Sorg

What Sorg does

Sorg is a privately held, full-service architecture firm founded in 1986 by Suman Sorg, FAIA, and headquartered at 918 U Street NW, Washington, DC. The firm provides architectural design services across residential, commercial, civic, educational, recreational, and embassy projects, with stated specializations in sustainable design, historic preservation and adaptive reuse, affordable housing, master planning, and supportive housing for homeless populations. Sorg operates a research-based, human-centered design methodology under a "creative equity" framework, and has been ranked among the top 50 architecture firms in the US by Architect Magazine while accumulating over 60 awards from the American Institute of Architects and other national associations.

The firm generates revenue through professional services fees on a project-by-project basis, working primarily for federal, state, and local government agencies, institutional clients (including the US Department of State for embassy projects), universities, and non-profit organizations, with work spanning Washington DC and over 50 countries internationally. The firm has demonstrated capability on projects with construction costs in the hundreds of millions of dollars while maintaining a deliberately small nine-person core team, suggesting a subconsultant-heavy delivery model. Distribution is sales-led and direct, secured through RFP/RFQ processes, government set-aside programs, and repeat client relationships. A separate sister firm, A Complete Unknown, was founded by Suman Sorg in 2015 to pursue mission-driven work independently. There is no disclosed AI/ML capability, no software product, and no externally disclosed revenue.

Name

Sorg

Legal name

Sorg

Website

https://sorg.design

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Sorg is a Washington, DC-based full-service architecture firm founded in 1986 serving federal, state, and local government agencies, educational institutions, and non-profits with sustainable, human-centered design across 50+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (54131), Architectural Services (541310)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)

Keywords

• Architectural design services
• Sustainable architecture
• Civic building design
• Historic preservation
• Affordable housing design

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Architectural Services Fees: Sorg generates revenue through professional services fees for architectural and design services on a per-project basis. Projects range from residential to large complex commercial, civic, and educational projects. The firm handles large complex projects into the hundreds of millions of dollars in construction cost.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Sorg is a full-service architecture firm providing professional architectural design services for residential, commercial, civic, educational, recreation, embassy, and affordable housing projects. The firm delivers projects ranging from private residences to large-scale government and institutional facilities with construction costs in the hundreds of millions of dollars, applying a research-based, human-centered, and sustainability-focused design methodology. Work is executed for clients in the Washington DC region and across more than 50 countries internationally.

Product overview

Sorg is a full-service architecture firm offering comprehensive architectural design services rather than a technology product platform. Founded by renowned architect Suman Sorg in 1986 and based in Washington, DC, the firm provides architectural services across multiple specializations including residential, commercial, civic, educational, and government projects. The firm's service portfolio encompasses Affordable Housing Design, Civic and Arts Architecture, Embassy and Office Architecture, Education Architecture, Recreation Architecture, Housing and Mixed-Use Architecture, Historic Preservation, Sustainable Design, Master Planning, and Housing for Homeless populations. The firm handles projects ranging from intimate residential renovations to large-scale embassy compounds and civic infrastructure, with work spanning the Washington DC area and over 50 countries internationally.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• A Complete Unknown: Sister firm founded by Suman Sorg, FAIA as a new way to serve community through good design, dedicated to pursuing meaningful work that values people and planet above profits

Products and services

• Sorg Architecture Services
• Civic and Arts Architecture
• Embassy and Office Architecture
• Education Architecture
• Recreation Architecture
• Housing and Mixed-Use Architecture
• Affordable Housing Design
• Historic Preservation

Quantifiable outcome

• Ranked among top 50 architecture firms in US by Architect Magazine
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 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

Feature3 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Wiebicke Architecture / Wiebicke & Associates: Wiebicke is a small DC-based architecture firm with civic, recreation, and public-sector work comparable to Sorg's portfolio of recreation centers, schools, and government buildings.
• Cunningham Quill Architects: Cunningham Quill is a DC-based architecture firm with strong civic, educational, and embassy project portfolios. Comparable to Sorg in regional focus, project types, and boutique-to-mid scale.
• MTFA Architecture: MTFA Architecture is a DC-area architecture firm focused on civic, educational, and public-sector projects. Closely comparable to Sorg in scale, regional focus, and mission-driven public architecture portfolio.
• Architects of Achievement: Architects of Achievement (now merged with Quinn Evans) was a DC-based mid-size firm focused on education, civic, and historic preservation work — a close small/mid-market peer to Sorg in the Mid-Atlantic public-sector market.

Broad incumbents

• SmithGroup: SmithGroup is a large integrated design firm with prominent DC civic, education, and public-sector practices. Comparable to Sorg in its focus on government, institutional, and educational architecture, but at significantly greater scale and bench depth.
• Perkins&Will: Perkins&Will is a global architecture firm with strong sustainable-design credentials and major public-sector and healthcare practices. Overlaps with Sorg in civic, educational, and LEED-driven work, but operates at significantly larger scale.
• DLR Group: DLR Group is a national integrated design firm with deep public-sector and civic architecture practices. Explicitly named on Sorg's own website as the firm it is NOT affiliated with, indicating direct market overlap in DC government, embassy, civic, and educational project work.
• HOK: HOK is a global architecture and engineering firm with significant government, civic, and higher-education practices. Comparable to Sorg in mission-driven institutional work but at much larger scale, including federal contracting experience.
• HKS: HKS is a major architecture firm with government, civic, and educational practices. Comparable to Sorg in public-sector and community-focused project types, particularly recreation and civic centers.
• EwingCole: EwingCole is an East Coast architecture and engineering firm with a strong civic and recreation portfolio, including DC-area recreation center work. Comparable to Sorg in building types but at significantly larger scale.

Market position

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sorgdesign

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 Sorg