What Acre Architects does

Acre Architects is a privately held, full-service architecture firm founded in 2010 and headquartered in Saint John, New Brunswick, with a second studio in Halifax, Nova Scotia opened in May 2021. The firm is co-led by Monica Adair and Stephen Kopp and operates with a team of approximately 11-50 staff including associate architects, intern architects, designers, project managers, senior technologists, and operational staff. It serves residential, commercial, healthcare, public, and industrial clients, primarily across Atlantic Canada, with selected projects in Quebec, Texas, and Uganda.

The firm's core offering is fee-based architectural design delivered under project-based, multi-year contracts quoted on the scope, size, and complexity of each engagement. Its technical differentiation sits in sustainable design practices, including Passive House energy standards and mass timber construction exemplified by The Wellington (a six-story mass timber Passive House residential building completed June 2023 in Saint John), combined with adaptive reuse of historic structures (e.g., the 1885 Picaroons railway roundhouse) and a "site-contextual" design philosophy that ties buildings to regional landscape and identity. Distribution is direct, via studio-based client engagement, design competitions, and a referral network of engineering, landscape, and construction partners such as CBCL, Brackish Design Studio, MJMA, DIALOG, and John Flood & Sons.

Acre's go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven, supported by an unusually strong awards profile for a firm of its size, including the 2018 Professional Prix de Rome, the 2015 RAIC Young Architect Award to Monica Adair, multiple Lieutenant Governor's Awards (2017, 2026), the 2016 Wallpaper* Architects Directory selection, and features in Architectural Record, Canadian Architect, Dwell, and Chatelaine. Its revenue is not publicly disclosed; the firm has no external investors, no subsidiaries, and operates as an independent partnership with two offices and a growing portfolio of approximately 41 documented projects.

Name

Acre Architects

Legal name

Acre Architects

Website

https://theacre.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Acre Architects is an Atlantic Canadian architecture firm founded in 2010, providing project-based design services across residential, healthcare, public, commercial, and adaptive reuse sectors from studios in Saint John and Halifax. It is co-led by award-winning founders Monica Adair and Stephen Kopp.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Design Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (541310), Architectural Services (54131)

akta.pro primary industry

Landscape Architecture & Site Design (BPAHAKAC)

Keywords

• Architectural design services
• Sustainable building design
• Residential architecture
• Commercial architecture
• Adaptive reuse design

Headquarters

HQ city

Saint John

HQ country

Canada

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Architecture and Design Services: Fee-based architecture and design services for residential, commercial, healthcare, public, industrial, and adaptive reuse projects. Revenue is generated through project-based contracts for design, planning, and project oversight services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Acre Architects is a full-service Atlantic Canadian architecture firm delivering project-based architectural design across residential, commercial, healthcare, public, industrial, and adaptive reuse building categories. The firm operates studios in Saint John, New Brunswick and Halifax, Nova Scotia, and applies its 'Storied Architecture' philosophy, sustainable design practices (including Passive House standards and mass timber construction), and site-contextual design expertise to serve private homeowners, developers, municipalities, healthcare providers, and educational institutions.

Product overview

Acre Architects is an award-winning Atlantic Canadian architecture firm offering comprehensive architectural design services. The firm operates across two primary service categories: residential architecture (custom homes, cottages, multi-unit residential) and commercial architecture (healthcare facilities, public buildings, industrial facilities, interiors, and adaptive re-use projects). Notable projects include The Wellington (Passive House mass timber residential), Oromocto Long Term Care (healthcare), Health and Social Innovation Centre at UNB, and Picaroons Headquarters (adaptive re-use). The firm has offices in Saint John, NB and Halifax, NS.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Architecture Services

Quantifiable outcome

• 60-bed nursing home designed with private rooms and community spaces
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and regular.

• MJMA ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Riverview Recreation Complex project, combining Acre's architectural expertise with MJMA's recreation facility specialization
• DIALOGcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint submission for Art Gallery of Nova Scotia competition, with Acre as part of a team including DIALOG, Brackish Design Studio, and Shannon Webb-Campbell
• Brackish Design StudiocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing landscape architecture partnership on multiple projects including Rothesay Wells Community Centre, Riverview Recreation Complex, and Art Gallery of Nova Scotia competition entry
• CBCL EngineersregularTechnology or IntegrationCivil and structural engineering collaboration on projects including Rothesay Wells Community Centre, Health and Social Innovation Centre, and Jolie Vie Wellness Retreat
• Smith + AndersenregularTechnology or IntegrationMechanical & Electrical Engineering partnership on Riverview Recreation Complex project
• John Flood & SonsregularImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerConstruction partner on The Wellington and Rothesay Wells Community Centre projects
• SCB ArchitectsregularStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Health and Social Innovation Centre at University of New Brunswick
• MRB ContractingregularImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerConstruction partner on Birch Point cottage project
• G ArchitectsregularStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Ethos Ridge Retirement project

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects (MJMA): Canadian architecture firm specializing in recreation, community, and institutional facilities. MJMA has collaborated with Acre on the Riverview Recreation Complex and shares a similar mid-sized, design-led practice model with comparable Canadian public-sector client mix.

Broad incumbents

• DIALOG: Major Canadian interdisciplinary design firm with architecture, engineering, and planning practices. Acre has partnered with DIALOG on the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia competition, and the two firms compete for many of the same institutional and civic commissions across Canada.
• Architecture49: Large Canadian architecture firm with national coverage and deep public-sector portfolio. Competes with Acre for civic, healthcare, and recreation commissions across Atlantic Canada and offers broader multi-disciplinary capacity.
• B+H Architects: Global architecture firm with strong Canadian roots and significant healthcare, commercial, and mixed-use practice. Comparable to Acre in design-led culture and healthcare expertise, but operates at substantially larger scale across multiple geographies.
• Lemay: Major Canadian architecture and design firm with national reach and integrated design practices. Competes for civic, cultural, and commercial commissions similar to those in Acre's portfolio and shares a focus on design quality as a differentiator.
• Diamond Schmitt Architects: Major Canadian architecture firm recognized for healthcare, higher education, and institutional projects. Comparable to Acre in healthcare expertise (e.g., long-term care and academic health science facilities) and competes for the same institutional RFPs at a national scale.

Regional players

• Brian MacKay-Lyons Architecture: Atlantic Canadian architecture firm based in Nova Scotia with an internationally recognized portfolio. Comparable to Acre in regional roots, founder-led practice, and emphasis on contextual and sustainable design, and serves as the most direct regional peer in the Atlantic Canadian market.
• FBM Architecture: Atlantic Canadian architecture firm with offices across Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland. Operates in the same regional market as Acre and competes for healthcare, education, and civic commissions with similar mid-sized practice characteristics.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ACREarchitects
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/acre-architects

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Acre Architects