Design Jones LLC

What Design Jones LLC does

Design Jones LLC is a privately held landscape architecture firm headquartered in Arlington, Texas, with a regional office in New Orleans, Louisiana. Co-founded and led by Principals Diane Jones Allen, FASLA, and Austin Allen, the firm operates with approximately eight team members including landscape architects, designers, and interns, many of whom are concurrently pursuing graduate degrees at the University of Texas at Arlington. The firm delivers project-based professional services across five interconnected service categories: Memorials & Cultural Landscapes, Public & Civic Spaces, Community Planning, Campuses & Institutions, and Residential & Private Design. Its core technical expertise centers on green infrastructure, sustainable stormwater management (bio-retention systems, rain gardens), ecological restoration, and cultural landscape preservation, with a distinctive specialization in memorial landscapes honoring African American history and racial justice.

The firm's go-to-market is sales-led, relying on direct engagement with government agencies, educational institutions (including HBCUs), community organizations and nonprofits, and private residential clients. Projects are obtained through competitive proposals, RFQ/RFP responses, community partnerships, and referrals, with revenue generated through project fees quoted on a scope and complexity basis. Notable engagements include the Tamir Rice Memorial in Cleveland (0.25 acres, opened 2022), the Divine Nine Plaza at Georgia Tech (0.18 acres, 2023), the 19-block Claiborne Cultural Innovation District in New Orleans, and the 60-acre Freedmen's Town/Fourth Ward Master Plan in Houston (2025), which was supported by a Mellon Foundation Grant. The firm has received multiple TX ASLA Merit Awards and the 2016 ASLA Community Service Award, and is recognized through academic publications, industry awards, and presentations at institutions such as Harvard GSD.

The firm operates without external capital, subsidiaries, or public listing, and is structured as a single LLC. Both principals maintain active academic appointments while leading the practice, anchoring the firm's pipeline through university-driven talent recruitment and an ongoing internship program. Revenue, pricing, and detailed financial metrics are not publicly disclosed. Customer concentration is diversified across nonprofit, government, educational, and private residential segments, with no single client appearing to dominate revenue.

Name

Design Jones LLC

Legal name

Design Jones LLC

Website

https://designjonesllc.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Design Jones LLC is a landscape architecture firm specializing in memorials, cultural landscapes, community planning, and campus design, with a distinctive focus on African American heritage and environmental justice projects for nonprofits, government, HBCUs, and private clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Landscape Architecture Services

NAICS

Landscape Architectural Services (54132)

akta.pro primary industry

Landscape Architecture & Site Design (BPAHAKAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Urban Planning & Master Planning (BPAHAKAD)

Keywords

• Landscape architecture
• Community master planning
• Memorial landscape design
• Green infrastructure design
• Cultural landscape preservation

Headquarters

HQ city

Arlington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Professional Landscape Architecture Services: Project-based fees for landscape architecture design, master planning, site design, and construction documentation services for government, institutional, and private clients

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Design Jones LLC is a landscape architecture firm delivering professional design services in memorial landscapes, public and civic spaces, community master planning, campus and institutional design, and residential projects. The firm provides master planning, community engagement, and green infrastructure design, with particular depth in cultural landscape preservation and environmentally just site design for public-sector, institutional, nonprofit, and private residential clients.

Product overview

Design Jones LLC is a landscape architecture firm offering a unified suite of design services rather than a technology product. The portfolio comprises six interconnected service categories: Memorials & Cultural Landscapes (honoring African American history and racial justice), Public & Civic Spaces (green infrastructure and community hubs), Community Planning (neighborhood master plans with economic and cultural focus), Campuses & Institutions (educational landscape design), and Residential & Private Design (custom outdoor spaces). The firm's approach connects community engagement, environmental knowledge, preservation, planning, and cultural landscape design into places grounded in ecology, culture, and community memory.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Landscape Architecture Services
• Memorial Landscape Design
• Community Master Planning
• Public and Civic Space Design
• Campus and Institutional Design
• Green Infrastructure Design
• Cultural Landscape Preservation
• Residential Landscape Design
• Community Engagement Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Completed 60-acre Freedmen's Town/Fourth Ward Master Plan in Houston, TX (2025)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers16 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

