What Lehman Smith McLeish does

Lehman Smith McLeish, operating as LSM Studio, is a workplace architecture and interior design firm headquartered in Washington, DC with a secondary office in New York. Founded in 1991 and operating for over three decades, the firm provides architectural design, interior design, real estate analysis, FF&E coordination, art coordination, branding, environmental graphics, and creative services for enterprise clients. LSM organizes its practice around three verticals — Legal, Corporate, and Tech & Finance — and serves a roster of blue-chip clients including major law firms (Covington & Burling, Milbank, Paul Hastings, WilmerHale, Miller & Chevalier), financial institutions (Bloomberg, Centerbridge Partners, Rockefeller Capital Management), real estate developers (Brookfield Properties, Hines, Tishman Speyer), defense contractors (General Dynamics), and aviation clients (Gulfstream).

LSM monetizes through fee-for-service professional design engagements, with projects custom-scoped per client. Its technical capabilities center on human-centered workplace design with a distinct competency in integrating commissioned art and architecture, supported by a global network of art consultants and curators. The firm's proprietary product line, the Andromeda Collection (developed over a decade with Italian furniture manufacturer UniFor and launched at Milan Design Week 2024), marks a step from pure services into a branded, manufactured design product. Go-to-market is enterprise field sales targeting C-suite and facilities leadership at large institutions, with reputation, editorial coverage in publications such as Wallpaper*, Interior Design, and Architectural Record, and a dense portfolio of AIA, IIDA, and British Council for Offices awards serving as the primary demand-generation mechanism. LSM is a certified Women-Owned Business (WBE) and operates as a partnership under multiple named partners with no disclosed institutional investment or parent entity.

Name

Lehman Smith McLeish

Legal name

LSM Studio

Website

https://lsm.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Lehman Smith McLeish (LSM Studio) is a workplace architecture and interior design firm founded in 1991, serving enterprise clients in legal, financial, corporate real estate, defense, and aviation sectors from offices in Washington, DC and New York.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Design Services

NAICS

Interior Design Services (541410), Architectural Services (541310)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Building Information Modeling (BIM) & Digital Design Services (BPAHAKAK)

Keywords

• Architectural design
• Interior design
• Workplace design
• FF&E coordination
• Environmental graphics

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

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

Revenue model

1. Professional Design Services: Fee-for-service architectural and interior design consulting, including space planning, FF&E coordination, art coordination, branding, environmental graphics, and creative services for corporate workplace environments.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Lehman Smith McLeish (LSM Studio) is a women-owned architecture and interior design firm specializing in workplace design for enterprise clients across legal, corporate, and tech/finance sectors. Services include architectural design, interior design, real estate analysis, FF&E coordination, art coordination, branding, environmental graphics, and creative services. The firm also designed and launched the Andromeda Collection furniture line in partnership with UniFor at Milan Design Week 2024. The studio differentiates through three decades of art-architecture integration developed via long-standing partnerships with artists and curators worldwide.

Product overview

LSM Studio is a workplace design firm offering a comprehensive suite of design services including Architectural and Interior Design, Real Estate Analysis, FF&E Coordination, Art Coordination, Branding, Environmental Graphics, and Creative Services. The firm operates across three primary practice areas: Legal (serving major law firms), Corporate, and Tech & Finance sectors. The Andromeda Collection represents LSM's signature furniture product line, launched in collaboration with UniFor at Milan Design Week 2024, featuring tables, sofas, and credenzas with distinctive aluminum structures. Additionally, LSM offers the Pathways program for design education and mentorship, and provides art integration services through global art consultant partnerships. As a women-owned business (WBE), the firm maintains offices in Washington, DC and New York.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Andromeda Collection: A furniture collection launched for UniFor at Milan Design Week 2024. The collection includes modular sofas, elliptical and round coffee tables, credenzas, and conference tables with polished or black chrome aluminum structures.

