What LINK lab does

LINKLAB is a private architecture, design, and urban research firm co-founded and led by Sooyoun Park and William Paluch, operating across three U.S. offices in Phoenix, New York, and Honolulu with approximately 25 employees. The firm delivers architecture, interior architecture, urban design, master planning, modular and prefabricated construction design, and immersive environment design services to clients spanning luxury fashion retail (Prada, Miu Miu, Balmain), residential developers and housing authorities, sports and entertainment operators, cultural institutions, commercial real estate developers, and industrial mixed-use developers. Revenue is generated through project-based professional fees negotiated per scope and complexity, with no standardized rate cards publicly disclosed.

The studio employs digital modeling, parametric design, and digital fabrication methods, producing notable technical components including a Virtual Reality (VR) Cocoon built from modular Glass Reinforced Gypsum panels, standardized modular prefabricated construction systems for residential and healthcare applications, and immersive spatial environments integrating LED panels, fiberoptics, and VR for esports venues. Portfolio highlights include the Jingan Esports Venue in Shanghai (adaptive reuse of a former indoor swimming pool, completed 2016), SALT at Our Kaka'ako (3-acre adaptive reuse master plan in Honolulu, completed 2017), and the 130 S Beretania affordable housing competition entry featuring 196 residential units organized across 360 prefabricated modules. The firm's 2025 award recognitions include Architizer Vision Awards Finalist status and shortlisting in The Architect's Chair Competition.

Business model is professional services with direct sales engagement, reputation-driven referrals, and architectural competition entries as primary go-to-market channels. The firm is privately held with no disclosed funding rounds, parent company, or institutional investors, and ownership appears concentrated with the two founding principals. Marketing is reputation-led, anchored by a portfolio website, a LinkedIn presence, an email newsletter (LINKLAB Newsletter / SHIFT), proactive award submissions, and the unLINKed thought-leadership interview series.

Name

LINK lab

Legal name

LINKLAB

Website

https://link-lab.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

LINKLAB is a private architecture, design, and urban research firm with ~25 employees across Phoenix, New York, and Honolulu, delivering architecture, interior design, and urban design services to luxury fashion houses (Prada, Miu Miu, Balmain), residential developers, and cultural institutions through project-based professional fees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Phoenix

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Architecture and Design Services: Project-based professional fees for architecture, interior architecture, urban design, and master planning services. Revenue is earned through project milestones and phases across residential, commercial, hospitality, retail, cultural, and mixed-use project types.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

LINKLAB is an architecture, design, and urban research firm providing professional services across residential, commercial, hospitality, retail, cultural, and mixed-use project types. The firm delivers architecture, interior architecture, urban design, master planning, modular/prefabricated construction design, and immersive environment design services from concept through construction administration, with specialized expertise in adaptive reuse and luxury retail environments.

Product overview

LINKLAB is an architecture, design, and urban research firm offering a portfolio of design services across multiple project types including multifamily housing, commercial office, retail boutiques, arts and culture, hospitality, mixed-use, and industrial developments. The firm operates across three offices (Phoenix, New York, Honolulu) and delivers projects spanning from concept design through construction, including feasibility studies, adaptive reuse, and modular construction approaches. Their portfolio includes named projects such as 130 S Beretania (affordable housing), Trillium Creative Office Building, SALT at Our Kaka'ako, Prada/Miu Miu/Balmain retail boutiques, Jingan Esports Venue, One South King hospitality project, and 334 Seaside Avenue. LINKLAB positions itself as a collaborative think-tank combining expertise from diverse industries to advance design solutions through research-driven inquiry.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Jingan Esports Venue Adaptive reuse of a former swimming pool in Shanghai's Jingan Sports Complex into a competitive digital gaming venue (1,700 SM / 18,300 SF) with three zones (Practice, Compete, Explore) and the VR Cocoon GFRG installation; for sports and entertainment venue operators and esports organizations.
• SALT at Our Kaka'ako Adaptive reuse master plan transforming a 3-acre industrial site in Honolulu into a mixed-use neighborhood with retail, food and beverage, cultural programming, and public space; for real estate developers seeking community-oriented mixed-use repositioning.
• Prada Retail Boutiques Long-standing collaboration delivering flagship, boutique, and travel-retail locations (180 SM-1,020 SM / 1,900-11,000 SF) for Prada, shaping immersive environments expressing the brand's design identity while responding to each location's cultural context.
• Miu Miu Retail Boutiques Collaboration delivering flagship, boutique, and travel-retail environments (420 SM-530 SM / 4,500-11,000 SF) for Miu Miu, creating spaces expressing the brand's layered identity balancing refinement with play.
• Balmain France Retail Boutiques Boutique environments for Balmain shaped through urban references and tactile materials, featuring layered assemblies of metal, stone, and textured finishes in Las Vegas, Houston, and Scottsdale Fashion Square locations.
• Trillium Creative Office Building Three-story, 4,000 SM / 43,100 SF creative office building in Woodland Hills, California featuring a three-story atrium lobby, energy-efficient glazing, natural wood framing, and connection to Trillium Park; for commercial real estate developers seeking creative workplace environments.
• 130 S Beretania (Affordable Housing Competition Entry) Affordable multifamily housing competition entry in Honolulu featuring 196 residential units (28,300 SM / 304,000 SF including parking) organized across 360 prefabricated modules with open-air circulation and elevated bridges connecting communal lanais; for housing authorities and residential developers.
• Pyeongchang-dong Art Complex Arts and culture complex in Seoul, South Korea (4,000 SM / 43,100 SF) with stepped angular forms tracing hillside terrain, featuring galleries, learning spaces, research areas, streamside plaza, and elevated amphitheater; for cultural institutions seeking site-responsive civic architecture.
• One South King Redevelopment of a 1960s office building in Honolulu into a mixed-use hospitality project featuring a 120-key boutique hotel, retail, food and beverage, rooftop terraces, and penthouse residences; for hospitality developers.
• Children's Care Village Competition entry for modular healthcare clinics in Africa using prefabricated components with industrial cardboard tube profiles and exterior-grade textiles, designed for flexibility, low cost, and ease of assembly without specialized tools or skilled labor.
• Iwilei Industrial Condo Industrial condominium development in Honolulu with 48 units for small businesses, featuring lightweight tensile fabric building envelope and natural ventilation design; for industrial and mixed-use developers.
• 334 Seaside Avenue Revitalization of a mid-century residential tower in Waikiki into a hospitality project featuring adaptive reuse, rooftop terrace with infinity pool, and guestroom design honoring original architecture; for hospitality developers.
• Kaka'ako Art Wall Temporary public art installation wall in Honolulu featuring rotating art installations by student and emerging artists, developed in collaboration with HCDA, Kamehameha Schools, and University of Hawaii; for cultural and community institutions.
• Reimagine Museum Conceptual museum expansion using shipping containers as modular galleries deployed across underutilized urban sites, complemented by digital platforms and mobile apps; for cultural institutions seeking flexible, distributed programming.

