curation model to eVolo.
• Bustler: Architecture news site focused on competitions and events. Directly comparable to eVolo's competition-centric content mix and shares audience overlap (also a competition sponsor).

Broad incumbents

• Architectural Record: One of the oldest and most established US architecture publications, covering projects, products, and industry news. Operates in the same architectural editorial space as eVolo but at much larger scale and broader scope.
• Azure Magazine: Established North American architecture and design magazine with print and digital editions. Comparable editorial and book-publishing model to eVolo's themed issues, though broader in scope.
• The Architect's Newspaper: Established US-based architecture publication covering news, buildings, and practice. Broader and more professionally oriented than eVolo, but competes for the same architectural audience and ad dollars.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/evolomagazine
• Xx.com/evolomagazine
• Facebookfacebook.com/eVoloMagazine
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/evo-architecture-ltd

Compliance1 record

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 eVolo