Alt Architecture + Research Associates

What Alt Architecture + Research Associates does

Alt Architecture + Research Associates LLC is a Chicago-based architecture and research firm founded in 2007 that specializes in designing built environments as therapeutic instruments for veterans, military families, and other trauma-affected populations. Its core offering is a proprietary Trauma-Informed Design methodology that integrates behavioral health research with architectural practice, executed through collaborative workshops and focus groups with end users (Veterans, students, behavioral health providers, and medical planners). The firm's most consequential product is the VA Healing Environment Design Guideline (VAHEDG), completed in 2016 as prime consultant to the Department of Veterans Affairs, which sets a national design standard for 168 VA medical centers and 1,050 outpatient clinics.

The firm's portfolio spans landmark civic restoration (Cedar Rapids Veterans Memorial Building, 110,000 sq ft), higher-education veteran facilities (Texas A&M Patriots' Casa, the first stand-alone student veteran center in the US at $5M), rural healing infrastructure (Wisconsin American Legion Healing Lodge), K-12 well-being campuses (Franklin Fine Arts), and federal commemorative design (Global War on Terrorism Memorial on the National Mall). It has expanded into a digital product, Sacrospace — a virtual healing environment platform co-founded with Sam Tepper Ph.D. in 2022 — and into international engagements including the Odysseus Project and Rebirth Ukraine for Ukrainian veteran trauma healing. Revenue is generated through project-based architecture consulting fees, prime government contracting for national design standards (VA, veterans commissions), and potentially recurring digital revenue via Sacrospace, though no pricing is publicly disclosed.

Go-to-market is heavily relationship- and credibility-driven: subject matter expert designation by government agencies, competitive RFP processes, and direct invitations, supplemented by Paul Alt's peer-reviewed publications, webinars, symposiums, and earned media. Strategic partnerships — with HKS, Illinois Joining Forces, Dryhootch, Wisconsin American Legion, Chicago Public Schools, the Columbia School of Social Work, and the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation — embed the firm across veteran, education, and federal memorial ecosystems. The firm operates as a privately held LLC with 1-10 employees and no disclosed external institutional ownership.

Name

Alt Architecture + Research Associates

Legal name

Alt Architecture + Research Associates LLC

Website

https://aaplusr.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Alt Architecture + Research Associates is a Chicago-based architecture firm that designs trauma-informed healing environments for veterans, military families, and trauma-affected communities, anchored by its VA Healing Environment Design Guideline and Sacrospace virtual healing platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Architecture & Design Consulting Services: Traditional architecture and design consulting services billed on a project fee basis. Projects include restoration of civic buildings, design of veteran healing facilities, and master planning for healthcare systems.
2. Government Design Guideline Contracts: Prime consulting contracts with government agencies such as the Department of Veterans Affairs to develop design guidelines and frameworks for national deployment across VA medical facilities.
3. Virtual Healing Platform (Sacrospace): Digital/virtual healing environment platform providing healing journeys using evidence-based research. Revenue model not publicly disclosed.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Alt Architecture + Research Associates is a Chicago-based architecture and research firm that designs healing-focused environments and research-based projects. Its core practice centers on trauma-informed architectural design for veterans, trauma survivors, educational communities, and civic institutions, delivered through collaborative workshops, focus groups, and a proprietary Healing Environment Framework. The firm provides architecture consulting, master planning, building design, and national design guideline development (notably the VA Healing Environment Design Guideline), and has developed the Sacrospace virtual healing platform.

Product overview

Alt Architecture + Research Associates is an architecture and research firm that designs architecture as a tool for healing, education, and community building. The company's offerings center on Healing Environment Architecture — a collaborative approach combining workshops and focus groups to create spaces that facilitate integrative healing. The portfolio includes the VA Healing Environment Design Guideline (a national design standard for 168 VA medical centers), completed landmark projects like the Cedar Rapids Veterans Memorial Building and Texas A+M Patriots' Casa, and current initiatives including the Franklin Fine Arts Well-Being Campus, Sacrospace virtual healing platform, and Ukraine-based trauma healing programs (The Odysseus Project and Rebirth Ukraine). The firm also develops specialized facilities such as Peer-to-Peer Therapeutic Centers, Wisconsin American Legion Healing Lodge, and Milwaukee Healing Environment Master Plan. Sacrospace represents the company's digital product — a virtual healing environment platform providing evidence-based healing journeys.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SacroSpace: A virtual healing environment platform developed in collaboration with cofounder Sam Tepper Ph.D., designed to destress and heal trauma using evidence-based research for mind, body, and spirit wellness.

Products and services

• Healing Environment Architecture and Design Consulting Full-service architecture and design consulting practice delivering trauma-informed buildings, master plans, and memorial environments for government, educational, and nonprofit clients. Engagements are delivered through collaborative workshops, focus groups, and the firm's proprietary Healing Environment Design Framework, applied to veteran facilities, civic buildings, and community healing spaces.
• VA Healing Environment Design Guideline (VAHEDG) National design guideline developed as prime consultant to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, codifying healing environment principles for common areas, outpatient clinics, and inpatient clinics across 168 VA medical centers and 1050 outpatient clinics. Delivered as a comprehensive guideline document plus team of 39 subject matter experts and 4 sub-consultants.
• Sacrospace Virtual Healing Environment Platform Virtual healing environment platform co-developed with cofounder Sam Tepper Ph.D., providing healing journeys using evidence-based research to destress and heal trauma via focus on mind, body, and spirit, increasing well-being and strengthening community connections.

