What UDG does

UDG (Shanghai Lianchuang Design Group Co., Ltd. / 上海联创设计集团股份有限公司) is a privately held, founder-controlled Chinese architectural and integrated design firm headquartered in Shanghai, founded in 2000. It provides full-lifecycle architectural design services spanning master planning, architectural design, landscape design, interior design, urban design, and structural engineering, organized through nine dedicated studios and a Strategy Research Institute. The firm employs more than 3,000 design professionals across 17 branch offices in 16 Chinese cities, serving three primary customer segments: leading real estate developers (Poly, CNOOC, Greenland Hong Kong, Wanda, Vanke, China Merchants), government and public sector entities (municipal governments, museums, cultural facilities), and corporate/industrial clients (Huawei, Wanhua Chemical, Wuxi Institute of Quantum Studies, Baosteel).

The firm generates revenue primarily through project-based professional design fees quoted per project based on scope, complexity, and service requirements, with no publicly disclosed pricing tiers or ARR data. Its go-to-market is sales-led, leveraging direct engagement with developers, government tendering, and a heavy reputational channel driven by an industry-leading award velocity (120+ in 2021, 100+ in 2020, 60+ international in 2019 across CREDAWARD, Architizer A+Awards, London Design Awards, WAF, Pro+Award, Muse, and IDA). Technology adoption centers on BIM, parametric design, and a proprietary modular landscape system ("Mole"), with strategic R&D through its Strategy Research Institute on emerging topics such as "Industrial Upstairs" (工业上楼) design methodology. UDG also operates a wholly-owned retail sub-brand, WOWdsgn (尖叫设计), launched in 2016, which sells proprietary and curated Nordic furniture through physical showrooms to diversify beyond core architectural services.

Name

UDG

Legal name

上海联创设计集团股份有限公司

Website

https://udg.com.cn

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

UDG (Shanghai Lianchuang Design Group) is a Chinese privately held architectural and integrated design firm founded in 2000, employing 3,000+ designers across 17 branches in 16 cities. It serves real estate developers, government/public sector clients, and corporate customers with master planning, architectural, landscape, interior, and urban design services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Design Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (541310), Landscape Architectural Services (54132), Interior Design Services (54141)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro primary industry

Industrial/Product & Furniture Design (BPAHAKAM)

Keywords

• Architectural design services
• Urban master planning
• Interior design services
• Landscape architecture design
• BIM building design

Headquarters

HQ city

Shanghai

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices17 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&amp, D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Architectural Design Services: UDG generates revenue primarily through professional architectural design and consulting services for real estate developers, government clients, and state-owned enterprises. Projects span residential, commercial, cultural, transportation, and urban planning sectors. The firm operates on a project-by-project basis with fees determined by project scale, complexity, and scope of services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

UDG (Shanghai Lianchuang Design Group) provides full-scope architectural design services encompassing master planning, architectural design, interior design, landscape design, urban design, and consulting. The firm serves residential, commercial, cultural, transportation, healthcare, education, and industrial projects through nine specialized design studios and 17 branch offices across China. It also operates a Nordic furniture brand (WOWdsgn) supplying imported furniture to commercial and residential interiors.

Product overview

UDG (联创设计) is a comprehensive architectural design firm offering full-service design capabilities across architecture, interior design, landscape design, and urban planning. The firm operates through multiple specialized studios (九大工作室) including the Innovation Design Center, 西木工作室, 有关工作室, 本务工作室, 零号工作室, 十分工作室, 深造工作室, and 复杂结构工作室. The portfolio spans residential, commercial, cultural, sports, transportation (including airport terminals and high-speed rail stations), and urban development projects. The company also operates a subsidiary brand, 尖叫设计 (Scream Design/Wow Design), a Nordic furniture collection retail brand with physical stores.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 尖叫设计 (WOWdsgn): Nordic furniture brand collection and自有家具品牌的研发与设计 (proprietary furniture brand R&D and design)

Products and services

• Architectural Design Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 120 industry awards received in 2021 alone, including international recognitions
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Shanghai Jiao Tong University (上海交通大学)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2025UDG has partnered with Shanghai Jiao Tong University and New Silk Road Capital to empower the low-altitude economy new track. The partnership aims to leverage UDG's design capabilities, Jiaotong University's research expertise, and New Silk Road Capital's financial resources to develop low-altitude economy related design and planning services.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Benoy: International architecture, masterplanning and interior design firm with established China operations. Benoy has collaborated with UDG on Xi'an MOMOPARK and is a direct competitor for retail-led mixed-use mandates in Tier-1 Chinese cities.
• KPF (Kohn Pedersen Fox): International architecture firm with established China practice focused on supertall towers, mixed-use and commercial developments. KPF competes with UDG for premium Chinese commercial mandates and operates globally, giving it advantages on cross-border project delivery.
• AECOM: Global A&E firm with extensive mainland China operations. AECOM competes with UDG on large-scale urban planning, transportation infrastructure and environmental projects in China, but offers deeper multidisciplinary engineering capabilities and international delivery that UDG supplements via partners like gmp and Benoy.
• Arup: Global engineering and design consultancy with significant mainland China presence. Arup competes with UDG on complex building engineering, transportation and sustainability-led projects but offers broader engineering depth and international R&D resources.
• CCDI (China Architecture Design & Research Group / 悉地国际): One of China's largest state-owned architecture and engineering design groups, providing full A&E services at a much larger scale. CCDI competes with UDG on government civic, cultural and transportation infrastructure mandates where state-owned credentials matter, though it has a broader, more multidisciplinary portfolio.

Emerging players

• MAD Architects: Beijing-based Chinese architecture firm with strong international recognition for signature cultural and cultural-tourism projects. MAD competes with UDG in the high-prestige cultural/civic segment where UDG has its award wins, but with a smaller, signature-led practice rather than volume-driven delivery.

Regional players

• HPP Architects: German architecture firm with long-standing China operations and project collaborations (e.g., Shanghai Tishman Shangpuhui Phase I with UDG). HPP competes with UDG on German-corporate/industrial real estate mandates in China and on European-led mixed-use projects.
• SHL Architects (Schmidt Hammer Lassen): Danish architecture firm with active mainland China operations; partnered with UDG on Shanghai Caohejing projects. SHL competes with UDG in the cultural and library typology in Northern Europe but serves as a peer on landmark Chinese public projects.

Direct peers

• gad (gad建筑设计): Major Hangzhou-headquartered Chinese architecture firm with comparable scale and a similar one-stop design services model covering master planning, architecture, interior, and landscape. gad competes directly with UDG for premium Chinese real estate developer mandates and government projects.
• Tianhua Group (天华建筑设计): Shanghai-based Chinese architecture design firm of similar scale with thousands of architects and nationwide coverage. Tianhua and UDG share target client base (top Chinese real estate developers), service scope (architecture/urban planning/interior/landscape), and competitive positioning in design awards; a Tianhua executive (陈武) also appears in UDG management background, underscoring direct industry overlap.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 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 UDG