What Hapa does

Hapa Collaborative is a Vancouver-based landscape architecture and urban design practice founded in 2009 by Joseph Fry, with a distributed team of approximately 15 professionals including principals, senior associates, associates, landscape designers, landscape architects, a visual designer, and a controller operating across the greater Vancouver area. The firm specializes in public realm design for Canadian government and institutional clients, delivering projects across parks, plazas, waterfronts, streetscapes, civic memorials, transit-station public realms, and campus landscapes in British Columbia, Ontario, and select Vancouver Island markets. Hapa's core methodology centers on community engagement as a design principle, combining traditional consultation (open houses, questionnaires) with digital techniques (QR code-based feedback, accessible video content) to shape project scope and vision, alongside capabilities in large-scale feature design (e.g., the 50-meter Megabench, water features, plazas accommodating 5,000-6,000 people) and culturally significant commemorative work honoring Indigenous reconciliation and historical memory.

The firm monetizes exclusively through fee-for-service professional services, with project-based pricing negotiated individually with municipal, federal, and institutional clients, plus select private developers. Go-to-market is sales-led and reputation-driven, relying on government procurement, public commissions, developer partnerships, and competitive design competitions rather than conventional marketing. The practice has received multiple National CSLA Awards of Excellence (2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2025), a 2017 Urban Design Award from the City of Vancouver, a 2017 International "Making Cities Livable" Merit Award, and was named to AZURE magazine's 2017 list of 30 "Canadian Architecture Firms Breaking New Ground." Hapa Collaborative is a privately held founder-controlled entity with no disclosed institutional investment, no subsidiaries, and no public reporting.

Name

Hapa

Legal name

Hapa Collaborative

Website

https://hapacobo.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Hapa Collaborative is a Vancouver-based landscape architecture and urban design practice founded in 2009 that designs public realm projects (parks, plazas, waterfronts, memorials, and civic spaces) for Canadian municipal, federal, and institutional clients across British Columbia and Ontario.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Vancouver

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Landscape Architecture and Urban Design Services: Fee-for-service professional services revenue generated through landscape architecture and urban design consulting on public realm projects, including parks, plazas, waterfronts, streetscapes, and civic spaces for government and institutional clients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Hapa Collaborative provides landscape architecture and urban design services for public realm projects including parks, plazas, waterfronts, streetscapes, civic spaces, memorials, playgrounds, transit station public realms, and campus landscapes. They serve municipal, provincial, and federal government clients as well as institutional and private developers across British Columbia and Ontario, Canada. The firm delivers services through direct project commissions, RFP responses, and competitive design competitions.

Product overview

Hapa Collaborative is a landscape architecture and urban design practice offering a portfolio of public realm projects rather than a unified software product. Their work spans parks, plazas, waterfront spaces, institutional landscapes, memorials, and temporary installations across Canada. Major projects include Sun Hop Park (2013), Foot of Lonsdale Plaza (2018), šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl'e7énḵ Square (2017), Sp'akw'us Feather Park (2024), 2025 Gastown Summer Pilot, and Beachlands Experience Centre. They have received multiple CSLA Awards of Excellence for projects including Ponderosa Commons (2018), Foot of Lonsdale Plaza (2019), and McBurney Lane (2015). The firm specializes in creating connected and livable communities through democratic public space design.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Sun Hop Park
• Ponderosa Commons
• Foot of Lonsdale Plaza
• šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl'e7énḵ Square (formerly Vancouver Art Gallery North Plaza)
• Sp'akw'us Feather Park
• Canadian Navy Monument
• Steveston Nikkei Internment Memorial
• Shipyards Commons
• McBurney Lane
• 800 Robson Plaza
• Market Lane
• Kawaki Waterfront Park
• Evergreen Line Public Realm
• Orchard Commons
• Hillcrest & Riley Parks
• Rochester Park
• Beachlands Experience Centre
• UBC School of Biomedical Engineering Landscape
• 2025 Gastown Summer Pilot

