AAG Architects

What AAG Architects does

AAG Architects is a privately held regional architectural firm headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, with a second office in Beaufort, SC. Founded in 1995 (rebranded from AAG Associates to AAG Architects in April 2016), the firm delivers architectural design, masterplanning, facility assessments, and construction administration services using industry-standard tools — Autodesk Revit Architecture, Autodesk AutoCAD, Adobe Creative Suite, and SketchUp — across K-12 education, healthcare, higher education, municipal, athletic, and commercial projects in South Carolina and into Georgia.

The firm's revenue model is professional services fee-based, with project-by-project quoting against the scope and complexity of each commission and no publicly disclosed pricing. K-12 educational facility design is the dominant vertical and the firm's principal specialty, serving public school districts through direct client engagement, RFP responses, repeat relationships, and referrals; healthcare, municipal, and commercial projects form a secondary mix. Documented outcomes include the Westwood High School LEED Silver certification (2015) and repeated under-budget deliveries (e.g., $18M under on Westwood HS, $1.2M under on Tega Cay Elementary, $6.5M under on District Stadium Three), supporting a reputation for cost discipline with public-sector clients.

Leadership is principal-led, with Anish Shah (AIA, ALEP, LEED AP BD+C) directing programming, planning, design, and business operations, S. Shane Lather managing contracts, finance, and corporate operations, and Ben Thompson (AIA) as a third principal. Herman Gaither (former superintendent) serves as Educational Planner and Julia Deckman as Charleston Office Manager. AAG has no disclosed outside investors, no parent company, and no M&A activity, operating as an independent firm with 11–50 employees and a cumulative track record of 40+ major commissions totaling $450M+ in construction value and 2M+ square feet delivered.

Name

AAG Architects

Legal name

AAG Architects

Website

https://accessaag.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

AAG Architects is a privately held regional architectural firm based in Charleston and Beaufort, South Carolina, specializing in K-12 educational facility design for public school districts, with secondary work in healthcare, municipal, athletic, and commercial projects across South Carolina and Georgia.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (541310)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)

Keywords

• Architectural design services
• K-12 educational facilities
• Master planning services
• Construction administration
• Sustainable building design

Headquarters

HQ city

Charleston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Architecture and Design Services: Project-based professional fees for architectural design, masterplanning, facility assessments, and construction administration services. Revenue is generated through design contracts with school districts, healthcare organizations, and municipal clients across South Carolina and Georgia.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

AAG Architects is a full-service architecture firm that provides design, planning, and construction administration services for K-12 educational facilities, higher education, healthcare, municipal, and commercial clients. The firm specializes in new construction, additions, renovations, and restorations, with particular depth in K-12 school design delivered across South Carolina and Georgia.

Product overview

AAG Architects is an architecture and planning firm offering comprehensive design services rather than a software product company. The firm's core offerings consist of Architecture Services (including facility assessment, programming, space planning, sustainable design, LEED/Green Globes certification) and Planning Services (masterplanning, feasibility studies, cost estimating). Their project portfolio focuses on K-12 educational facilities (their primary specialty), higher education, healthcare facilities, municipal facilities, and commercial projects, with particular expertise in school design and community-oriented developments. The company operates from offices in Charleston and Beaufort, SC, serving clients throughout South Carolina and into Georgia.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Architecture Services
• Planning Services Master planning and facilities planning services for school districts, healthcare organizations, and municipal clients to guide long-term capital improvement and campus development.
• K-12 School Design Specialized architectural design and planning for K-12 public and private school facilities, leveraging the firm's Accredited Learning Environment Planner (ALEP) credential to deliver purpose-built learning environments.

Quantifiable outcome

• Westwood High School delivered $18 million under budget ($89M budget, $71M actual)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers10 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

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• WestRock (formerly Mead Westvaco)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWestRock served as the developer for the 76,500 acre East Edisto master planned development including Summers Corner, where AAG Architects designed Sand Hill Elementary School and Rollings Middle School of the Arts as part of the planned community development. This was a multi-year collaborative effort involving land development teams, urban planners, and landscape architects.
• Urban Design AssociatesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with Urban Design Associates on the Summers Corner development project including Sand Hill Elementary School and Rollings Middle School of the Arts rendering and masterplanning work.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Huckabee Architects: Huckabee is a Texas-based architecture firm focused on K-12 educational facilities, comparable to AAG in vertical specialization but serving a different geographic region.
• HMFH Architects: HMFH Architects is a Cambridge, MA-based firm specializing in K-12 educational facility design, comparable to AAG in niche focus but operating in the New England market rather than the Southeast.
• Legat Architects: Legat Architects is an Illinois-based architecture firm with a dedicated K-12 practice, similar in mission and client base to AAG but operating in the Midwest rather than the Southeast.

Broad incumbents

• Perkins&Will: Perkins&Will is a large national architecture firm with a substantial K-12 and education practice, regularly competing for major school district commissions across the U.S., including in the Southeast where AAG operates.
• CannonDesign: CannonDesign is a major national design firm with an established K-12 education practice that competes for large school district programs, representing a broader, well-resourced incumbent versus AAG's regional boutique model.

Direct peers

• Stevens & Wilkinson: Stevens & Wilkinson is a Southeast architecture and engineering firm serving K-12, higher education, healthcare, and municipal clients in Georgia and the Carolinas, with overlapping project types and clients to AAG.
• SGA | NCW: SGA|NCW (formerly SGA Architecture) is a regional architecture firm serving K-12, higher education, and community clients across the Southeast, directly comparable to AAG in target clients and project mix.
• LS3P: LS3P is a Southeast-based architecture firm with offices in Charleston, SC and other regional cities, serving K-12, higher education, healthcare, and commercial clients across the same geography as AAG. It is one of AAG's most direct regional competitors for South Carolina school district work.
• McMillan Pazdan Smith: McMillan Pazdan Smith is a South Carolina-headquartered architecture firm with a strong K-12 and education practice, overlapping directly with AAG's core market and project types across the Carolinas.
• Jumper Carter Sease Architects: Jumper Carter Sease is a South Carolina architecture firm with K-12 and institutional work, directly competing with AAG for school district and public-sector commissions in the same geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/aag_charleston
• Facebookfacebook.com/AAGAssociates
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/aag-associates

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 AAG Architects