Goring & Straja Architects

What Goring & Straja Architects does

Goring & Straja Architects is a privately held architecture practice co-founded in 1996 by James Goring and André Straja, both of whom trained under William Turnbull in San Francisco. The firm operates a transatlantic "world practice" with offices in Berkeley (HQ), Sonoma, Milan, and Rome, plus a Swiss node associated with the Open Interiors Lab (O.I.L) initiative in Ponte Tresa. The practice delivers architectural services across six core verticals: Wineries & Hospitality, Institutional, Residential, Retail & Workspace, Religious Facilities, and Studies/Masterplans/Feasibility.

The firm generates revenue through professional design fees tied to project phases — schematic design, design development, construction documents, and construction administration — plus master planning and feasibility studies. Client engagement is sales-led and direct, with principals involved in projects ranging from single-family residences to large institutional campus plans. Notable enterprise and institutional clients include Allbirds, ValueAct Capital, Autodesk (Milan Office), ING, Baldacci Family Vineyards, Casa di Langa, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Sequoyah Community Church, St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, Boys and Girls Club, Woodside Priory School, and American River College. The firm's distribution relies on direct relationships, referrals, design competition entries, and earned media.

The practice is independently held by its founding partners with no external investment, acquisitions, or parent company. It is differentiated by a sustainability-first design philosophy and a dual-coast transatlantic footprint that supports a 24-hour workflow. The firm has accumulated local, state, and national-level design awards, including a 2013 Autodesk Milan Office award presented in Berlin. The current website signals active hiring, though publicly visible digital activity (e.g., blog content) has been thin since 2013, which constrains near-term momentum assessment.

Name

Goring & Straja Architects

Legal name

Goring & Straja Architects

Website

https://gasarchitects.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Goring & Straja Architects is a privately held, transatlantic architecture practice founded in 1996, serving wineries, institutional, religious, commercial, and residential clients across offices in Berkeley, Sonoma, Milan, and Rome.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Design Services

NAICS

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

akta.pro primary industry

Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Interior Design Services (BPAHAKAB)

Keywords

• Architectural design services
• Master planning
• Commercial architecture
• Institutional building design
• Winery hospitality design

Headquarters

HQ city

Berkeley

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

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 architecture services including master planning, site improvements, renovations, and new construction design. Projects span religious institutions, wineries, hospitality venues, educational facilities, retail spaces, and residential properties. Revenue generated through design fees for project phases including schematic design, design development, construction documents, and construction administration.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Goring & Straja Architects is a transatlantic architecture practice offering professional design services across six core areas: wineries and hospitality, institutional, residential, retail and workspace, religious facilities, and studies/masterplans/feasibility. The firm delivers schematic design, design development, construction documents, and construction administration for projects ranging from single-family homes to large institutional master plans. Services are billed as design fees across standard project phases and executed through direct collaboration between principals and project architects.

Product overview

Goring & Straja Architects is an established architecture firm founded in 1996 with offices in the San Francisco Bay Area and Milan, Italy. The firm operates as a service-based practice offering architectural design across six core service areas: Wineries and Hospitality, Institutional, Residential, Retail and Workspace, Religious Facilities, and Studies/Masterplans/Feasibility. The practice serves a broad range of clients from institutional and cultural to commercial, retail, winemaking, and residential sectors, with a focus on sustainability and design excellence. The studio is known for its 'world practice' approach combining European and US design perspectives through its dual-location offices.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wineries and Hospitality Design Services
• Institutional Design Services
• Residential Design Services
• Retail and Workspace Design Services
• Religious Facilities Design Services
• Studies, Masterplans, and Feasibility Services

Named customers12 records

Segments5 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.

• Open Interiors Lab (O.I.L)minorOthersAssociated initiative based in Lugano, Switzerland. Giacomo Sicuro from GaS Milano leads O.I.L. concept. Website: oildesign.net. Located at Via Monte Oliveto, 11, CH-6988 Ponte Tresa, Switzerland.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Perkins Eastman: Perkins Eastman is a large architecture practice with deep institutional, education, and workplace portfolios, similar in client mix but materially larger and broader than GaS.
• HGA Architects: HGA is a sizable US architecture and engineering firm with strong cultural, education, and community-focused practices — overlapping GaS's institutional and religious work at a larger scale.
• Perkins&Will: Perkins&Will is a large, established global architecture practice operating across institutional, healthcare, commercial, and education sectors — overlapping GaS's institutional and religious markets at greater scale.
• HKS Architects: HKS is a large global architecture practice with significant commercial, hospitality, and cultural portfolios — relevant comparable for the scale of projects GaS pursues in hospitality and commercial sectors.

Direct peers

• Olson Kundig: Olson Kundig is a design-led firm of comparable scale known for premium residential, hospitality, and winery-adjacent work with strong brand recognition — directly overlapping GaS's wineries-and-hospitality, residential, and design-excellence positioning.
• LMN Architects: LMN Architects is a mid-sized, design-led practice with comparable cultural, civic, and commercial portfolio and a similar commitment to design research and sustainability — a useful structural peer to GaS.
• Bohlin Cywinski Jackson: Bohlin Cywinski Jackson is a similarly sized, design-excellence-focused architecture practice with deep Bay Area roots, comparable institutional, residential, and university portfolio, and similar founder-led culture — making it the closest structural analog to GaS in the US market.
• Studios Architecture: Studios Architecture is a multi-office, design-focused firm with strong corporate workplace and commercial client overlap (including tech and financial enterprise work), making it a strong peer for GaS's retail and workspace service line.
• Aidlin Darling Design: Aidlin Darling is a Bay Area-based, award-winning architecture studio of similar scale focused on residential, hospitality, and cultural projects — closely matching GaS's boutique, founder-driven model and design portfolio mix.
• WRNS Studio: WRNS Studio is a Bay Area design practice with comparable size and focus on sustainability, civic, and institutional work — overlapping GaS's institutional and religious/educational portfolio.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/wix
• Facebookfacebook.com/100068520755887
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/goring-straja-architects

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Goring & Straja Architects