Architects & Engineers, Co., Ltd. of Southeast University

What Architects & Engineers, Co., Ltd. of Southeast University does

Architects & Engineers, Co., Ltd. of Southeast University (legal name: 东南大学建筑设计研究院有限公司, trade name 'Dong Dayuan' / 东大院) is a private limited company and wholly university-affiliated architectural design and research institute established in 1965 in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. The firm operates as the commercial design arm of Southeast University, delivering professional architectural design services across ten service categories: cultural buildings, educational buildings, office and hotel buildings, sports buildings, healthcare and elderly care buildings, urban renewal, traditional and heritage buildings, transportation engineering, urban design, and landscape design. Notable commissions include the Zigong Salt Industry History Museum (won April 2025 in joint venture with Northern Engineering Design Research Institute), Xiamen New Sports Center, Dongguan Binhai Bay pedestrian bridge, Hohai University Changzhou Campus, and Nanjing urban renewal projects including Jinling Style district and Xiaoxihu block.

The firm's underlying technology and capability base rests on academic-research-driven design rather than proprietary software or platforms. It hosts three government-approved research centers—the National Prestress Engineering Technology Research Center (Ministry of Science and Technology), the National Building Standards Research Center (Ministry of Education), and the Jiangsu Provincial Photovoltaic Power Generation System Integration Engineering Technology Research Center—plus enterprise academician workstations led by Academicians Wang Jianguo and Cheng Taining, and joint studios with the School of Architecture and the School of Civil Engineering covering seismic design, urban architecture, and structural engineering. The firm has co-authored published national technical specifications, including the 'Technical Specification for Variable Diameter Reinforcement Cage Expanded Head Anchor.'

Revenue is generated through professional service fees from project-based, quote-driven design commissions and design competition winnings, primarily for Chinese government and public-institution clients across cultural, educational, sports, healthcare, urban renewal, and transportation infrastructure segments. Go-to-market is sales-led, with projects secured through competitive design bidding and consortium partnerships. The firm is governed by a Party Committee and management structure led by a Party Secretary and General Manager, with no external private equity or venture capital involvement evidenced. Operations are entirely domestic (China), with no overseas footprint disclosed.

Name

Architects & Engineers, Co., Ltd. of Southeast University

Legal name

东南大学建筑设计研究院有限公司 (Southeast University Architectural Design Research Institute Co., Ltd.)

Website

https://adri.seu.edu.cn

Company type

Private

Founded year

1965

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Architects & Engineers, Co., Ltd. of Southeast University is a Nanjing-based, university-affiliated architectural design institute established in 1965, delivering project-based design services across cultural, educational, sports, healthcare, urban renewal, and transportation sectors for Chinese government and public-institution clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Design Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (541310), Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413), Engineering Services (541330), Landscape Architectural Services (54132)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700), Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro primary industry

Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Civil & Structural Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAA), Education & Research Facility Construction (Schools, Universities, R&D) (IMAFACAE)

Keywords

• Architectural design services
• Building engineering design
• Urban renewal design
• Cultural heritage architecture
• Transportation engineering design

Headquarters

HQ city

Nanjing

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Architectural Design Services: The company generates revenue through professional architectural design services, including design competitions, project commissions, and consulting services for various building types including cultural, educational, office, sports, healthcare, and urban renewal projects.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Architects & Engineers, Co., Ltd. of Southeast University is a university-affiliated architectural design and research institute providing comprehensive professional architectural and engineering design services across cultural, educational, office/hotel, sports, healthcare, urban renewal, traditional/heritage, transportation, urban, and landscape projects. Design services are delivered alongside co-operated national and provincial research centers, professor studios, and academician-led workstations connected to Southeast University. Revenue is earned through design competition wins, direct project commissions, and joint-venture consortium projects for government, public-sector, and institutional clients.

