Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects and Planners

What Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects and Planners does

Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects and Planners PLLC is a private, partner-owned landscape architecture, urban design, and planning firm founded in 2006 by Laura Starr and Stephen Whitehouse, both formerly senior leaders at Central Park Conservancy and NYC Parks. Headquartered in New York City with studios in Hudson, NY (opened 2020) and Atlanta, GA, the firm delivers integrated services across parks, waterfronts, streetscapes, campus design, resiliency planning, brownfield redevelopment, multi-family housing landscapes, and public participation. Its client base spans NYC and NYS government agencies (NYC Parks, NYS Parks, NYC DEP, NYC DOT), educational institutions (Columbia, Emory, Georgia Tech, Spelman), private developers (Durst Organization, L+M Development Partners), and nonprofits (The Battery Conservancy, Bronx River Alliance).

The firm employs five LEED-Accredited Professionals, holds NYC-certified Women's Business Enterprise status, and has been recognized with over 60 awards including ASLA (national and NY chapter), AIA, Public Design Commission, APA National Planning Excellence, Holcim Award North America Silver, and IDA Platinum. Core technical differentiators are climate resilience and green infrastructure design — anchored by The Big U Rebuild By Design winning team and Hoboken's Southwest Resiliency Park — together with interdisciplinary team delivery spanning strategic planning through construction administration.

Starr Whitehouse generates revenue exclusively through professional services fees on project-specific engagements, won via competitive RFPs, direct commissions, and inclusion in multidisciplinary design teams led by marquee architecture firms (BIG, WXY, Cook+Fox, H3 Hardy). Pricing is not publicly disclosed. The firm has no external institutional investors, no parent company, and no disclosed M&A activity; it operates as a partnership with six principals collectively owning and managing the business.

Name

Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects and Planners

Legal name

Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects and Planners PLLC

Website

https://starrwhitehouse.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Starr Whitehouse is a private New York-based landscape architecture and urban design firm serving government agencies, developers, and institutions across parks, waterfronts, resilience, and campus projects from offices in New York, Hudson, and Atlanta.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Landscape Architecture Services

NAICS

Landscape Architectural Services (541320), Architectural Services (54131), Architectural Services (541310)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro primary industry

Landscape Architecture & Site Design (BPAHAKAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Urban Planning & Master Planning (BPAHAKAD), Sustainable/Green Building & LEED Consulting (BPAHAKAG)

Keywords

• Landscape architecture
• Urban design
• Master planning
• Climate resilience
• Public space design

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Professional Services - Design and Planning Fees: The firm generates revenue through professional fees for landscape architecture, urban design, and planning services on public and private sector projects. Services range from initial outreach, policy planning, and master planning to physical design of urban gardens, streetscapes, districts, and parks.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Starr Whitehouse provides professional landscape architecture, urban design, and planning services for public and private sector clients. Services span strategic planning, master planning, and policy development through detailed physical design and construction administration for parks, waterfronts, streetscapes, campuses, residential developments, and resilience infrastructure projects.

Product overview

Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects and Planners PLLC is a landscape architecture, urban design, and planning firm that offers a comprehensive suite of services centered around landscape architecture. The firm operates across multiple service categories including park design, waterfront design, urban design, campus design, resiliency planning, brownfield redevelopment, multi-family housing landscapes, rooftop and courtyard design, public participation services, planning services, and streets/bikeways design. The firm also provides LEED Certification consulting through its five LEED-Accredited Professionals. Their work spans from initial community engagement and strategic planning through design development to construction administration, covering projects ranging from pocket parks to regional park systems. The firm has three studio locations (New York, Atlanta, and Hudson) and works with public sector clients, private developers, and institutional clients.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Parks Design

Quantifiable outcome

• Multiple projects have achieved LEED certification including Platinum for Bushwick Inlet Park
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments4 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