Products and services

• Legal Practice Design Services Workplace design services for law firm clients including Covington & Burling LLP, Milbank LLP, Paul Hastings LLP, WilmerHale, and Miller & Chevalier, across Washington DC, London, San Francisco, and New York locations. Engagements include the 225,000 sf WilmerHale headquarters at 2100 Pennsylvania Avenue DC, and multi-location programs for Covington (DC and London) and Milbank (Hudson Yards and London).
• Corporate Office Design Services Workplace design services for corporate clients including Brookfield Properties, Tishman Speyer, Hines, General Dynamics, and Gulfstream. Engagements include the Brookfield Place headquarters redesign with open collaborative workspace, Tishman Speyer Rockefeller Center relocation and consolidation, Hines Hudson Square office, General Dynamics' 22-acre Northern Virginia headquarters with a contemporary art collection, and Gulfstream's London Sales and Design Center.
• Tech & Finance Design Services Specialized workplace design services for technology and financial services firms including Bloomberg (Washington DC and New York offices), Centerbridge Partners (Seagram Building headquarters with a double-height atrium), Rockefeller Capital Management (45 Rockefeller Plaza expressing the firm's vision and family legacy), and a New York Financial Firm midtown office redesign within a 1960s International Style building.
• Art Integration Services Integration of art and architecture through long-standing partnerships with art consultants worldwide. The studio collaborates with artists and top art curators to create works that transform spaces, elevate brands, and raise consciousness, drawing on three decades of art-architecture collaborations.
• Andromeda Collection A furniture collection designed by LSM in collaboration with Italian manufacturer UniFor. The collection includes modular sofas (in linear and curved designs), elliptical and round coffee tables, rectangular and smaller conference tables, credenzas, and bespoke pieces, all featuring polished or black chrome extruded aluminum structures. Pieces feature leather covering on shells and seats and were developed over a decade to meet exacting specifications for LSM's global clientele.

Named customers14 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

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• UniForcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLongstanding partnership with Italian furniture manufacturer UniFor, culminating in the decade-long development and 2024 launch of the Andromeda Collection at Milan Design Week. LSM designed the furniture collection, with UniFor providing manufacturing precision. The collection includes modular sofas, elliptical and round coffee tables, and credenzas with polished or black chrome aluminum frames.
• Studio KlasscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreative direction partnership for the Andromeda Collection launch at Milan Design Week. Studio Klass developed the theatrical installation showcasing the collection at Teatro di Andromeda.
• Art Consultants WorldwidecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with art consultants globally to integrate art and architecture, collaborating with artists and curators to create works that transform spaces, elevate brands, and raise consciousness.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• HOK: HOK is a large global architecture and design firm with a notable workplace and corporate interiors practice. Competes with LSM on large enterprise mandates and brings broader service line depth across building types.
• NBBJ: NBBJ is a global design and architecture firm with a corporate workplace practice serving large enterprises, particularly in tech and financial services. Competes for high-end corporate workplace mandates with a much larger bench.
• Gensler: Gensler is the largest global design firm, with a substantial workplace practice serving many of the same enterprise and financial services clients as LSM. A broad incumbent that competes for the largest mandates and has dramatically more delivery capacity.
• Perkins&Will: Perkins&Will is a global architecture and design firm with a strong workplace and corporate interiors practice and a parallel sustainability credentials profile. Broad incumbent that overlaps with LSM in enterprise and law firm engagements.

Direct peers

• Rockwell Group: Rockwell Group is a design-focused firm spanning architecture, interiors, and product design with a brand-led, premium aesthetic. Direct peer in the high-end, design-forward corporate and hospitality segment where LSM also competes.
• M Moser Associates: M Moser is a global workplace design and build firm serving large enterprises across financial services, tech, and professional services. Highly comparable in client mix (major corporates and financial institutions) and project-based fee model.
• Ted Moudis Associates: Ted Moudis Associates is a workplace-focused architecture and interior design firm serving financial services, law firms, and corporate clients — a near-direct peer with comparable client mix and project scale.
• IA Interior Architects: IA Interior Architects is one of the largest global workplace-focused interior architecture firms, with a comparable practice mix of corporate, law firm, and tech/finance clients. Direct competitor for the same enterprise design mandates LSM targets.
• Studios Architecture: Studios Architecture is a boutique design firm specializing in workplace, law firm, and financial services environments, with a similar premium-positioned, partner-led model. Direct competitor in the same high-end corporate and legal segment.

Emerging players

• Hirsch Bedner Associates (HBA): HBA is a global hospitality-focused design firm that increasingly competes for premium corporate, residential, and branded environments. Adjacent peer with overlapping design DNA and similar marquee-client orientation, though hospitality-led.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/lsm_studio/?hl=en
• Xx.com/lsm_studio
• Facebookfacebook.com/lsm-studio-984327581633344
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lehman-smith-mcleish

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 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 Lehman Smith McLeish