EM BE CE

What EM BE CE does

EM BE CE is a Sydney-based architecture studio founded circa 2021 by three Nominated Architect directors — Ben Green, Chi Melhem, and Mladen Prnjatovic — and headquartered in Surry Hills. The practice delivers architectural design and urban design services spanning bespoke private residences, residential towers, mixed-use developments, affordable housing, commercial buildings, hospitality venues, co-living schemes, and city-scaled precinct projects for private clients, enterprise developers, and government clients primarily across New South Wales and Queensland in Australia.

The firm's underlying capability is its in-house design expertise rather than technology platforms. Core technical work is performed by approximately 16 staff (3 directors plus 13 architects and designers, most of whom hold ARB NSW registrations), with visualisation outsourced to specialists such as Narrative Graphics and notable collaborations with peer firms such as Andrew Burges Architects on the Barangaroo Cutaway proposal. Project delivery emphasises tenure-blind design, sustainability (NABERS ratings, PVs, EV charging, water recycling), bushfire resilience, heritage-sensitive adaptive reuse, and contextual urban integration; the firm has no patents, proprietary software, or AI/ML products disclosed.

EM BE CE operates as a private professional services practice generating revenue through project-based design fees, project management, and consulting engagements. Work is acquired through invited design competitions (e.g., Chatswood Design Excellence, City West Housing's Bangalay competition, City of Sydney's Hughes St co-living), direct commissions from developers and private clients (e.g., TOGA's The Kirk, Hillside Residence), and referrals. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is quoted per project based on scope, complexity, and scale; the firm is bootstrapped with no disclosed external funding, no parent company, and no M&A history.

Name

EM BE CE

Legal name

EM BE CE

Website

https://embece.com.au

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

EM BE CE is a Sydney-based architecture studio that designs residential towers, mixed-use, affordable housing, commercial, and hospitality projects across NSW and Queensland, acquired via invited design competitions and direct commissions from government and private clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Surry Hills

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Architectural Services: Professional architecture and design services for residential, commercial, mixed-use, and hospitality projects. Revenue is generated through design fees, project management, and consulting services for building projects of various scales from individual residences to city-scaled developments.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

EM BE CE is an architecture studio providing full-service architectural design for residential towers, affordable housing, bespoke private residences, commercial buildings, hospitality venues, co-living developments, heritage-sensitive projects, and precinct-scale urban masterplans across Sydney, NSW, and Queensland. Revenue is earned through project-based design fees and competition commissions for clients including developers, government housing providers, hospitality operators, and private individuals.

Product overview

EM BE CE is an architecture studio offering comprehensive architectural design services as a single, unified practice. Their portfolio spans residential architecture (individual houses, terraces, apartments), commercial and workplace design, mixed-use developments, affordable housing, hospitality venues (restaurants), co-living spaces, and urban-scale precinct projects. They participate in design excellence competitions and handle heritage conservation projects. Projects include Help St Apartments, Bangalay Affordable Housing, Beachside Residence, Chippendale Studio, Sunshine Beach Residence, Balmoral Residence, Hughes St Co-living, Point Piper Residence, The Kirk, Barangaroo Cutaway, Liverpool Street Apartments, Alexandria Commercial, Hall Street Apartments, Beta Residence, Gosford Terraces, Skyfarm, Hillside Residence, and Kangaroo Valley Residence.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Architectural Design Services Comprehensive architectural design services covering bespoke individual residences, mixed-use residential towers, affordable housing, commercial buildings, hospitality venues, co-living developments, and heritage-sensitive projects across Sydney, NSW, and Queensland. Designed for developers, government housing providers, private clients, and commercial operators.
• Urban Planning and Precinct Design City-scaled urban design and precinct masterplanning that integrates site context, public open space, sustainability, and community amenity. Designed for developers, councils, and government authorities delivering larger scale urban projects.
• Design Excellence Competition Entries Competitive architectural design submissions for major public and private sector projects, including the Help St Apartments 27-storey Chatswood tower and Bangalay Affordable Housing for City West Housing. Aimed at government authorities, housing providers, and private clients commissioning through competition.
• Heritage Conservation and Adaptive Reuse Architecture services integrating heritage buildings with new construction through adaptive reuse and sensitive additions. Examples include the Beachside Residence transformation of an existing 1960s house and the Chippendale Studio warehouse conversion. Aimed at private clients and owners of heritage or character properties.

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Andrew Burges ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Andrew Burges Architects (ABA) for Stage 2 design excellence competition proposal for The Cutaway at Barangaroo. EM BE CE worked alongside ABA as architecture collaborators on this significant public space project.
• Narrative GraphicsminorOthersVisualization partner for multiple projects including Bangalay Affordable Housing and Hughes St Co-living, providing rendering services.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Hassell: Major Australian architecture and design practice with a national and international portfolio across residential, commercial, and public projects. Comparable project types but a much larger, established incumbent.
• Cox Architecture: Major Australian architecture firm with national reach across residential, commercial, education, and public projects. Overlapping typologies (towers, public projects) but at much larger scale and with broader geographic footprint.
• Bates Smart: Long-established Australian architecture firm with significant residential, hospitality, and commercial work including towers. Comparable typologies (residential towers, hospitality) but at materially larger scale than EM BE CE.
• BVN Architecture: Larger established Australian architecture firm with a national footprint working on residential towers, education, and public projects. Comparable in typology (notably residential towers like Help St Apartments) but significantly larger scale.
• Fender Katsalidis: Design-led Australian architecture firm with a strong portfolio in residential towers and precincts, including in Sydney and Melbourne. Comparable design orientation and residential tower focus at a larger scale.

Direct peers

• SJB Architecture: Sydney-based design practice spanning residential, commercial, and hospitality projects with documented competition and award credentials. Comparable in size range, design orientation, and Sydney-centric project mix.
• Pop Architecture: Sydney design-led practice working across residential, hospitality, and cultural projects. Comparable in scale and design orientation, with a similar emphasis on bespoke detail and material craft.
• Tzannes: Sydney architecture studio of comparable size focused on design excellence in residential, commercial, and public projects. Comparable practice profile in the Sydney design-led niche with strong sustainability credentials.
• Andrew Burges Architects: Sydney-based design-led practice working across residential, public, and adaptive reuse projects. EM BE CE has directly collaborated with this firm on The Cutaway at Barangaroo Stage 2 competition, making it the closest peer by both scale and project type.
• Jackson Clements Burrows: Melbourne/Sydney architecture firm working on residential, commercial, and public projects with a strong design-led ethos. Comparable practice profile with documented competition and award credentials.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/em-be-ce
• Instagraminstagram.com/em_be_ce

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 EM BE CE