What Moule & Polyzoides does

Moule & Polyzoides is an architecture and urbanism firm headquartered in Pasadena, California, founded in 1982 by Elizabeth Moule and Stefanos Polyzoides. The firm provides professional design services spanning individual buildings through city-scale master plans, with a portfolio of over 300 completed projects. Service offerings include single and multi-family housing, hotels and hospitality, neighborhood and district plans, campus master plans, town centers, streets and open space design, feasibility and conceptual design studies, form-based codes, and town architect services. The firm applies New Urbanist design principles, form-based codes expertise, and sustainable architecture practices (including LEED Platinum-certified work) across residential, commercial, hospitality, civic, and institutional typologies. Underlying technical competencies include passive climate-responsive design (rammed earth, adobe, wind towers for desert climates), LEED-certified sustainable building practices, and the development of regulatory codes that govern physical urban form.

The firm's customer base spans five primary segments: higher education institutions, municipal and city governments, hospitality developers, residential developers, and private real estate investors. Notable clients include New College of Florida, Scripps College, Occidental College, City of Lancaster, City of Beverly Hills, Auberge Resorts Collection (Commodore Perry Estate), the Rembe Family (Los Poblanos Inn), NRDC (Robert Redford Building), and Boyle Investment Company (Fisherville Master Plan). The firm is led by founding partners Moule and Polyzoides, both co-founders of the Congress for the New Urbanism, with Principal Chris Allaire supporting leadership. Ownership is concentrated with the founding partners under a traditional professional partnership model, with no disclosed external investment or parent company.

Revenue is generated through project-based professional services fees charged on commissioned projects. The firm operates a sales-led go-to-market relying on reputation, portfolio quality, published work, industry awards, and established client relationships. No public pricing tiers, revenue figures, or financial disclosures exist. Marketing is primarily through the firm's professional portfolio website, museum and university exhibitions, conference presentations via CNU leadership, and earned media from industry awards. Geographic reach spans California, Texas, Florida, Arizona, New Mexico, New York, New Jersey, Mississippi, Tennessee internationally, and Panama, Guatemala, Kenya, Canada, UAE, and Saudi Arabia internationally.

Name

Moule & Polyzoides

Legal name

Moule & Polyzoides, Architects and Urbanists

Website

https://mparchitects.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Moule & Polyzoides is a Pasadena-based architecture and urbanism firm founded in 1982 that designs buildings, neighborhoods, campuses, and city-scale master plans for universities, municipalities, hospitality developers, and real estate investors. The firm is led by the co-founders of the Congress for the New Urbanism and has completed over 300 projects in the U.S. and internationally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural and Urban Design Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (54131), Architectural Services (541310)

akta.pro primary industry

Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community Engagement & Participatory Planning (BPAHAKAO), Housing Development, Construction & Rehabilitation Programs (BPAIANAB)

Keywords

• Architecture services
• Urban design
• Master planning
• New urbanism
• Sustainable design

Headquarters

HQ city

Pasadena

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Architecture and Design Services: Professional fees for architectural design of residential, commercial, hospitality, civic, and institutional buildings. Revenue is project-based, generated through design contracts with private developers, institutions, and government entities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Moule & Polyzoides is an architecture and urbanism firm that delivers professional design services for buildings and the public realm at every scale. Offerings span architectural design of residential, commercial, hospitality, civic, and institutional buildings; master planning for university campuses, neighborhoods, districts, new towns, and metropolitan regions; form-based codes and specific plans; historic preservation and adaptive reuse; and ongoing town architect advisory services. Projects are delivered under direct design commissions to public and private clients across the U.S. and internationally.

Product overview

Moule & Polyzoides is an architecture and urbanism firm offering design services including single and multi-family housing, streets and open space design, neighborhood and district plans, campus architecture and planning, hotels and inns, town centers, feasibility studies, form-based codes, and town architect services. The firm was founded in 1982 and has completed over 300 projects ranging from individual buildings to master plans for districts, neighborhoods, towns, and cities. Their portfolio spans hospitality projects (Commodore Perry Hotel, Los Poblanos Inn, Marina Hotel), transit-oriented developments (Mission Meridian Village, Del Mar Station), campus master plans (New College of Florida, Occidental College, Pomona College, Scripps College), urban revitalization plans (Downtown LA Strategic Plan, Lancaster Boulevard, River North District), and sustainable new towns (Civano New Town, Kalu Yala, Fisherville). The firm specializes in New Urbanism principles and sustainable design practices.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Residential Architecture Architectural design of single-family residences, multi-family housing, courtyard housing, townhouses, apartments, and mixed-use residential developments for private and institutional clients.
• Commercial and Mixed-Use Architecture Design of commercial buildings, mixed-use developments, retail districts, and office spaces, including transit-oriented mixed-use projects such as Playhouse Plaza and La Peer Hotel & Private Residences.
• Hotels and Hospitality Design Architectural design services for boutique hotels, resorts, country inns, and hospitality developments, including adaptive reuse of historic estates such as the Auberge-branded Commodore Perry Estate and Los Poblanos Inn.
• Historic Preservation and Rehabilitation Restoration, rehabilitation, and adaptive reuse of historic buildings and landmarks, including National Register properties such as Scripps College campus, the 1928 Perry House, and the 1902 Dodsworth Building.
• Transit-Oriented Development Design Design of transit-oriented developments integrating residential, retail, and public space around transit stations, including Del Mar Station Transit Village and Mission Meridian Village.
• Civic and Institutional Architecture Design of civic, institutional, nonprofit, religious, and community buildings such as the Robert Redford Building for NRDC and the St. Andrew Community Facilities Project.
• Athletic Facilities Design Architectural design of athletic and recreation facilities, including the Sallie Tiernan Field House at Scripps College and the Occidental College Pool Complex & Tennis Center.
• Campus Architecture and Planning Comprehensive master planning and architectural design services for university and institutional campuses, including New College of Florida, Scripps College, Occidental College, and Pomona College.
• Downtown and Town Centers Planning Design and planning services for pedestrian-oriented, mixed-use downtowns and town centers, including the Lancaster Boulevard Transformation and Montclair Mall Town Center conversion.
• Neighborhood and District Plans Comprehensive planning services for neighborhoods, districts, and mixed-use developments, including Mission Meridian Village and the Beverly Hills Golden Triangle Enhancement.
• New Town Master Planning Master planning for new towns and large-scale sustainable communities, including Civano New Town (Tucson), Fisherville Master Plan (Tennessee), Al Aqair New Town (Saudi Arabia), and Costa del Oeste (Panama).
• Metropolitan and Regional Planning Regional and metropolitan-scale planning, including the Downtown Los Angeles Strategic Plan and regional frameworks spanning multiple districts.
• Waterfront and Infrastructure Planning Master planning for waterfronts, boulevards, streets, and public infrastructure, including the Buffalo Waterfront Revitalization and the 710 Freeway Reclaim initiative.
• Specific Plans and Form-Based Codes Development of regulatory codes and specific plans that focus on physical form rather than use-based zoning, including the Downtown Fresno Specific Plan, Downtown Burbank Specific Plan, City of Santa Ana Transit Zoning Code, and River North District form-based code.
• Suburban Retrofit Planning Planning services for retrofitting suburban malls and districts into walkable, mixed-use town centers, including the Montclair Mall conversion and other suburban-to-town-center transformations.
• Feasibility and Conceptual Design Studies Early-stage design exploration and feasibility analysis for development projects, providing clients with concept development and project viability assessment prior to full design engagement.
• Town Architect Services Ongoing architectural and urban advisory services for municipalities overseeing development projects, providing continuity of design vision across multiple phases of a town's growth.

