The Design Alliance Architects

What The Design Alliance Architects does

The Design Alliance Architects is a private, multi-disciplinary architecture and design firm founded in 1977. The firm offers integrated services spanning architecture, interior design, and facilities management, and serves clients across nine vertical markets: Commercial+Office, Cultural, Education, Healthcare+Research, Preservation+Restoration, Religious, Residential, Retail+Mixed-Use, and Competitions. Its registered address places it in New York City, though its portfolio includes projects concentrated in the Pittsburgh region.

The firm's business model is professional-services based, generating revenue through project-based fees on architecture and interior design engagements for a diverse mix of institutional, civic, cultural, and private-sector clients. Its practice is anchored by deep expertise in sustainable design, most visibly demonstrated by the Center for Sustainable Landscapes at Phipps Conservatory — a net-zero energy facility certified under the Living Building Challenge and LEED Platinum — which has earned the firm multiple industry awards including AIA COTE Top Ten (2016), ENR Global Best Projects (2014), and FSC Design Award (2013).

The firm has operated continuously for 48 years, maintaining a mid-sized team of 11-50 employees and an active careers pipeline for architects and interior designers. Customer engagement spans institutional clients such as Duquesne University, Fort Ligonier, Andrew Carnegie Free Library, and Silver Eye Center for Photography, alongside corporate and private clients including Waldron Private Wealth, Koppers, Evoqua, Corner Mercantile, and Tier1 Performance Solutions. The firm maintains no disclosed AI/ML capabilities, no funding rounds, and no acquisition history.

Name

The Design Alliance Architects

Legal name

The Design Alliance Architects, Inc.

Website

https://tda-architects.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Design Alliance Architects is a New York-based, multi-disciplinary architecture and interior design firm founded in 1977, serving institutional, cultural, educational, healthcare, and private clients across nine verticals with recognized expertise in sustainable design.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (54131), Architectural Services (541310), Interior Design Services (54141)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Interior Design Services (BPAHAKAB)

Keywords

• Architectural design services
• Historic building preservation
• Sustainable building design
• Commercial architecture
• Interior design services

Headquarters

HQ city

Pittsburgh

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

Revenue model

1. Architectural Design Services: Professional fees for architectural design services including master planning, space programming, schematic design, design development, construction documentation, and construction administration for various building types.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

The Design Alliance Architects is a multi-disciplinary architectural firm offering professional architectural design services across nine practice areas: Commercial + Office, Cultural, Education, Healthcare + Research, Preservation + Restoration, Religious, Residential, Retail + Mixed-Use, and Competitions. Services span the full project lifecycle — master planning, space programming, schematic design, design development, construction documentation, and construction administration. The firm also provides interior design services and facilities management expertise, with particular strength in sustainable/green building design and historic preservation.

Product overview

The Design Alliance Architects is an architecture firm offering a comprehensive portfolio of architectural services organized by project type. The firm provides specialized design services across nine distinct practice areas: Commercial + Office, Cultural, Education, Healthcare + Research, Preservation + Restoration, Religious, Residential, Retail + Mixed Use, and Competitions. The firm is particularly recognized for sustainable design, notably contributing to the Phipps Conservatory Center for Sustainable Landscapes project. The services are delivered as integrated professional architectural offerings rather than discrete software products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Commercial + Office Architecture Services

Named customers10 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Phipps Conservatory and Botanical GardensflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012Long-term strategic partnership on flagship sustainable design projects including the Center for Sustainable Landscapes. This collaboration achieved Living Building Challenge certification, LEED Platinum, Four Star Sustainable SITES rating, and was recognized as one of the greenest buildings in the world. The project received extensive national media coverage and multiple industry awards, establishing the firm as a leader in sustainable architecture.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• CannonDesign: Large integrated design firm with comparable healthcare, education, and research sector focus. Competes for similar institutional clients but at significantly larger scale, with broader geographic reach.
• DLR Group: Established architecture and engineering firm with comparable cultural, educational, and preservation portfolio. Larger scale and broader geographic reach than TDA, representing similar but bigger-positioned competition.
• SmithGroup: Large integrated design firm with comparable cultural, educational, and healthcare expertise. Similar values-driven approach to design but with national scale and resources beyond TDA's reach.
• Perkins&Will: Large global architecture firm with strong sustainability practice and overlapping portfolio across healthcare, education, and cultural sectors. Represents the larger incumbent that TDA competes against for premium sustainability commissions.
• HOK: Global architecture firm with significant healthcare, education, and cultural practices. Competes for similar institutional clients at much larger scale, with greater capacity for complex programs.

Direct peers

• KieranTimberlake: Sustainability-leading architecture firm with comparable specialized expertise in high-performance buildings. Similar size and shared focus on research-driven sustainable design, though stronger national brand recognition.
• Bohlin Cywinski Jackson: Mid-sized architecture firm (~150 staff) with comparable design excellence focus and varied portfolio across cultural, educational, and commercial sectors. Notable for award-winning sustainable projects similar to TDA's approach, with Pittsburgh regional presence.
• BNIM Architects: Mid-sized firm with pioneering sustainability credentials including Living Building Challenge projects. Directly comparable positioning as a design-focused practice with high-performance building expertise across multiple sectors.
• Lake|Flato Architects: Sustainability-focused architecture firm of similar size with strong portfolio in cultural, educational, and residential projects. Comparable reputation for design quality and commitment to environmental performance paralleling TDA's Living Building Challenge credentials.

Regional players

• MacLachlan, Cornelius & Filoni: Pittsburgh-based architecture firm of comparable size with regional focus on cultural, educational, and preservation projects. Provides direct local market competition in TDA's core territory.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ArchitectsTda
• Facebookfacebook.com/DesignAllianceArchitects

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 The Design Alliance Architects