Product overview

Architects & Engineers, Co., Ltd. of Southeast University is a university-affiliated architectural design research institute offering comprehensive architectural design services across ten specialized categories: cultural buildings, educational buildings, office/hotel buildings, sports buildings, healthcare buildings, urban renewal, traditional buildings, transportation engineering, urban design, and landscape design. The company operates multiple research centers including the National Prestressed Engineering Technology Research Center and professor studios in collaboration with Southeast University's School of Architecture and Civil Engineering. The portfolio includes major projects such as the Xiamen New Sports Center, Dongguan Binhai Bay New Area pedestrian bridge, and the Zigong Salt Industry History Museum. Academic research activities are conducted through Jiangsu Province enterprise graduate workstations and joint research initiatives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cultural Buildings Design Services Architectural design services for cultural buildings including museums, theaters, and heritage sites, with deep expertise in historical context and cultural-narrative design.
• Educational Buildings Design Services Architectural design services for educational facilities including schools, universities, and research institutions.
• Office/Hotel Buildings Design Services Architectural design services for commercial office buildings and hospitality facilities.
• Sports Buildings Design Services Architectural design services for sports facilities including stadiums, arenas, and recreational centers.
• Healthcare Buildings Design Services Architectural design services for medical facilities and elderly-care / senior-living buildings.
• Urban Renewal Design Services Architectural and urban-design services for urban regeneration, district renovation, and historical block preservation projects.
• Traditional Buildings Design Services Architectural design services for traditional and heritage buildings, including restoration and renovation.
• Transportation Engineering Design Services Engineering design services for transportation infrastructure including bridges and pedestrian facilities.
• Urban Design Services Urban planning and design services for city-level development projects, integrating urbanism with architectural and landscape design.
• Landscape Design Services Landscape architecture design services for exterior spaces and environments.

Quantifiable outcome

• Established 10+ specialized research centers and professor studios
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Northern Engineering Design Research Institute Co., Ltd. (北方工程设计研究院有限公司)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 April 2025Joint partnership for the Zigong Salt Industry History Museum project. The consortium led by National Engineering Survey and Design Master Han Dongqing won the design competition. The partnership combines both companies' expertise in architectural design for cultural heritage projects.
• Southeast University School of Architecture (东南大学建筑学院)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeep industry-academia collaboration through joint professor studios, research centers, and talent development programs. Collaborated to establish multiple studios and research centers including Urban Architecture Studio, various professor studios, and joint graduate training programs.
• Southeast University School of Civil Engineering (东南大学土木工程学院)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEstablished multiple joint research centers including Seismic Design Research Center and Dingli Structure Studio, enabling integration of civil engineering expertise into architectural design projects.
• Academician Wang Jianguo (王建国院士)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademician Wang Jianguo leads an enterprise academician workstation at the company, bringing top-tier academic expertise in architecture to applied research and design practice.
• Academician Cheng Taining (程泰宁院士)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademician Cheng Taining leads an enterprise academician workstation at the company, contributing specialized expertise to the company's research and design capabilities.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• AECOM: A global design and infrastructure firm with an active China practice in urban design, landscape, and transportation projects. Overlaps with the firm's urban renewal and transportation engineering services, though AECOM's scale and global brand differ.
• Arup Group: A global engineering and design consultancy with significant presence in China, providing integrated architectural and structural engineering services on cultural and infrastructure projects. Comparable on the engineering-services dimension, though much larger and international.
• China Architecture Design & Research Group (CADG): China's largest state-owned architectural design institute under the Machinery Group. Overlaps heavily on cultural, sports, healthcare, and urban renewal projects, but with vastly greater scale, multi-region presence, and government mandate.

Regional players

• China Southwest Architectural Design & Research Institute (CSWADI): A large state-owned design institute headquartered in Sichuan with similar portfolio of cultural, urban, and educational projects. Comparable on service mix but geographically anchored to western China.
• China Northeast Architectural Design & Research Institute (CNADRI): A regional SOE design institute serving northeastern China with overlapping expertise in cultural, educational, and urban projects. Comparable on segment mix but with a distinct geographic focus.
• Hubei Provincial Architectural Design Institute: A provincial-level design institute with comparable portfolio across public, educational, and cultural buildings. Comparable as a mid-sized state-affiliated design firm, though geographically focused on central China.

Direct peers

• Shanghai Xian Dai Architectural Design Group: A diversified Chinese architectural design group with comparable service lines spanning commercial, cultural, healthcare, and educational projects. Competes in the same design competition ecosystem in mainland China.
• Tsinghua University Architectural Design & Research Institute (THAD): The architectural design arm of Tsinghua University, the most prestigious architecture school in China. Closely comparable as a top-tier, university-affiliated architectural design institute competing for the same government, cultural, and educational projects nationally.
• Beijing Institute of Architectural Design (BIAD): A major Chinese architectural design institute with comparable portfolio breadth across cultural, educational, sports, and transportation projects. Competes directly for state-affiliated commissions and design competition wins.
• Tongji Architectural Design (Group) Co., Ltd. (TJAD): The design arm of Tongji University, another top Chinese architecture school. Highly comparable given similar university affiliation, broad portfolio across building types, and head-to-head competition on cultural, educational, and urban design commissions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/architects-engineers-co-ltd-of-southeast-university

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Architects & Engineers, Co., Ltd. of Southeast University