Quantifiable outcome

• 119% increase in downtown Lancaster revenue within two years of Lancaster Boulevard completion
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments5 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

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and major.

• George Moreno & PartnersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on Kalu Yala sustainable village project in Republic of Panama, where George Moreno & Partners provided local architectural expertise alongside Moule & Polyzoides' urban design.
• Duany Plater-ZyberkmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on Playa Vista master plan, one of the most dynamic districts in the Los Angeles Area. Duany Plater-Zyberk provided co-leadership on this pioneering mixed-use urbanism project that reintroduced mixed-use urbanism to Southern California.
• Moore Ruble YudellminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on Playa Vista master plan as part of multidisciplinary team including architecture and landscape design expertise.
• Hanna/OlinminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on Playa Vista master plan providing landscape architecture services as part of multidisciplinary team.
• Legorreta ArquitectosminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on Playa Vista master plan providing architectural design as part of multidisciplinary team.
• GenslerminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerServed as Executive Architect on Playhouse Plaza mixed-use development in Pasadena, working alongside Moule & Polyzoides' design leadership.
• FFS ArchitectsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated with FFS Architects on New College of Florida Master Plan, helping establish a new institutional identity and bringing coherence to the 140-acre campus.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• HOK: A global design firm with practices spanning higher education, healthcare, hospitality, and urban design. Comparable in pursuit of campus master plans and hospitality commissions but operating at significantly greater scale and geographic reach.
• Gensler: The largest global architecture and design firm, with deep capabilities in commercial, hospitality, and mixed-use projects. Already a partner on Moule & Polyzoides' Playhouse Plaza and competes broadly for similar institutional and commercial clients.
• Perkins&Will: A large global architecture firm with strong sustainability credentials (LEED, AIA COTE) and broad institutional, higher-education, and healthcare practices. Competes for the same higher-education and civic clients but at much greater scale and broader typology scope.

Direct peers

• Lake|Flato Architects: A San Antonio-based architecture and planning firm known for sustainable, regionally rooted design across residential, hospitality, civic, and educational typologies. Comparable in size, regional reputation, sustainability focus, and New Urbanist-influenced campus and hospitality work.
• Sasaki Associates: An interdisciplinary planning and design firm combining landscape architecture, urban planning, and architecture for campuses, districts, and waterfronts. Directly comparable to Moule & Polyzoides on large-scale planning, campus master plans, and mixed-use district work.
• Robert A.M. Stern Architects: An architecture firm known for contextual, classical, and traditional design across residential, hospitality, campus, and civic projects. Comparable to Moule & Polyzoides in design philosophy rooted in classical/traditional urbanism and durable relationships with institutional clients.
• Torti Gallas Partners: An urban design and architecture firm focused on form-based codes, transit-oriented development, and mixed-use town centers. Directly comparable in typology, client base (municipalities and developers), and New Urbanist methodology.
• Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company (DPZ CoDesign): Founded by Andrés Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, the other co-founders of the Congress for the New Urbanism alongside Moule & Polyzoides. Both firms operate architect-led urban design practices specializing in New Urbanist master plans and form-based codes, frequently collaborating on large-scale projects such as Playa Vista.
• Cooper Carry: An Atlanta-based architecture and planning firm with deep experience in mixed-use, campus, and urban infill projects. Comparable in typology mix and pursuit of mid- to large-scale district and master-plan commissions for developers and institutions.
• BNIM Architects: A national architecture and planning firm with deep expertise in sustainable design, master planning, and high-performance buildings (AIA Committee on the Environment top-ten). Comparable to Moule & Polyzoides in its integration of sustainability, urban design, and architecture across campus, civic, and community-scale projects.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/moulepolyzoides
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Moule & Polyzoides