Cooke Douglass Farr Lemons

What Cooke Douglass Farr Lemons does

Cooke Douglass Farr Lemons is a multi-disciplinary architecture and engineering firm headquartered in Jackson, Mississippi, founded in 1961 and operating as a private professional association (CDFL Architects + Engineers, PA). The firm delivers integrated architecture, engineering (electrical, mechanical, plumbing), landscape architecture, interior design, master planning, and graphic design services through a single collaborative team working under one roof—a delivery model the firm positions as a regional differentiator. Its core technical platform is Building Information Modeling (BIM) using Revit, which supports cross-discipline coordination across architectural and engineering documentation.

CDFL's portfolio is concentrated in healthcare facilities (e.g., Children's of Mississippi/UMMC expansions), higher education (Mississippi State University, University of Mississippi, University of South Alabama, Auburn University, Mississippi College), civic and cultural buildings (Russell C. Davis Planetarium), and federal design-build/industrial work. The firm employs 33–39 staff across two offices (Jackson, MS and Vestavia Hills/Birmingham, AL opened in 2020) and serves clients in Mississippi, Alabama, and the broader Southeastern US, with project reach extending to Indiana, Kentucky, Arkansas, Georgia, Texas, North Carolina, New York, and Florida.

The firm generates revenue through fee-based professional services on a project-by-project basis, pursuing work via direct client relationships, RFQ/RFP procurement, and competitive selection processes for institutional and governmental clients. Pricing is custom-quoted per project; no standardized or productized pricing exists. Its go-to-market is relationship-driven and sales-led, with limited formal marketing beyond its website and earned media through project announcements. The client base skews toward institutional anchors (universities, hospital systems, county/municipal governments) rather than distributed SMB volume, and recent hires (e.g., Randy Byars from Auburn Athletics in January 2023) suggest deepening specialization in athletic facilities design.

Name

Cooke Douglass Farr Lemons

Legal name

CDFL Architects + Engineers, PA

Website

https://cdfl.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1961

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cooke Douglass Farr Lemons is a multi-disciplinary architecture and engineering firm founded in 1961 in Jackson, Mississippi, delivering integrated design services to universities, healthcare systems, and civic clients across the Southeastern United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural and Engineering Services

NAICS

Engineering Services (54133), Architectural Services (54131), Landscape Architectural Services (54132), Interior Design Services (541410)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro primary industry

Civil & Structural Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Engineering design services (line design, substation design, civil/structural) (EUADAKAG), Construction Management & Delivery (EPCM/CMAR/Design-Build Oversight) (EUANALAE)

Keywords

• Architecture design services
• Engineering design services
• Building information modeling
• Integrated design delivery
• Institutional facility planning

Headquarters

HQ city

Jackson

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, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Architecture and Engineering Professional Services: Fee-based professional services for architecture, engineering, landscape architecture, interior design, master planning, and graphic design. Revenue generated through project-based contracts for institutional, commercial, and governmental clients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

CDFL Architects + Engineers is a multi-disciplinary architecture and engineering firm offering integrated architectural design, electrical/mechanical/plumbing engineering, landscape architecture, interior design, master planning, and graphic design services. The firm collaborates with institutional clients — primarily universities, healthcare systems, civic entities, and federal/industrial organizations — to deliver building design, renovation, and facility planning projects. Architects and engineers work together under one roof using BIM/Revit to coordinate building systems across complex institutional, healthcare, and athletic projects.

Product overview

CDFL Architects + Engineers is a multi-disciplinary architecture and engineering firm offering an integrated suite of services including architecture, engineering (electrical, mechanical, plumbing), landscape architecture, interior design, planning, strategic planning, and graphic design. The firm operates under a collaborative model where architects and engineers work together under one roof to deliver comprehensive design solutions. The portfolio spans healthcare facilities (Children's of Mississippi hospital), educational institutions (universities, schools), athletic facilities (stadiums, arenas), civic buildings (planetariums, museums), and commercial projects. The firm primarily serves institutional and university clients, with additional work in commercial, industrial, military, and correctional sectors across Mississippi, Alabama, and the southeastern United States.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Architecture Services Comprehensive architectural design services covering commercial, institutional, healthcare, educational, and civic building projects, delivered alongside in-house engineering services through an integrated design model.
• Engineering Services Multi-disciplinary engineering design for electrical, mechanical, and plumbing building systems, including lighting, power, communications, and special systems such as access control, CCTV, and fire alarm, supporting design-build, industrial, and healthcare projects.
• Landscape Architecture Site analysis, master planning, and landscape design services for campus and commercial environments.
• Interior Design Interior space planning, design, and specification services for commercial and institutional clients.
• Planning Services Strategic planning, master planning, and urban design services for institutional and campus environments.
• Graphic Design Visual communication and graphic design services supporting architectural presentations and project branding.
• Federal Design-Build Services Integrated design-build services for federal clients focused on Industrial and commercial market sectors, led out of the Birmingham, Alabama office.

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Falcon's Creative GroupnotableStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 July 2021Creative design partner for Russell C. Davis Planetarium project in Jackson. Falcon's Creative Group, based in Orlando, was engaged to assist in visioning and designing the new planetarium experience, bringing expertise in immersive exhibit design inspired by their work at Kennedy Space Center's Heroes & Legends exhibit.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves2 records

Broad incumbents

• HOK: Global A+E practice with leading healthcare and higher education portfolios. Frequently competes for the same university medical center and campus master planning commissions, typically as an incumbent on larger programs.
• CannonDesign: Integrated A+E practice focused on healthcare, higher education, and sports venues. Frequently competes for the same university medical center and athletic facility commissions targeted by CDFL's SEC and pediatric hospital clients.
• Perkins&Will: Global A+E firm with deep healthcare and education practices. Competes for academic medical center and university campus projects that CDFL also targets, often on the largest and most design-forward commissions.
• HKS: Healthcare-led A+E firm with significant higher education and sports venue practice. Comparable in vertical mix and design philosophy; competes for many of the same SEC university health system and stadium projects as CDFL.
• SmithGroup: Large multi-disciplinary A+E firm with established higher education, healthcare, and science & technology practices. Competes for the same institutional commissions at a much larger scale, often as the prime or joint-venture partner.

Direct peers

• TMP Architecture: Integrated A+E firm specializing in higher education and institutional facilities. Comparable service mix (architecture + engineering under one roof) and similar institutional client base, making it a head-to-head competitor on campus work.
• LBYD Engineers: Civil and structural engineering firm with offices across the Southeast US and strong relationships with Alabama and Tennessee institutional clients. Comparable engineering-only counterpart competing for the same institutional and infrastructure RFPs.
• Moody Nolan: Multi-disciplinary A+E firm with deep higher education and healthcare portfolio, including athletic stadiums and academic buildings — directly overlapping the verticals and project types that anchor CDFL's book of business.
• McKim & Creed: Southeast US-based multi-disciplinary engineering and surveying firm with growing architecture capabilities. Comparable in scale and geographic footprint, competing for institutional and infrastructure work across the Carolinas, Virginia, and Gulf South.
• Goodwyn Mills Cawood (GMC Network): Alabama-headquartered multi-disciplinary architecture and engineering firm of comparable size and Southeast US institutional client roster. Direct competitor for higher education, civic, and healthcare commissions across the same geography as CDFL.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CDFLPlus
• Facebookfacebook.com/CDFLPlus

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 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 Cooke Douglass Farr Lemons