spmb

What spmb does

spmb (São Paulo-Manitoba) is a privately held, research-based design practice founded in 1998 and headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, led by principal Eduardo Aquino, who also serves as a professor at the University of Manitoba's Faculty of Architecture. The practice operates as a commissioned public art, architecture, and landscape studio, generating work "in response" to community dialogue, consultation, and site-specific cues rather than from preconceived concepts. Its portfolio spans public art installations (e.g., JIIGEW, Vous Êtes Ici, CHROMA, TRACE, Something Happens Here), memorials (The Living Room, Memorial Concordia), architectural projects (Nam June Paik Museum proposal, Prairie Shelter, Actual Gallery), furniture (MUTT, 4x8), landscape and urban design proposals (Plage, Power Centre), and research publications (Complex Order: Intrusions in Public Space).

The firm's core methodology is its defining technology: an iterative, dialogue-driven design process that produces site-specific outcomes across disciplines ranging from cor-ten steel beacons and LED lighting systems to etched maps, ceramic brick facades, and straw bale shelters. spmb does not maintain a software product, platform, API, or proprietary technology stack; its competitive differentiation rests on intellectual and creative methodology rather than on technical infrastructure.

spmb generates revenue through project-based fees from public art commissions, architectural projects, and design consulting engagements, sourced via public competitions, municipal and institutional tenders, direct commissions, and academic collaborations. Customer segments are concentrated in government and public sector clients (municipalities, public art programs), cultural institutions (galleries, museums, universities), and urban/landscape authorities in Canada and select international markets (Brazil, the Netherlands, Korea, Germany, Switzerland, and the USA). The practice has earned high-credibility recognition including a Governor General's Award in Architecture (2006), an RAIC National Urban Design Award (2014), and representation of Brazil at the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale.

Name

spmb

Legal name

spmb

Website

https://spmb.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

spmb is a Winnipeg-based research design practice founded in 1998 that delivers commissioned public art, architecture, landscape, furniture, and research projects for municipal, cultural, and institutional clients across Canada and internationally, working through community dialogue rather than preconceived concepts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Art & Architectural Design Services

NAICS

Interior Design Services (54141)

SIC

Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Engagement & Participatory Planning (BPAHAKAO)

Keywords

• Public art installations
• Architectural design
• Landscape architecture
• Furniture design
• Research publications

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Others

Core offering

spmb is a research-based design practice that conceives and delivers commissioned public art installations, architectural projects, landscape designs, furniture collections, exhibitions, and research publications. The studio works "in response" to communities and sites, generating artwork through dialogue and consultation rather than preconceived concepts, serving municipal governments, cultural institutions, and urban development authorities across Canada and internationally.

Product overview

spmb (São Paulo-Manitoba) is a research-based design practice founded in 1998, specializing in public art, architecture, landscape design, furniture, exhibitions, and research. The studio does not offer a software product or platform; instead, it delivers physical projects including public art installations (such as Plage, JIIGEW, CHROMA, TRACE), architectural projects (Nam June Paik Museum, Prairie Shelter, FLATBOX), memorial designs (The Living Room, Memorial Concordia), furniture collections (MUTT, 4x8), gallery renovations (Actual Gallery), and publications (Complex Order). The practice generates all work 'in response' to community dialogue, rather than through preconceived concepts. The portfolio spans Canada, Brazil, and Europe, with projects ranging from urban interventions to landscape studies and research exhibitions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Plage

