What Balmori Associates does

Balmori Associates is a private professional services design firm specializing in landscape architecture, urban design, and master planning, founded in 1990 by Diana Balmori and headquartered at 1123 Broadway, New York. The firm is now led by partners Noemie Lafaurie-Debany and Javier Gonzalez-Campana and operates with a multi-disciplinary, multi-lingual team in the 11-50 employee range. Balmori is certified as a Women-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE) in New York State and is licensed in Massachusetts.

The firm's core offerings comprise landscape architecture services, urban design and master planning (including public space design, urban regeneration, and waterfront development), and two specialized practices — Floating Landscapes and Green Roofs and Walls — supported by an internal research arm called Bal/Lab that has operated since 2006 to develop proprietary methods in phytoremediation, floating-island engineering, and landscape representation. Its underlying technical approach rests on sustainable and regenerative design principles, treating soil, water, air, plants, and animals as integral design elements, with particular expertise in interfacing landscape and architecture across scales ranging from small gardens to 482-hectare master plans.

Balmori generates revenue through project-based professional services fees negotiated per engagement across government, real-estate developer, and cultural-institution clients. Business development is anchored in participation in invited international design competitions (Sejong City 2007, Madrid Nuevo Norte, Hoboken Rebuild by Design 2015), direct commissions from government and institutional buyers, and long-term partnerships with tier-one architecture and engineering firms including Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, OMA, ARUP, and BuroHappold. Executed projects span the U.S., South America (Argentina, Brazil, Colombia), Europe (Spain, UK, Georgia), the Middle East (Qatar, Jordan), and Asia (South Korea, China, India, Vietnam, Singapore, Japan, Kazakhstan).

Name

Balmori Associates

Legal name

Balmori Associates, Inc.

Website

https://balmori.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Balmori Associates is a private New York-based landscape architecture and urban design firm founded in 1990, serving government, real-estate developer, and cultural-institution clients across the Americas, Europe, and Asia through project-based professional services and international design competitions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Landscape Architecture Services: Professional landscape architecture and urban design services for public and private sector clients. Revenue is generated through project-based fees for master planning, design guidelines, landscape architecture, and environmental solution projects across government, institutional, and commercial sectors.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Balmori Associates is a landscape architecture and urban design firm that delivers site-specific landscape, urban, and master planning services, with a particular emphasis on regenerative design, water management, and ecological systems. The firm serves public agencies, developers, and cultural institutions, and operates an in-house research arm (Bal/Lab) that develops new typologies such as floating landscapes, green roofs, and green walls.

Product overview

Balmori Associates is an international urban design and landscape architecture firm founded in 1990, led by partners Noemie Lafaurie-Debany and Javier Gonzalez-Campana. The firm offers landscape architecture services and urban design/master planning as its core offerings, complemented by its Bal/Lab research initiative that explores new technologies, temporary projects, and landscape representation. Their specialized services include Floating Landscapes (floating islands for water filtration and habitat) and Green Roofs and Walls. The portfolio spans public spaces, infrastructure, urban design and waterfronts, and art installations and gardens across the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Landscape Architecture
• Urban Design and Master Planning
• Bal/Lab Research Studio
• Floating Landscapes
• Green Roofs and Walls
• Water Management and Regenerative Design

Quantifiable outcome

• Madrid Nuevo Norte pre-certified through LEED for community plan & design and BREEAM ES Urbanismo
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ARUPcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Engineering and design partnership on Madrid Nuevo Norte (Europe's largest urban regeneration project) and East Lake City Ecological Park in Hanoi, Vietnam.
• Pelli Clarke Pelli ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2007Long-term strategic partnership on major international projects including Sejong City master plan (competition win 2007), Abandoibarra Masterplan Bilbao, Tucumán Civic Center and Airport, and numerous other projects spanning multiple continents since the 1990s.
• BuroHappold EngineeringcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEngineering partnership on multiple projects including Tucumán Civic Center, Tucumán Airport, and San Miguel de Tucumán projects.
• Joel Sanders ArchitectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on MOBisle (2006), Bedford House (2011), 684 Broadway (2007), and other projects exploring landscape-architecture interface.
• HR&A AdvisorsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEconomic development advisory partnership on Grand Connection Bellevue project and Hoboken Rebuild by Design competition.
• Mobility In ChainminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMobility and transportation design partnership on Grand Connection Bellevue project.
• Knippers HelbigminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEngineering and design partnership on Grand Connection Bellevue and I-405 crossing alternatives in Bellevue, WA.
• University of Guelph - School of Environmental Design and Rural DevelopmentminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic collaboration including guest lectures presenting Balmori's recent projects and landscape representation lab to students.
• PennDesign (University of Pennsylvania)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on floating island prototypes in the Delaware River in Philadelphia (2013), installed with Floating Island International.
• OMA (Office for Metropolitan Architecture)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Hoboken Rebuild by Design project (2014-2015), winning $230 million award from HUD for comprehensive urban water strategy.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• AECOM: AECOM is a global AEC firm that provides landscape architecture, urban design, and master planning as part of a much larger engineering and infrastructure portfolio. It competes for the same government and developer clients and can deliver multi-disciplinary scopes that a small firm like Balmori cannot.
• Arup: Arup is a global engineering and design consultancy that partners with Balmori on Madrid Nuevo Norte and East Lake City. As a broad incumbent it increasingly bundles planning, engineering, and resilience advisory services, competing for scope on the same mega-projects Balmori targets.

Direct peers

• OLIN: OLIN is a landscape architecture, urban design, and planning firm with a similar profile to Balmori: it works at the intersection of landscape and architecture, on public, cultural, and developer projects, often at civic scale. Strong direct overlap in clientele and service mix.
• West 8 Urban Design & Landscape Architecture: West 8 is a Dutch landscape architecture and urban design firm of comparable size and international reach to Balmori. It directly competes on European master plans, waterfront regeneration, and public realm design, and has won many of the same international competitions.
• Sasaki: Sasaki is an integrated design practice spanning landscape architecture, urban planning, and architecture. It is a direct peer on master planning, campus, and urban regeneration work and serves many of the same institutional and government clients globally.
• SWA Group: SWA Group is one of the largest U.S. landscape architecture and urban design practices, with offices across the U.S. and Asia. It directly competes with Balmori on master planning, urban regeneration, and waterfront design, and serves the same government, developer, and institutional client base.
• James Corner Field Operations: Field Operations is a leading landscape architecture and urban design firm best known for the High Line in New York. It competes directly with Balmori on large-scale public realm, urban regeneration, and waterfront projects, often in the same global cities.
• Snøhetta: Snøhetta is a multi-disciplinary design practice integrating landscape, architecture, and urban design. It directly competes with Balmori on cultural institutions, public realm, and master plans, and has comparable international prestige and competition-winning experience.
• Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates (MVVA): MVVA is a New York-based landscape architecture practice with comparable scope to Balmori, working on urban parks, waterfronts, and campus projects for public agencies and developers. Direct overlap in services and the Northeast U.S. government client pool.
• SCAPE Landscape Architecture: SCAPE is a New York-based landscape architecture and urban design practice specializing in climate adaptation, waterfronts, and public space, including post-Sandy Rebuild by Design work. Highly comparable to Balmori's Hoboken resilience mandate and overall service profile.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/balmorilab
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC4Hl3zK4gW4Y5j4K6Z8Q
• Instagraminstagram.com/balmoriassociates
• Facebookfacebook.com/balmorilab

Compliance1 record

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 Balmori Associates