Feature4 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Contemporary Arts Museum Houston (CAMH) & Houston Freedmen's Town Conservancy (HFTC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partnered with CAMH and HFTC to develop the Freedmen's Town/Fourth Ward Master Plan - a 60-acre community planning project in Houston, Texas. The team received a Mellon Foundation Grant to initiate this work focused on economic growth, cultural preservation, and environmental resilience.
• Tarrant County Coalition for Peace and Justice (TCCPJ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerChampioned the Mr. Fred Rouse Memorial project, working with TCCPJ and Transform 1012 to create a memorial honoring the African American meatpacking worker lynched in 1921. The memorial features rain gardens, corten tree panels, contemplative paths, and green infrastructure.
• UjamaacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLed landscape architecture for the Claiborne Cultural Innovation District (CCID) - a 19-block transformation beneath I-10 expressway in New Orleans. Project team included Whawn Allen Architects, Meyers Engineers, and WDG.
• Greater New Orleans FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLed collaborative public engagement efforts for the Spirit of Charity Innovation District Strategic Planning Process, working with George Washington University Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis, The Data Center, and JD Russell Consulting.
• The Descendants Project & Midlo Center for New Orleans StudiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAwarded Re:Generation grant from Monument Lab to create the Liberation Labyrinth - a reimagined monument honoring liberation efforts of Black communities in Vacherie, Louisiana (Cancer Alley).
• The Rice FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesigned the Tamir Rice Memorial in Cleveland, Ohio - transforming a site of injustice into a sacred place of remembrance. Partnered with DERU Landscape Architects as Landscape Architect of Record and Angela Pozo as Butterfly Tile Artist.
• Jefferson County School DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeveloping master plan for Central High School in Louisville, Kentucky - a 150-year-old institution and first African American high school in Kentucky. Project addresses outdoor learning, campus improvements, and cultural connections.
• DCHA (District of Columbia Housing Authority)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerModernization design for Langston Addition - a 34-unit townhouse property adjacent to historic Langston Terrace (first federally funded housing project in DC). Focus on reclaiming open space and cultural representation.
• Southern University at New Orleans (SUNO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrincipal Landscape Architect for athletic facilities and bio-retention systems at SUNO's Lakefront campus. Scope included running track, soccer field, basketball court, and sustainable surface drainage.
• Georgia Tech University & The Divine NinecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesigned The Divine Nine Plaza - 0.18 acre celebration of nine African American fraternity and sorority organizations. Included nine individual plots, stage, flexible lawn space, and common gathering areas. Received TX ASLA Merit Award 2024.
• Omega Community Development CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with Biohabitats for Omega Harvard Campus Master Plan in Dayton, Ohio - 30-acre project emphasizing ecological restoration and historic Olmsted Brothers landscape preservation.
• Land of the FreedcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeveloping African Cemetery Master Plan in Piqua, Ohio - 3.38 acre project dedicated to honoring the Randolph Freedpeople through historical preservation, archaeological efforts, and ecological restoration.
• Oretha Castle Haley Merchants & Business AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCompleted MLK JR. Memorial Walk | Hayden Plaza renovation in Central City neighborhood of New Orleans - a one city block, 0.5 acre civic space honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• OLIN: OLIN is an established landscape architecture, urban design, and planning firm with a strong cultural and civic portfolio - a larger incumbent operating in similar project types across the U.S.
• SWA Group: SWA Group is one of the largest landscape architecture and planning firms in the U.S., with work spanning cultural, civic, and ecological projects - a broad incumbent whose master-planning and public-space work overlaps with Design Jones.
• James Corner Field Operations: Field Operations is a high-profile landscape architecture and urban design firm working on major public-realm and cultural projects - a large incumbent with overlapping civic and cultural-landscape practice.
• Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates: MVVA is a well-established landscape architecture firm working on large-scale public parks, cultural landscapes, and campus projects - a larger comparable in the civic and cultural segment.

Emerging players

• Biohabitats: Biohabitats is an ecological restoration firm that Design Jones partnered with on the Omega Harvard Campus Master Plan - an adjacent practice with significant overlap on ecological and restoration projects, and a potential substitute on civic restoration commissions.

Direct peers

• Nelson Byrd Woltz: Nelson Byrd Woltz is a landscape architecture firm working at the intersection of ecology, culture, and community, with portfolios in memorial landscapes and cultural heritage projects - a strong comparable in values and project type.
• Hood Design Studio: Founded by Walter Hood, Hood Design Studio is a landscape architecture and public art practice focused on cultural landscapes, urban design, and memorials - the closest comparable firm to Design Jones in both practice area and cultural-equity positioning.
• SCAPE Landscape Architecture: SCAPE is a landscape architecture and urban design firm known for community-driven public space, ecological infrastructure, and post-disaster recovery work - directly comparable to Design Jones in civic focus and project scale.
• Andropogon Associates: Andropogon is an ecological landscape architecture firm specializing in restoration, green infrastructure, and stormwater management - closely aligned with Design Jones's green-infrastructure and environmental-justice work.
• Reed Hilderbrand: Reed Hilderbrand is a landscape architecture firm with a strong portfolio in cultural landscapes, campuses, and meaningful public space - directly comparable in design sensibility and project categories.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/design-jones-llc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

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 Design Jones LLC