Quantifiable outcome

• VA Healing Environment Design Guideline deployed across 168 VA medical centers and 1050 outpatient clinics — the largest medical system in the United States
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• HKSmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlt Architecture + Research Associates and HKS, along with other partners, were shortlisted to develop national master planning for the Department of Veterans Affairs. This partnership positioned the firm for the VA Healing Environment Design Guideline contract.
• Illinois Joining Forces (IJF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAlt Architecture + Research Associates LLC joined IJF, an initiative looking to close the gap on mental health services for veterans in Illinois by creating partnerships between public and private mental health services. AA+R contributes expertise in healing environment design and architecture.
• Kell Munoz ArchitectsmajorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCollaboration on the Texas A+M Patriots' Casa project — AA+R served as Associate Architects responsible for interior and massing design, working closely with General Charles Rodriguez and Kell Munoz Architects of San Antonio, Texas.
• AECOMminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerAA+R worked with AECOM on multiple projects including: South Lake Shore Drive pedestrian underpasses (5 bridges/underpasses in Chicago), 153rd St. Bridge in Bronx NY (cable-stay vehicular bridge), and Hattie Callner Apartments renovation.
• Ukrainian, EU, and US Multi-disciplinary Partners (Ukraine)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAA+R is engaged with Ukrainian, EU, and US partners on developing a Veteran Integrative Healing Center in Shevchenkova, Ukraine. Led by Major General Vladyslav Klochkov PhD (Ret.), the team includes behavioral health experts, researchers, architects, artists, and public health experts. Partners include Major General Vladyslav Klochkov PhD (Ret.), Sam Tepper Ph.D. (cofounder of Sacrospace), and the US Department of Veterans Affairs.
• Sam Tepper Ph.D.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPaul Alt and Sam Tepper Ph.D. co-founded Sacrospace — a virtual healing environment platform designed to destress and heal trauma through evidence-based virtual environments.
• DryhootchmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Dryhootch on developing a Peer-to-Peer Therapeutic and Training Center for Veterans and First Responders in Chicago. Dryhootch provides peer-to-peer counseling, acupuncture, art therapy, music therapy and other community-based therapies. AA+R designed the therapeutic center as a platform for integrative health delivery.
• Chicago Public Schools (CPS)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAA+R was invited by CPS to contribute to the CPS Healing Centric Framework, promoting physical space as 'healing environments' for healing programming. Also conducted focus groups with Marine Leadership Academy (60 students, 4 teachers) and other CPS schools.
• Columbia School of Social WorkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPaul Alt was invited by the Columbia School of Social Work to Bronx CIS 82 to develop an Urban Ecology Sanctuary design through focus groups with 240 students and their teachers.
• Global War on Terrorism Memorial FoundationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAA+R is part of the design team for the Global War on Terrorism Memorial on the National Mall in Washington DC, adjacent to the Lincoln Memorial and west of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Paul Alt leads the workshop process with Gold Star families, former military, and non-uniformed services.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• AECOM: Global infrastructure and architecture firm with federal, healthcare, and civic practices. Has been an AA+R collaborator on prior projects (South Lake Shore Drive, Bronx bridge, Hattie Callner Apartments) and competes for the same government and institutional mandates.
• HDR: Large architecture/engineering firm with a substantial healthcare and federal portfolio including VA and military health work. Competes in the same buyer pool but as a broad incumbent with healthcare as one of many verticals.
• Stantec: Large AEC firm with healthcare, federal, and community-design practices serving similar institutional buyers. Overlaps with AA+R in civic, healthcare, and education design competitions.

Direct peers

• SmithGroup: Large integrated design firm with a leading healthcare and federal practice, including work for military, VA, and academic medical centers. Comparable as a competitor for trauma-informed and healing-environment design commissions.
• HKS: Major U.S. architecture firm with a deep healthcare and federal practice, including VA and military medical projects. HKS has been AA+R's shortlisted partner on the VA national master planning engagement and competes for the same federal healing-environment mandates.
• EwingCole: Mid-size U.S. architecture firm with a focused healthcare and federal practice, including behavioral-health, VA, and military medical projects. Directly comparable on healing-environment commissions for institutional clients.
• CannonDesign: National architecture firm with a strong healthcare and behavioral-health practice serving health systems and academic medical centers. Directly comparable as a competitor for healing-environment and trauma-informed design engagements.
• Perkins&Will: Global architecture practice with one of the largest healthcare studios in North America, including behavioral-health and veterans' facility work. Competes for similar institutional and federal healing-environment mandates.
• NBBJ: Major architecture firm with an established healthcare practice designing academic medical centers and specialty treatment environments. Comparable as a peer competing for institutional healing-environment mandates.

Others

• The Center for Health Design: Nonprofit research and member organization advancing evidence-based healthcare design, including webinars and tools that AA+R actively presents through (e.g., 2019 Center for Health Design Webinar on VA Healing Environments). Ecosystem participant rather than a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/alt-architecture-research-associates-llc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Alt Architecture + Research Associates