SsD

What SsD does

SsD is a private, founder-led architecture and urbanism firm that provides design services across cultural/institutional, residential, commercial, and urbanism projects, plus a small line of designed products and objects. The firm operates a networked micro-office model with active posts in New York (88 Greenwich Street, Suite 1202), Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Seoul (Seongsu-dong, Seongdong-gu), enabling transpacific project delivery from a 1–10 person core led by founding principal Jinhee Park, AIA (Harvard GSD, Seoul National University). Its design approach integrates architecture, urbanism, landscape, history, social systems, and building codes simultaneously, with proprietary named concepts — Tapioca Space, Micro-Urbanism, Light Monumentality, and Sustainable Minimalism — that have been exhibited at the 17th Venice Architecture Biennale and featured in major media including Metropolis, Dwell, Architectural Record, The New Yorker, and PBS.

SsD's revenue is generated primarily through project-based professional design fees for custom architecture and urbanism commissions, supplemented by sales of designed furniture, shelving systems, and art installations (e.g., Parenthetical Shelves, Cloud, Hanji Tables, Infinite Box). The firm is M/WBE certified in Massachusetts, which opens public sector procurement, and pursues work through a hybrid go-to-market combining direct enterprise client engagement, international design competitions (Chungnam Art Museum, Dongtan, Cade Museum), and earned media visibility. Notable built and conceptual projects include Songpa Micro-Housing, White Block Gallery, HBNY (Parenthetical Space), 8 Towers, Simgok House, Braver House, Sundial House, Hodu Cultural Center, Emerald Kilometer, and the Cloud interactive sculpture at Heyri Art Valley.

The firm has accumulated 14+ AIA awards, the 2009 AIA Young Architects Award, the 2012 Emerging Voices Award from the Architectural League of New York, the Holcim Foundation for Sustainable Construction Award, and the Metropolis Next Generation Prize. Operating geographies span the US Northeast and Southeast, New England, South Korea, Vietnam, the Czech Republic, Panama, and China. Ownership is private and concentrated with the founding principals; there is no evidence of external investment, acquisition activity, or institutional backing.

Name

SsD

Legal name

SsD

Website

https://ssdarchitecture.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

SsD is a founder-led, private architecture and urbanism firm with offices in New York, Cambridge, and Seoul, designing cultural, residential, commercial, and urbanism projects for institutional and private clients using proprietary concepts like Tapioca Space and Micro-Urbanism.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architecture Services

NAICS

Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413), Landscape Architectural Services (54132)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Engagement & Participatory Planning (BPAHAKAO)

akta.pro secondary industry

Housing Development, Construction & Rehabilitation Programs (BPAIANAB)

Keywords

• Architecture design services
• Urban planning
• Landscape architecture
• Sustainable building design
• Cultural institutional design

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Architecture and Design Services: Full-service architecture firm providing design services for cultural, residential, commercial, and urbanism projects. Revenue generated through professional design fees for architectural services, urban planning, and design consulting.
2. Products and Objects: Design and sale of products and objects including furniture, shelving systems, and public art installations. Products play key roles in creating meaningful relationships between spaces and people, with many objects developed as products for incorporation into various settings.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

SsD is an architecture and urbanism firm delivering interdisciplinary design services across six practice areas: cultural and institutional projects (museums, galleries, libraries), residential projects (single-family, micro-housing, multi-unit), commercial projects (restaurants, retail, offices), urbanism projects (master planning, public spaces), products and objects (furniture, sculptures), and research and exhibitions (academic collaborations, installations). The firm integrates architecture, urbanism, landscape, history, social systems, and building codes simultaneously to achieve minimum form with maximum effect, treating sustainability as an integrated rather than additive result.

Product overview

SsD is an architecture and urbanism firm offering a comprehensive portfolio of design services across multiple sectors. The firm operates as a single unified practice rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture, organized into six interconnected service areas: Cultural + Institutional Projects (museums, galleries, libraries), Residential Projects (houses, micro-housing), Commercial Projects (restaurants, retail), Urbanism Projects (master planning, public spaces), Products + Objects (furniture, sculptures), and Research + Exhibitions (academic collaborations, installations). The firm's design philosophy integrates architecture, urbanism, landscape, history, social systems, and codes as simultaneous explorations, where minimum form achieves maximum effect. Notable named projects include Songpa Micro-Housing, White Block Gallery, HBNY (Parenthetical Space), 8 Towers, Sponge Park, and Cloud interactive sculpture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cultural + Institutional Projects Full-service architecture design for museums, galleries, libraries, and institutional facilities, including projects such as Hodu Cultural Center, Chungnam Art Museum, White Block Gallery, Czech National Library, and Cade Museum. Targeted at cultural institutions and arts organizations.
• Residential Projects Architecture design for housing including single-family residences, micro-housing prototypes, and multi-unit residential complexes such as Songpa Micro-Housing, Simgok House, Braver House, and 8 Towers. Targeted at homeowners, multi-generational families, and residential developers.
• Commercial Projects Architecture design for commercial and retail spaces including restaurants, offices, and mixed-use buildings, with projects such as Clover Restaurant at Harvard Square, Clover HSQ, Hydrotowers, and Verdant Studios. Targeted at restaurant operators, retail brands, and commercial developers.
• Urbanism Projects Urban design, master planning, and public space projects including Sponge Park, Emerald Kilometer, Asian Cultural Complex, Boston City Hall competition, and Island of Water. Targeted at municipalities, public agencies, and developers of mixed-use districts.
• Products + Objects Designed and produced furniture, shelving systems, and public art installations including Parenthetical Shelves, Cloud (interactive light/sound sculpture), and Infinite Box, available for incorporation into various residential, commercial, and public settings.
• Research + Exhibitions Academic research, design workshops, and exhibition installations including the Micro-Urbanism installation at the 17th Venice Architecture Biennale, Light Monumentality research, and published essays. Targeted at academic institutions, cultural organizations, and design discourse.

