James Corner Field Operations
James Corner Field Operations is a privately held landscape architecture and urban design practice founded in 1990, headquartered in New York with studios in Philadelphia, San Francisco, and London, delivering master planning, landscape architecture, and public realm design to governments, developers, corporations, and cultural institutions worldwide.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1990
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What James Corner Field Operations does
James Corner Field Operations (d/b/a Field Operations) is a privately held landscape architecture and urban design practice founded in 1990 and headquartered at 4 Bryant Park, New York, with additional studios in Philadelphia, San Francisco, and London. The firm delivers design and consulting services — master planning, landscape architecture, urban design, and public realm design — through project-based engagements, secured via competitive bidding, RFPs, and direct commissions from a diverse client base spanning municipal governments, federal-linked trusts, major real estate developers, multinational corporations, cultural institutions, and universities. Its core competencies center on transforming obsolete infrastructure (elevated rail lines, tunneled highways, industrial waterfronts) into ecologically functional public space, with documented emphasis on biodiversity, stormwater management, climate resilience, and waterfront adaptation.
The firm's operating model is a professional services consultancy monetized through design and consulting fees tied to project scope, scale, and complexity, with pricing not publicly disclosed. Projects are delivered through horizontal segmentation across government/public agencies, private developers, educational institutions, and cultural organizations, often in collaboration with flagship architecture partners such as Diller Scofidio + Renfro, SOM, Kengo Kuma, KPF, and Piet Oudolf on planting design. The firm operates 101–250 employees under a Partner-led structure headed by founding partner and CEO James Corner, with named Partners, Directors, and Associate Partners across four studios. There is no disclosed venture capital, private equity, or parent holding company ownership.
The practice has executed some of the most recognized landscape projects of the past two decades, including the High Line (a 1.45-mile elevated park in Manhattan, opened 2009), Presidio Tunnel Tops (a 14-acre park over highway tunnels in San Francisco, opened 2022), Seattle Waterfront Park (20-acre transformation along Elliott Bay, grand opening September 2025), Manhattan West, Amazon HQ2 Metropolitan Park, NBCUniversal Campus, and international work spanning Hong Kong's Victoria Dockside, Shenzhen's Qianhai Guiwan Park, Shanghai's Taopu Central Park, Toronto's Bentway Islands, and Seoul's Parkside. These projects have collectively earned over 30 ASLA Honor Awards, the 2020 ASLA Firm Award, the 2017 Harvard GSD Veronica Rudge Green Prize, and the 2024 IFLA Sir Geoffrey Jellicoe Award to the founder.
James Corner Field Operations firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- James Corner Field Operations
- Legal name
- Field Operations
- Website
- https://fieldoperations.net
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1990
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- James Corner Field Operations is a privately held landscape architecture and urban design practice founded in 1990, headquartered in New York with studios in Philadelphia, San Francisco, and London, delivering master planning, landscape architecture, and public realm design to governments, developers, corporations, and cultural institutions worldwide.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
James Corner Field Operations industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Landscape Architecture Services
- NAICS
- Landscape Architectural Services (54132), Landscape Architectural Services (541320)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Landscape Architecture & Site Design (BPAHAKAC)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Urban Planning & Master Planning (BPAHAKAD), Urban Renewal, Brownfield Redevelopment & Land Reuse (BPAIANAI)
Keywords
Where James Corner Field Operations is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices4 records
Markets served
James Corner Field Operations business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Professional Services - Landscape Architecture: Design and consulting fees for landscape architecture, urban design, master planning, and public realm projects for government agencies, private developers, and institutions.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
James Corner Field Operations product offering
Product offeringCore offering
James Corner Field Operations is a landscape architecture and urban design practice that delivers design services across landscape architecture, urban design, master planning, and an ecology practice. The firm creates parks, public spaces, waterfronts, and urban redevelopments for government agencies, private developers, cultural institutions, and educational organizations. Services are delivered through commissioned project engagements that include conceptual design, master planning, detailed design, and implementation oversight.
Product overview
James Corner Field Operations is a landscape architecture and urban design firm offering a portfolio of project-based services including master planning, landscape architecture, urban design, and public realm design. The firm does not operate a unified software product or platform; rather, it delivers design services through projects spanning iconic parks (High Line, Presidio Tunnel Tops), waterfront redevelopments (Seattle Waterfront, Victoria Dockside), corporate campuses (Amazon HQ2, NBCUniversal), urban plazas (Manhattan West), and international parks (Qianhai's Guiwan Park, Taopu Central Park). Each project represents a distinct engagement rather than a modular product offering.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Quantifiable outcome
- Presidio Tunnel Tops welcomed nearly 1.8 million visits in first year
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use James Corner Field Operations
Customer profileNamed customers12 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
James Corner Field Operations technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
James Corner Field Operations partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, major and project-specific.
- Diller Scofidio + RenfroflagshipCollaborative design partnership on the High Line project, where Field Operations served as Project Lead alongside Diller Scofidio + Renfro. This partnership delivered one of the most influential landscape architecture projects of the past decade, transforming a 1.5-mile elevated rail structure into an iconic public promenade.
- Piet OudolfflagshipDesign collaboration with renowned garden designer Piet Oudolf on High Line planting design, creating distinctive wild and naturalistic planting schemes. The collaboration extended to other projects including Polina Gardens in Omaha.
