Assemblage Studio

What Assemblage Studio does

Assemblage Studio (trade name assemblageSTUDIO) is a Las Vegas, Nevada-based boutique architecture firm founded in 1997 by principal architect Eric Strain. The firm employs approximately 10 people and provides architectural design services across residential, commercial, educational, and public/institutional sectors, with a stated specialization in desert-responsive architecture for the Mojave Desert context. Its client base spans individual homeowners seeking custom residences and compounds (including a documented engagement with photographer Peter Lik), Clark County School District and UNLV for educational facilities, municipal governments and community organizations, and commercial clients such as dental practices.

The firm operates on a project-based professional services model, generating revenue through design fees, project management, and construction administration for commissioned projects. Services are secured through direct client relationships and invited design competitions, including a 2nd-place finish in the national SC2 Challenge. Design work emphasizes site-specific context, passive sustainability techniques (rammed earth construction, extended roof forms for shade, large roof overhangs for sun screening, cross-circulation cooling), and material palettes such as blackened steel. Workflow relies on standard CAD/BIM software, digital fabrication, and architectural visualization tools rather than proprietary technology platforms.

Assemblage Studio is a privately held firm with no external investors, parent company, or institutional ownership disclosed. Brand and pipeline development is driven by academic engagement (UNLV lectures and studio mentorship), public exhibitions (Southern Utah Museum of Art in 2024, National Building Museum in 2025 for the Capital Brutalism show), invited competitions, and earned media in publications including Architectural Record, Forbes, and Architect magazine. Recognition includes Forbes Top 200 Residential Architects (2024), the AIA Nevada Silver Medal (2012), National FAIA (Design) for Eric Strain (2020), the WMR AIA Firm of the Year (2015), and multiple AIA Nevada and Western Mountain Region awards spanning 2020 and 2024.

Name

Assemblage Studio

Legal name

Assemblage Studio

Website

https://assemblagestudio.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Assemblage Studio is a Las Vegas-based boutique architecture firm of roughly 10 employees, founded in 1997 by Eric Strain, that designs desert-responsive residential, educational, commercial, and public projects for clients across the Mojave Desert region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Las Vegas, Nevada

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Architectural Design Services: Project-based fees for architectural design services including residential, commercial, institutional, and public projects. Revenue generated through design fees, project management, and construction administration services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Assemblage Studio is a full-service architecture firm delivering custom design for residential, commercial, educational, cultural, and public projects, with deep specialization in desert contextual design. The firm provides design, project management, and construction administration services, working in materials such as rammed earth, blackened steel, and other regionally responsive finishes.

Product overview

Assemblage Studio is a Las Vegas-based architecture firm offering a portfolio of architectural design services rather than a unified software product. The firm operates across multiple service categories including residential projects (custom homes, compounds), commercial and institutional projects (schools, museums, community centers), academic programs (student exhibitions, symposiums), and public exhibitions. Projects range from private residences like The Curve and Desert House to cultural institutions like LV MOCA and educational facilities like Global Community High School. The firm's work emphasizes desert contextual design, sustainable materials such as rammed earth and blackened steel, and integration with the Mojave Desert landscape. No modular software products or platforms were identified.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Residential Architectural Design Custom residential architecture including single-family homes, multi-family housing, and residential compounds such as The Curve, Oasis Residence, Black Mountain Residence, Desert House, and Jewel Homes, designed for affluent homeowners seeking desert-responsive, climate-appropriate homes.
• Commercial and Institutional Architectural Design Non-residential architecture covering educational facilities, community centers, dental offices, museums, and mixed-use developments, including projects such as Global Community High School, CCSD Family Support Center, LV MOCA, and College Villas, designed for commercial clients, school districts, and public agencies.
• Full Architectural Design Services (Project Management and Construction Administration) End-to-end architectural services from initial concept through design development, project management, and construction administration across all project types (residential, commercial, educational, cultural, and public buildings).
• Parowan Project Architectural Design Architectural design for the Parowan project in Utah, which received the Jeff Harnar Awards 1st Place Unbuilt Architecture (2024) and a WMR AIA Unbuilt Merit Award (2020), demonstrating the firm's reach beyond Las Vegas into Southwest Utah.
• Henderson Infill Architectural Design Urban infill architectural design project for Henderson, which received an AIA Nevada Citation Award (Unbuilt) in 2024, focused on neighborhood-sensitive renewal and site-specific design in the desert context.