Quantifiable outcome

• Multiple National CSLA Awards of Excellence across diverse project types (parks, plazas, memorials, urban corridors) demonstrating consistent design excellence and client satisfaction.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Urban Forum AssociatescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Urban planning partner on 2025 Gastown Summer Pilot, collaborating on the public realm strategy for Vancouver's historic Gastown district.
• Gastown Business Improvement SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Local stakeholder partner on 2025 Gastown Summer Pilot, representing Gastown businesses and contributing to the public realm activation strategy.
• Office of Mcfarlane BiggarcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Architecture partner on Beachlands Experience Centre in Colwood, BC, harmonizing landscape design with architectural form in the coastal setting.
• Patkau ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Architecture partner on UBC School of Biomedical Engineering landscape design, collaborating on campus landscape vision rooted in preservation and enhancement of mature trees.
• Studio ParsonsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Design partner on 800 Robson plaza project, collaborating on the restoration of Arthur Erickson's original vision for the space.
• Patkau ArchitectsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Architecture firm collaborating on the Foot of Lonsdale Plaza project team.
• Nick Milkovich ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Lead architectural partner on šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl'e7énḵ Square (Vancouver Art Gallery North Plaza) redesign, working alongside Studio Parsons and Matthew Soules Architecture.
• Matthew Soules ArchitectureminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Architecture partner on the Vancouver Art Gallery North Plaza redevelopment team.
• Perkins + WillcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Architecture partner on Orchard Commons at UBC, collaborating on outdoor space design for two new residence towers and dining hall.
• ZGF Cotter ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Architecture partner on Kawaki Waterfront Park (The Pier at London Landing) in Richmond, BC, balancing flood protection engineering with aesthetic landscape design.
• HCMA (Halsall Wright Kennedy Architects)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013Architectural joint venture partner for Ponderosa Commons at UBC, working alongside KPMB to design four acres of pedestrian-only student campus space integrated with landscape design.
• KPMB ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013Architectural joint venture partner for Ponderosa Commons at UBC, collaborating on campus integration design.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• SWA Group: Established US landscape architecture, urban design, and planning firm with deep portfolio in parks, plazas, and waterfronts. Comparable on public-realm typology and design excellence, but with substantially larger headcount and national footprint.
• OLIN: Major US landscape architecture and urban design practice renowned for high-profile public realm work (e.g., Washington Monument grounds, Bryant Park). Comparable on signature civic-plaza design but operates at significantly larger scale and broader geographic reach.
• Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates: Brooklyn-based landscape architecture firm widely respected for parks and public-realm work, including Brooklyn Bridge Park. Comparable on park typology and design pedigree, though larger and primarily US-focused.
• James Corner Field Operations: Internationally recognized landscape architecture and urban design firm behind major public-realm projects such as the High Line and Freshkills Park. Comparable on large-scale civic and waterfront design ambition, but with materially larger scale and global reach.
• Sasaki Associates: Multidisciplinary design practice with strong landscape architecture, urban design, and planning capabilities, frequently working on campuses and civic districts. Comparable on integrated landscape + architecture public-realm delivery but operates at much larger scale.
• Snøhetta: Internationally recognized multidisciplinary design practice with significant landscape architecture and public-realm work, including waterfronts and cultural landscapes. Comparable on signature civic landscapes and placemaking, but operating at global scale.

Direct peers

• PUBLIC WORK: Toronto-based landscape architecture and public realm design studio focused on civic and community-oriented projects in Canada. Closely comparable in mission (democratic, community-engaged public realm) and typology, serving as a likely Canadian peer in same segment.
• Space2Place Design: BC-based landscape architecture firm working on public realm, parks, and community-focused design across Western Canada. Comparable in size and civic-project orientation, competing for similar municipal and institutional commissions.
• PWL Partnership: Canadian landscape architecture firm with a strong public-realm and parks portfolio, including significant work in Western Canada. Comparable in service mix and project types, and likely a frequent co-bidder on municipal landscape commissions.
• PFS Studio: Vancouver-based landscape architecture and urban design firm with a comparable practice profile focused on public realm, parks, and institutional campuses in Western Canada. Directly comparable in scale, geography, and client mix (municipalities, universities, developers) to Hapa.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hapa-collaborative
• Instagraminstagram.com/hapacobo
• Xx.com/hapacobo
• Facebookfacebook.com/hapacobo

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 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 Hapa