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• DIN ProjectsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on the Nam June Paik Museum project in Seoul, Korea (2003). DIN Projects worked with spmb on the museum architecture proposal characterized by programmatic interruption and destabilization of expectations, in the spirit of Fluxus.
• BLDGminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint venture with BLDG on the York Avenue Parkade & Residences project in Winnipeg (2010–12). Project involved podium renovation and parkade redevelopment on a downtown corner site.
• BrookMcIlroy ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-development partner for JIIGEW [By the Water], the public art project for the Waterfront Rehabilitation Project in Thunder Bay, ON (2010–2011). BrookMcIlroy led architecture and urban design while spmb delivered the public art components including 70-foot cor-ten steel beacon structures with LED lighting and sound systems.
• Ken BortonminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborator with spmb on The Winnipeg Project, an urban research project and exhibition examining Winnipeg's urbanism and mythological landscapes (2001).
• Colin HerpergerminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborator with spmb on the CHROMA public art project for the Mount Dennis Neighbourhood in Toronto (2011). Herperger co-developed the concept for the public art installation at Dennis Avenue and Weston Road.
• MMBBminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with MMBB on Mackenzie University Workshops project in São Paulo (2003). MMBB partnered on the two-storey workshop building design accommodating technical areas within the downtown campus.
• Casagrande & RintalaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Prairie Shelter, a 1:1 scale design & build workshop at the University of Manitoba (2003). Casagrande & Rintala were on tour through the Arctic Circle and participated in the design of a temporary straw bale shelter for 15 people in -40°C conditions.
• Adrian Blackwell, Daniel Lanois, Adam CK Vollick, Simon PlashkescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMultidisciplinary collaboration for LATER THAT NIGHT AT THE DRIVE-IN, Toronto Nuit Blanche 2010. Adrian Blackwell contributed urban design, Daniel Lanois provided music performance, and Vollick and Plashkes contributed to the Sound and Projection Field installation at Nathan Phillips Square.
• Festival Ephemeral Gardens (Quebec City)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlage was conceived for the Festival Ephemeral Gardens in Quebec City, celebrating 400 years of Quebec City. The project proposed a dialogue between beach, prairie, and Quebec landscape typologies.
• Plug In Institute of Contemporary ArtcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing institutional partner for multiple projects including TRACE, KOVACS PAVILION, SOFTSCAPE, COMPLEX ORDER publication, COMPOSITION A2, TEXTSPACE, and MUTT installations. Plug In ICA serves as a key venue for spmb's public art and exhibition practice in Winnipeg.
• Maison de la Culture Hochelaga-MaisonneuveminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerClient and host for VOUS ÊTES ICI public art installation (2003–06). The project created a light and text environment with LED lighting projecting over one million tonalities of blue on the façade, and etched maps of original Montreal settlement.
• Concordia UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMemorial Concordia commissioned by Concordia University in Montreal (1995). The commemorative installation at 120' x 30' site honors victims of the 1992 fatal incident, retaining social space quality for the university community.

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Janet Echelman: Internationally recognized public artist producing large-scale, site-specific sculptural installations in civic spaces worldwide — directly comparable to spmb as a sole-practitioner public art studio with international commission footprint.
• James Corner Field Operations: New York-based landscape urbanism firm responsible for High Line and major waterfront/parks projects globally — a peer in the landscape-led, public-realm, urban-design space where spmb competes.
• Michel Desvigne Paysagiste: Paris-based landscape architect recognized for large-scale urban and landscape design including public realm and civic space projects — peer in the research-driven, site-specific public landscape space where spmb operates.
• West 8: Rotterdam-based urban design and landscape architecture practice renowned for large-scale public space, waterfront, and landscape urbanism projects globally — directly comparable to spmb in international public-realm ambition and design rigor.
• Stoss Landscape Urbanism: Boston-based landscape architecture and urban design firm specializing in public realm, waterfront, and civic landscape projects with strong community engagement — comparable in scope and methodology to spmb's interdisciplinary public space practice.
• PUBLIC WORK: Toronto/New York-based public art and urban design studio producing site-specific installations, public realm projects, and community-responsive interventions in civic space — closely aligned with spmb's 'in-response' methodology and public art focus.
• Topotek 1: Berlin-based landscape architecture practice working across public art, urban landscape, and exhibition design with an art-driven approach — closely comparable to spmb's blurring of art, landscape, and architecture.
• Taylor Cullity Lethlean: Adelaide-based landscape architecture practice known for culturally sensitive public gardens, memorials, and community-engaged landscape projects — directly comparable to spmb's research-driven, community-responsive public realm work.

Emerging players

• !melk: Norway-based landscape architecture and urban design studio working on small-to-medium civic and public realm projects with an art-influenced approach — emerging peer comparable to spmb's scale and methodology.

Broad incumbents

• Snøhetta: Norway-headquartered architecture and landscape practice with an integrated design approach spanning buildings, public realm, and identity work — overlaps spmb at the architecture + landscape intersection but at vastly greater scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/spmb

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 spmb