Quantifiable outcome

• Multiple AIA awards received across Nevada, Western Mountain Region, and National levels
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) School of ArchitecturecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Students from UNLV School of Architecture participate in reimagining selected buildings for the Capital Brutalism exhibition alongside leading architecture firms including Studio Gang, Brooks + Scarpa, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Gensler, and BLDUS. Students collaborate with architectural photographer Ty Cole and curator Dr. Angela Person from University of Oklahoma.
• National Building MuseumflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Capital Brutalism exhibition featuring assemblageSTUDIO work on WMATA Metro system and seven polarizing buildings in Washington DC will be displayed at the National Building Museum in 2025. The exhibition uses archival documents, drawings, construction photographs, architectural models, and contemporary photographs.
• Southern Utah Museum of ArtflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Capital Brutalism exhibition showcased at Southern Utah Museum of Art in Cedar City, UT in 2024, exploring the history, current state, and future of buildings and WMATA Metro system in Washington DC.
• University of North Carolina, Charlotte School of ArchitectureminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Now in Process exhibition at UNC Charlotte explored faculty and staff projects throughout the year, showcasing diversity of architectural creative processes including digital fabrication, video editing, industrial manufacturing, computer aided design, and ceramic modeling.
• The Studio in Sahara West LibraryflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014pushing the rock...UPHILL exhibition displayed from March 11 to May 22, 2022, highlighting 25 years of assemblageSTUDIO work from inception to current projects, featuring select student work from Eric Strain's architecture studios at UNLV.
• UNLV Barrick MuseumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014REFLECTION+PROJECTING exhibition at the UNLV Barrick Museum curated a collection of the previous 10 years of AIA Award-winning projects, along with an installation of a typical desk from assemblageSTUDIO.
• University of Nevada, Las VegascoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012Ongoing collaboration with UNLV through studio visits, student mentorship, student work exhibitions, and academic symposiums including Immersion, projectHOME, See Me, and inProcess programs that foster regional pedagogical dialogue.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Brooks + Scarpa: Los Angeles architecture firm with a strong sustainability and social-impact orientation across housing, civic, and educational projects — comparable to Assemblage in design-led small-firm identity, public-sector engagement, and award-winning body of work.
• Will Bruder Architects: Phoenix architect known for desert-responsive design, rammed earth construction, and award-winning regional buildings; comparable to Assemblage in climate, construction vocabulary, and small-firm scale focused on site specificity.
• Jones Studio: Phoenix-based architecture firm specializing in desert residential and institutional design across the Southwest, with a similar emphasis on regional ecologies, material honesty, and a small-studio model anchored by a founding principal — a close analog to Assemblage's Las Vegas practice.
• Olson Kundig: Seattle-based architecture and design firm known for site-specific, materially rich residential and commercial buildings with a strong principal-led identity — comparable in design philosophy, award pedigree, and high-end residential focus to Assemblage Studio.
• Lake|Flato Architects: San Antonio firm celebrated for regionally rooted, sustainability-driven architecture across residential, civic, and educational typologies — comparable to Assemblage in passive-sustainability emphasis, public-sector work, and regional design ethos.
• Marmol Radziner: Los Angeles-based architecture and design firm renowned for desert modernism in Palm Springs and Joshua Tree, with deep expertise in indoor-outdoor living, rammed earth, and site-specific residential work — directly comparable to Assemblage Studio's desert-responsive, materially-driven design approach.
• Studio Gang: Chicago-based architecture and urban design practice with a strong academic and institutional profile, site-specific design philosophy, and award-winning cultural buildings — overlapping with Assemblage in thought-leadership positioning and competition participation.

Emerging players

• MASS Design Group: Boston-based nonprofit architecture firm focused on buildings with social impact, particularly in education and health; comparable to Assemblage in mission-driven, public-sector-oriented work and academic partnerships, but at a different scale and funding model.

Broad incumbents

• Robert A.M. Stern Architects: Large New York-based architecture firm with a national residential, institutional, and civic portfolio; serves as a broader incumbent reference point for high-end residential reputation at scale, against which Assemblage's boutique positioning can be benchmarked.
• SHoP Architects: New York-based design firm with a broad portfolio across large-scale residential, commercial, and cultural projects — represents the scaled, multi-disciplinary end of the architecture market that Assemblage competes against for institutional and cultural commissions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/reel/CzmrWVhPq5W/?igsh=MTc4MmM1YmI2Ng==
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/assemblage-studio

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 Assemblage Studio