Quantifiable outcome

• Songpa Micro-Housing provides flexible units that can accommodate changing life situations, allowing residents to occupy buildings longer and more sustainably
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered major.

• Steven Holl ArchitectsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCompetition collaboration for Chungnam Art Museum International Design Competition. Steven Holl Architects working with Lee Yong-ho (HAENGLIM Architecture & Engineering) as one of six invited teams.
• SnøhettamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCompetition collaboration for Chungnam Art Museum International Design Competition. Snøhetta working with Jo Do-yeon (D&B Architecture Design Group) and Kim Sang-hoon (Shinhan Architects & Engineers).
• UNStudiomajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCompetition collaboration for Chungnam Art Museum International Design Competition. UNStudio working with Kim Hyun-ho (DA Group Urban Design & Architecture).
• Grafton ArchitectsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCompetition collaboration for Chungnam Art Museum International Design Competition. Grafton Architects working with Lee Sang-leem (Space Group).
• Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCompetition collaboration for Chungnam Art Museum International Design Competition. BIG working with Shin Chang-hoon (Unsangdong Architects).
• ALA ArchitectsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCompetition collaboration for Chungnam Art Museum International Design Competition. ALA Architects working with Kim Hee Jin (Suninterline Architecture) and Park Jinhee (SsD Architecture+Urbanism).
• Parkkim ArchitectsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint team with Jegong Architects winning 2nd place in Dongtan major urban design competition. Focused on sustainable low-rise/high-density urbanism for waterfront city south of Seoul.
• Jegong ArchitectsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint team with Parkkim Architects winning 2nd place in Dongtan major urban design competition.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Unsangdong Architects: Korean architecture firm that collaborated with BIG on the Chungnam Art Museum competition, putting them alongside SsD in the same juried space. Comparable boutique-Korean practice with cultural and urbanism focus.
• nARCHITECTS: NYC-based boutique architecture firm with a similar practice size, interdisciplinary approach, and focus on housing, urbanism, and cultural projects. Direct peer in market positioning, scale, and design methodology.
• WORK Architecture Company: NYC-based interdisciplinary architecture firm with a similar boutique scale and convergent design approach spanning architecture, urbanism, and research. Comparable firm profile to SsD in size, philosophy, and project mix.
• Parkkim Architects: Korean architecture practice that partnered with SsD on the Dongtan major urban design competition (2nd place). Directly comparable in scale and Korean-market positioning, with shared focus on urbanism and cultural projects.
• SO-IL (Solid Objective - Idenburg Liu): NYC-headquartered architecture and urbanism firm with comparable boutique scale, academic ties, and project mix across cultural, residential, and public-realm work. Strong peer on positioning and firm profile.

Broad incumbents

• Grafton Architects: Irish architecture practice (Pritzker Prize winner) that competed against SsD in the Chungnam Art Museum competition. Comparable in design philosophy of contextually rooted, material-driven work, but operates as a larger, more established cultural-architecture practice.
• Snøhetta: International architecture, landscape, and urban design practice that competed against SsD in the Chungnam Art Museum competition. Overlaps heavily on cultural, urbanism, and public-space projects but operates globally with much larger headcount.
• Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG): Global architecture and urbanism firm that competed directly with SsD in the Chungnam Art Museum International Design Competition. Operates in the same cultural and urbanism project categories but at vastly larger scale, multi-office, and broader scope.
• UNStudio: Dutch architecture and urban design network that competed against SsD in Chungnam Art Museum. Overlaps on cultural, urbanism, and product-design work, but at much larger scale and broader international portfolio.
• Steven Holl Architects: Established cultural-architecture practice that competed with SsD in the Chungnam Art Museum International Design Competition. Both firms target cultural and institutional clients but Holl is a multi-decade incumbent with global reach.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ssdarchitecture
• Facebookfacebook.com/ssdarchitecture
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ssd

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 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 SsD