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• Kiss+Cathcart ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with Kiss+Cathcart Architects on Starlight Park and Bronx River House project, supporting the programs and environmental mission of the Bronx River Alliance. Also collaborated on Bushwick Inlet Park project.
• BIG ArchitectsflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with BIG Architects on VIA 57 West courtyard design and The Big U Rebuild By Design winning project. Awarded Holcim Award North America Silver for The Big U.
• WXY ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with WXY Architects on Battery Bosque project, which received multiple awards including AIA New York State Award of Excellence and Waterfront Center Top Honor Award.
• Times Square AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCoordinated the Second Century Workshop with the Times Square Alliance, the area's business improvement district, to develop a vision for Times Square's second century.
• Sam Schwarz EngineeringcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with Sam Schwarz Engineering on Brooklyn Queens Expressway Enhancements project and Water Street Vision Plan, receiving Diamond and Gold Awards from ACEC New York.
• H3 Hardy Collaboration ArchitecturecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture and Convert on BAM Fisher Building rooftop landscape design.
• Piet OudolfcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with renowned garden designer Piet Oudolf on Battery Bosque project.
• Tillett Lighting DesignminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with Tillett Lighting Design on Battery Bosque project.
• Cook+Fox ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with Cook+Fox Architects on Front Street courtyards project, which received AIA National Housing Award.
• Alliance for Downtown New YorkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLed participatory workshops and developed vision for Water Street in collaboration with Alliance for Downtown New York and FXFOWLE.
• FXFOWLEcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with FXFOWLE on Water Street vision plan.
• Spelman CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Spelman College on MLK Living Lab project for educational and workforce training initiatives.
• West Atlanta Watershed AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with West Atlanta Watershed Alliance (WAWA) on MLK Living Lab green infrastructure project.
• L+M Development PartnersflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeading design for Arverne East Nature Preserve for L+M Development Partners. Also worked on Vital Brookdale affordable housing project.
• ConvertminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with Convert on BAM Fisher Building rooftop landscape.
• Quennell RothschildcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with Quennell Rothschild on Battery Perimeter, Bikeway, Oval, and Woodland project.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Sasaki Associates: International design practice spanning landscape architecture, urban planning, and architecture. Competes with Starr Whitehouse on larger master planning, campus, and waterfront commissions and has deeper bench and geographic reach.
• SWA Group: Large multi-office landscape architecture, planning, and urban design firm with a broad portfolio in parks, waterfronts, and master plans. A more established, larger-scale incumbent competing for the same category of public and private commissions.
• Hart Howerton: Multi-disciplinary planning, design, and development advisory firm with integrated landscape, planning, and architecture capabilities. Competes on master planning and large mixed-use development commissions, particularly for private developers.

Direct peers

• OLIN: Philadelphia- and NYC-based landscape architecture, urban design, and planning firm working on cultural, civic, and waterfront projects. Closely comparable in scale, design sensibility, and project types to Starr Whitehouse.
• James Corner Field Operations: NYC-headquartered landscape architecture and urban design practice known for High Line and large-scale public realm work. Direct competitor on waterfront, park, and public-sector commissions in the New York metro area.
• Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates (MVVA): Brooklyn-based landscape architecture and urban design firm specializing in public parks and waterfronts, with a comparable portfolio in NYC public realm projects (Brooklyn Bridge Park, Teardrop Park). Highly analogous in scale, project type, and client base to Starr Whitehouse.
• W Architecture and Landscape Architecture: NYC-based landscape architecture and urban design firm working on waterfronts, parks, and mixed-use developments. Comparable scale, geographic footprint, and project mix to Starr Whitehouse.
• Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects: NYC-based landscape architecture firm with a portfolio in waterfronts, parks, and institutional campuses. A like-sized direct competitor in the New York public-realm design market.
• PWP Landscape Architecture: Berkeley- and NYC-based landscape architecture firm with comparable work in urban parks, waterfronts, and institutional campuses. Similar project types and a similar mid-sized practice profile.

Emerging players

• Landworks Studio: Smaller, NYC-based landscape architecture practice focused on public realm, waterfront, and green infrastructure projects. Overlaps with Starr Whitehouse in NYC public-sector commissions but at a more boutique scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/starrwhitehouse

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 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 Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects and Planners