Field Paoli Architects

Name

Field Paoli Architects

Legal name

Field Paoli Architects

Website

https://fieldpaoli.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Professional architectural design services: Fee-based project engagements spanning architecture, master planning, interior design, and urban design. Revenue is generated through project-based contracts for new construction, renovation, master planning, and tenant improvements across civic, retail, grocery, food & beverage, campus, and international projects. Long-term repeat-client relationships (e.g., 20 Whole Foods Market projects, 10 Flower Child restaurants) provide a recurring revenue base.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Field Paoli Architects is a San Francisco-based architecture and design firm providing professional services across seven practice areas: Civic & Public Architecture, Food & Beverage Design, Campus Life Architecture, Master Planning & Urban Design, Retail & Mixed-Use Destinations, Specialty Grocery & Markets, and International Projects. The firm delivers site-customized architectural design, interior design, urban design, and master planning services for developers, retailers, grocers, restaurant operators, universities, and municipalities, anchored by four-decade-long client relationships such as 20+ Whole Foods Market projects and 10 Flower Child restaurant designs.

Product overview

Field Paoli Architects is a single integrated architecture and design firm (not a multi-product SaaS platform) offering seven practice areas that together form its service portfolio: Civic & Public Architecture, Food & Beverage Design, Campus Life Architecture, Master Planning & Urban Design, Retail & Mixed-Use Destinations, Specialty Grocery & Markets, and International Projects. These practice areas share the firm's principals (Yann Taylor, Christen Soares, Maureen O'Neil) and design tools (Revit and AutoCAD), and they are increasingly bundled through the Campus Planning, Design and Architecture Collaborative announced in March 2025, which extends the firm's campus-life and master-planning capabilities via partnerships with Urban Field Studio, Christina Paul, and Dalton Associates. The firm is a Certified Women's Business Enterprise (WBENC) headquartered at 711 Market Street, 2nd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Civic & Public Architecture Architectural design services for civic and public buildings such as branch libraries, town centers, and veterans' memorial buildings. Representative projects include the Berkeley South Branch Library, Tesoro Viejo Town Center, and the Veterans Memorial Building, delivered for municipal and public-sector clients.
• Food & Beverage Design Architectural and interior design for restaurants, wine bars, coffee shops, ice cream shops, and food halls. Includes site-customized brand standards for multi-location restaurant brands (e.g., 10 Flower Child restaurants for Fox Restaurant Concepts) and venues such as FloodCraft, Highwire Coffee, Ghirardelli shops, Vino Volo, Compline Wine Shop, and The Public Market Emeryville.
• Campus Life Architecture Architecture and interior design for university student unions, dining commons, bookstores, and campus retail venues. Representative projects include UC Davis Memorial Union Renewal, UC Riverside Commons Mall & Bookstore Renovation, and USF Lone Mountain Dining Commons, delivered to public and private universities and community college districts.
• Master Planning & Urban Design Long-range campus, district, and regional master planning and urban design consulting. Representative projects include The Crossroads, Northgate Town Square, SJSU Campus Master Plan (approved 2024), Bay Area Regional Mall Redevelopment, Victoria Gardens, and the San José–Evergreen Community College District Facilities Master Plan (2027–2037).
• Retail & Mixed-Use Destinations Architecture and urban design for retail centers and mixed-use destinations, including lifestyle centers, malls, and grocery-anchored retail. Representative projects include Broadway Plaza (Walnut Creek), Palladio at Broadstone, First Street Napa, VESPR 24th & Harrison, Otay Ranch Town Center, The Patios at Westfield Valencia Town Center, Red Cliffs Mall, and Summerlin Grocery Retail District.
• Specialty Grocery & Markets Design of specialty grocery stores and marketplaces, anchored by the firm's 20+ Whole Foods Market locations. Representative projects include Draeger's Blackhawk, Draeger's Marketplace San Mateo, Whole Foods on The Alameda, Whole Foods Market Gilman, and Whole Foods Market Summerlin.
• International Projects Design of retail and mixed-use developments outside the United States, primarily in Latin America. Representative projects include Costa Plaza (Guayaquil, Ecuador), Forum Cuernavaca (Morelos, Mexico), and the Alhambra Mall expansion (Guayaquil, Ecuador).

Quantifiable outcome

• Broadway Plaza: revenue doubled after the firm's 2016 redevelopment
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers20 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