- SOM (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill)majorCollaboration with SOM on Manhattan West development and High Line - Moynihan Connector projects, combining architecture and landscape architecture expertise for integrated urban design.
- LEVERmajorDesign collaboration with LEVER on NBCUniversal Campus project in Los Angeles, delivering a landscape-led physical transformation and master plan.
- Brook McIlroymajorDesign collaboration with Brook McIlroy on Toronto's Bentway Islands project, transforming 125,000 square feet beneath the Gardiner Expressway into new recreation and cultural destinations.
- KPF (Kohn Pedersen Fox)majorCollaboration with KPF on Parkside Seoul project, anticipating grand opening of major Seoul development.
- Thomas Phifer and Partnersproject-specificArchitecture firm collaboration on Midtown Green project in Atlanta, working with Midtown Alliance on bold new cultural and civic destination design.
- Kengo Kuma & AssociatesmajorLandscape architecture partnership with Kengo Kuma on Brandywine Expansion project, transforming 15-acre campus into 325-acre public preserve and garden.
- Blockwrightproject-specificCollaboration with Blockwright on Razorback Greenway Corridor Plan, a 40-mile multi-city trail in Northwest Arkansas.
- Piet Oudolfproject-specificPlanting design collaboration with Piet Oudolf on Polina Gardens in downtown Omaha, developing lush planting central to the site's identity.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
James Corner Field Operations competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- OLIN: OLIN is a landscape architecture, urban design, and planning studio of similar scale with a strong portfolio of cultural, civic, and urban projects. It competes head-to-head with Field Operations for high-profile public-realm commissions in the US.
- Hargreaves Associates: Hargreaves Associates is a landscape architecture and urban design practice with comparable scale and a strong portfolio of waterfront, cultural, and public-realm projects. It is a direct competitor for transformative urban landscape commissions.
- Sasaki Associates: Sasaki is a multidisciplinary design practice integrating landscape architecture, urban planning, and architecture on large-scale campus, waterfront, and city projects. It directly competes with Field Operations for signature institutional, civic, and campus commissions.
- W Architecture and Landscape Architecture: W Architecture is a New York-based landscape architecture and urban design firm with a comparable portfolio of waterfront, cultural, and public-realm projects. It is a smaller-scale direct peer in the same urban landscape niche.
- Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates (MVVA): MVVA is a landscape architecture and urban design firm renowned for Brooklyn Bridge Park and other major public-space projects. It is a direct peer in the marquee public-park and waterfront segment Field Operations leads.
- SWA Group: SWA Group is a long-established landscape architecture, urban design, and planning firm of comparable scale, founded in 1957 with a global portfolio of parks, waterfronts, and master plans. It is the most direct competitor to Field Operations in delivering marquee public-realm and urban landscape commissions.
Broad incumbents
- AECOM: AECOM is a global infrastructure and design consultancy that bundles landscape architecture into large multidisciplinary development and infrastructure bids. It competes with Field Operations primarily on scale, capacity, and integrated-services RFPs rather than on design-led specialty commissions.
- Arup: Arup is a global engineering, design, and consulting firm offering landscape architecture, urban design, and resilience planning as part of broader infrastructure and built-environment mandates. It overlaps with Field Operations on climate-resilient infrastructure and waterfront projects but as a wider portfolio player.
Emerging players
- Snøhetta: Snøhetta is a global architecture and landscape architecture practice increasingly competing on integrated public-realm, waterfront, and cultural projects. It overlaps with Field Operations on landscape-led urban design commissions but operates a broader architectural portfolio.
- James Carpenter Design Associates: A New York-based design practice working at the intersection of landscape, public art, and infrastructure. It is a smaller, more specialized peer overlapping with Field Operations on integrated urban-infrastructure-to-public-space projects.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
James Corner Field Operations social profiles
Digital presenceJames Corner Field Operations financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
James Corner Field Operations leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles20 records
James Corner Field Operations funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
James Corner Field Operations M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about James Corner Field Operations
What does James Corner Field Operations do?
James Corner Field Operations is a landscape architecture and urban design practice that delivers design services across landscape architecture, urban design, master planning, and an ecology practice. The firm creates parks, public spaces, waterfronts, and urban redevelopments for government agencies, private developers, cultural institutions, and educational organizations. Services are delivered through commissioned project engagements that include conceptual design, master planning, detailed design, and implementation oversight.
Is James Corner Field Operations a public or private company?
James Corner Field Operations is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was James Corner Field Operations founded?
James Corner Field Operations was founded in 1990. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is James Corner Field Operations based?
James Corner Field Operations is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does James Corner Field Operations make money?
One revenue line is on record: professional Services - Landscape Architecture.
Who are James Corner Field Operations's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are OLIN, Hargreaves Associates, Sasaki Associates, W Architecture and Landscape Architecture, Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates (MVVA) and SWA Group. Broad incumbents are AECOM and Arup. Emerging players are Snøhetta and James Carpenter Design Associates.
Does James Corner Field Operations have an API?
No public API is recorded for James Corner Field Operations.
What industry is James Corner Field Operations in?
James Corner Field Operations's product category is Landscape Architecture Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAHAKAC, Landscape Architecture & Site Design, with a secondary code of BPAHAKAD, Urban Planning & Master Planning. Its NAICS code is 54132.