Quantifiable outcome

• Virtual Reality Cocoon named Finalist in 2025 Architizer Vision Awards (Color Photograph category)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered notable and contextual.

• Hawai'i Community Development Authority (HCDA)notableStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for the Kaka'ako Art Wall project, representing a collaboration between HCDA, Kamehameha Schools, and the University of Hawai'i. The partnership reflected a shared commitment to supporting local creative voices and amplifying Kaka'ako's cultural identity within Honolulu.
• Kamehameha SchoolsnotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on the Kaka'ako Art Wall project, initiated as a student competition. Kamehameha Schools participated alongside HCDA and University of Hawai'i to create a temporary, interchangeable public art installation that catalyzed the POW! WOW! festival.
• University of Hawai'inotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partnership for the Kaka'ako Art Wall project, contributing academic and student engagement to the public art initiative. The collaboration supported student and emerging artists in interpreting the district's sense of place and heritage.
• Warner Center (Trillium project context)contextualOthersTrillium Creative Office Building is positioned within Warner Center, a master-planned business district in Los Angeles. The project contributes to the growing network of design, technology, and entertainment industries in the San Fernando Valley.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Rockwell Group: Cross-disciplinary architecture and design firm with deep hospitality, retail, and entertainment portfolios. Comparable to LINKLAB in its emphasis on immersive spatial experiences and crossover between retail, hospitality, and cultural commissions.
• Benoy: International architecture and design practice with strong retail, mixed-use, and masterplanning capabilities globally. Comparable to LINKLAB in serving luxury retail and large-format commercial developers across multiple geographies.
• Olson Kundig: Mid-sized architecture and design studio with craft-driven residential, hospitality, and cultural projects. Comparable to LINKLAB in firm scale, founder-led model, and emphasis on bespoke material fabrication.
• Peter Marino Architect: The leading luxury retail architect globally, with longstanding relationships across Chanel, Dior, Louis Vuitton, and other maisons. Highly comparable to LINKLAB's Prada/Miu Miu/Balmain practice and direct competitor for luxury brand commissions.
• Heatherwick Studio: Multidisciplinary design studio known for immersive, experiential architecture and adaptive reuse (e.g., Coal Drops Yard, Google's Bay View). Comparable in its fusion of digital fabrication, narrative-driven design, and cross-sector project portfolio.
• Kengo Kuma and Associates: Renowned architecture studio with a deep cultural, hospitality, and adaptive reuse portfolio and strong material-driven design language. Comparable to LINKLAB in craftsmanship-led luxury work and Japan/Asia-Pacific project pipeline.

Broad incumbents

• CallisonRTKL: International architecture practice with deep retail, mixed-use, and hospitality portfolios. Comparable as a competitor for shopping mall, travel-retail, and mixed-use developer clients that overlap LINKLAB's Hawaii and Asia projects.
• Gensler: Global architecture and design leader with extensive retail, hospitality, and commercial practice. Comparable as a competitor for large-format retail and commercial developer commissions, though at vastly greater scale.
• Snøhetta: Globally recognized design practice spanning architecture, landscape, and interiors with a strong cultural and adaptive reuse portfolio. Comparable in its multidisciplinary think-tank ethos and emphasis on contextual, place-driven design.

Emerging players

• Sou Fujimoto: Japanese architect with experimental, nature-blurred design language and residential/cultural portfolio. Comparable to LINKLAB in its design-research ethos and innovative material/spatial experimentation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/link-lab

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 LINK lab