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

• Whole Foods MarketflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerWhole Foods Market is Field Paoli's longest-standing and most prolific commercial relationship, with 20+ projects designed since 2007 across Northern California and beyond. Notable collaborations include the first Whole Foods with an in-store microbrewery/tap room at Coddingtown (2009), the San Jose store on The Alameda with a second-floor beer garden, and the 20th Whole Foods at Stonestown Galleria (2022). Field Paoli helps Whole Foods tailor store design to site-specific demographics and integrate new concepts like tap rooms, brew pubs, and wellness centers.
• Fox Restaurant Concepts (Flower Child)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term collaboration to develop and roll out architectural design standards for Flower Child restaurants across the country. Ten Flower Child restaurants have been delivered to date, leveraging Field Paoli's expertise in site-customized brand-standard design for restaurant chains.
• Ghirardelli Chocolate CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-store collaboration spanning ice cream and chocolate shops at The LINQ (Las Vegas), The Wrigley Building (Chicago), and Boston's Faneuil Hall. The LINQ design — including the "box within a box" soffit concept and the iconic Ghirardelli bulb sign — became part of Ghirardelli's new store branding standards. VP of Restaurant and Retail Yvo Smit was a key counterpart.
• Campus Planning, Design and Architecture Collaborative (Urban Field Studio, Cygnus Planning, Dalton Education Associates)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFormed in March 2025 by Field Paoli together with Urban Field Studio (Jane Lin), Christina Paul of Cygnus Planning, and Linda Dalton of Dalton Education Associates. The collaborative provides an integrated offering spanning facilities assessments, master planning, landscape, and architectural design for higher-education clients. Announced in connection with the SJSU Campus Master Plan and the San José Evergreen Community College District Facilities Master Plan (2027–2037).
• GICSAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMexico City-based developer of Forum Cuernavaca, an adaptive-reuse open-air retail and entertainment center carved from a former textile factory. Field Paoli worked closely with GICSA's client lead (a former architect turned developer) to preserve and adapt the existing concrete-and-steel buildings. Other consultants on the team included environmental graphic design firm RSM Design, Dallas-based landscape architect Studio Outside, lighting designer Theo Kondos, and local architect Antonio Garcia.
• Antonio Garcia (local architect, Cuernavaca)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLocal architect of record for Forum Cuernavaca in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico. Surveyed and documented the existing empty factory structures and is providing construction drawings, complementing Field Paoli's design leadership.
• RSM DesignminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerEnvironmental graphic design firm engaged early on the Forum Cuernavaca project to create a brand identity layering contemporary modernism onto the industrial vernacular.
• Studio OutsideminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerDallas-based landscape architect for Forum Cuernavaca, likely to be joined by a local landscape consultant for native species specification.
• Theo KondosminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLighting designer for Forum Cuernavaca.
• ACE Mentor Program of AmericaminorOthersField Paoli staff (including architect Gabi Blackburn) volunteer as mentors in the ACE Mentor Program of America, a nationwide nonprofit that helps high school students explore careers in architecture, engineering, and construction. The firm hosts student teams in its offices and supports the annual ACE design competition, including at the Autodesk Gallery in San Francisco.
• National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA)minorOthersField Paoli is a Corporate Member of NOMA, supporting the organization's mission to expand the firm's reach to minority candidates and identify ways to promote participation of minorities in architecture.
• San Francisco Urban Land Institute (ULI)minorOthersField Paoli is involved with the San Francisco chapter of the Urban Land Institute; principals including Yann Taylor have moderated ULI panels (e.g., the ULI Fall Meeting on retail and restaurant challenges in San Francisco).
• The Merrill CompaniesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeveloper partner on Prairiefire, a unique mixed-use project in Overland Park, Kansas anchored by the Museum at Prairiefire. Featured together in Urban Land Magazine, with principal Rob Anderson and Merrill's Fred Merrill co-authoring the article.
• Caesars EntertainmentminorOthersLandlord/partner for the Ghirardelli shop at The LINQ in Las Vegas; approved a tenant signage variance allowing the iconic Ghirardelli bulb sign to span the full width of the store's parapet — a key element of the design and brand.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• SWA Group: Landscape architecture and urban design firm working on master plans, mixed-use developments, and public realm projects that overlap with Field Paoli's master planning and open-air retail placemaking — a partial peer that increasingly collaborates (rather than competes) on campus and district-scale projects.

Direct peers

• Rios: Placemaking-driven architecture and landscape firm with work in mixed-use destinations, civic projects, and experiential retail. Closely comparable to Field Paoli's philosophy of designing for sociability at every scale, particularly on outdoor retail and campus work.
• MG2: Architecture and design firm with strong practices in retail, restaurant, and grocery store design — including repeat-engagement brand-standard work analogous to Field Paoli's Whole Foods and Flower Child programs. Direct peer on multi-location retail rollouts.
• AvroKO: Design firm specializing in restaurants, hospitality, and food & beverage concepts — directly comparable to Field Paoli's food & beverage practice and to firms building repeatable design standards for restaurant brands like Flower Child.
• Streetsense: Retail-focused design and strategy firm working with developers, grocers, and restaurant operators on placemaking, brand environments, and mixed-use destinations — the same intersection of retail real estate, food & beverage, and placemaking that defines Field Paoli's core.
• 5+design: Retail-focused architecture and design firm specializing in brand-experience-driven retail and mixed-use environments for developers and retailers. Closely comparable in scope and approach to Field Paoli's retail/mixed-use and specialty-grocery practice areas.
• CallisonRTKL: Global architecture firm (now part of Arcadis) with deep specialty in retail, mixed-use, and lifestyle centers — the same placemaking-focused retail practice where Field Paoli has built its strongest reputation. Directly comparable on Whole Foods-tier specialty grocery and shopping-center redevelopment work.

Broad incumbents

• Gensler: The largest architecture and design firm in the world, with deep practices in retail, mixed-use, education, civic, and hospitality that overlap directly with Field Paoli's practice areas. Comparable as a benchmark for project scale and client roster, though it operates at vastly greater scale across all of Field Paoli's verticals.
• HOK: Global architecture practice with significant higher-education, civic, and mixed-use work that overlaps with Field Paoli's campus life, master planning, and civic practices. Comparable as a competitor on university and public-sector pursuits, though at substantially greater scale.
• NBBJ: Large architecture practice with significant higher-education, healthcare, and mixed-use work that overlaps with Field Paoli's campus life, civic, and master planning verticals. Comparable as a competitor for university campus master plans and student-union commissions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/fieldpaoli
• Xx.com/FieldPaoli

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Field Paoli Architects