SO Studio Architecture

What SO Studio Architecture does

SO Studio Architecture is a privately held architecture and urban design firm founded in 2016 by Stephen J. Ortego and headquartered in Lafayette, Louisiana, with a secondary office in New Orleans. The firm offers a portfolio of professional services rather than a software product: full architectural design (new construction, renovation, additions across residential, commercial, institutional, and mixed-use typologies), interior design, historic preservation (restoration, rehabilitation, adaptive reuse), historic tax credits consulting with the Louisiana SHPO and National Park Service, urban design and master planning for municipalities and institutions, and specialized campus planning for educational clients. Its underlying technical capabilities include Grasshopper-based parametric scripting used to translate tribal artifact geometries into constructable architectural elements (e.g., terracotta brise-soleil systems), high-performance sustainable design (LEED-accredited practice), and what it describes as the first mass timber gymnasium in Louisiana.

The firm serves four primary customer segments: government and institutional clients (tribal governments, municipal governments, school districts), private developers of multi-family and mixed-use real estate, individual property owners seeking historic restoration, and educational institutions — with a notable concentration in French immersion charter school developments. Revenue is generated through project-based professional services fees, with no publicly disclosed pricing, no external funding rounds, and no parent company. Marketing is primarily earned-media driven through AIA Louisiana and ASLA Louisiana awards and regional press coverage in Acadiana Advocate, The Current, Louisiana Life Magazine, and VIE Magazine. Business development relies on principal-led client relationships and Ortego's network from his prior service as a Louisiana State Representative (2012-2016).

Name

SO Studio Architecture

Legal name

SO Studio Architecture

Website

https://sostudioarchitecture.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

SO Studio Architecture is a privately held, five-person architecture and urban design firm in Lafayette, Louisiana serving government, educational, and private developer clients across French Louisiana with architecture, interior design, historic preservation, and master planning services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (54131), Interior Design Services (54141)

akta.pro primary industry

Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Urban Planning & Master Planning (BPAHAKAD), Sustainable/Green Building & LEED Consulting (BPAHAKAG), Community Engagement & Participatory Planning (BPAHAKAO)

Keywords

• Architectural design services
• Historic preservation design
• Urban master planning
• Interior design services
• Adaptive reuse architecture

Headquarters

HQ city

Lafayette

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Architecture and Design Services: Professional fees for architectural services including master planning, new construction design, historic preservation, and interior design. Projects range from small residential rehabs to multi-million dollar institutional developments. Revenue generated through project-based fees with typical architecture industry billing structures.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

SO Studio Architecture is a professional services firm delivering architecture, interior design, historic preservation, urban design/master planning, campus planning, and historic tax credit consulting to government, institutional, educational, and private developer clients across Southeast Louisiana. Engagements span master planning for new neighborhoods and infill projects, architectural and interior design for new constructions and renovations, and historic preservation including restoration, rehabilitation, and adaptive reuse. The firm's work is characterized by deep cultural, historical, and environmental context sensitivity with LEED-accredited sustainable design practices.

Product overview

SO Studio Architecture is an architecture and urban design firm offering a portfolio of interconnected professional services rather than a unified software product. The firm's core offerings include Architecture Services (new construction and renovation across residential, commercial, institutional, and mixed-use), Interior Design (space planning, materiality, and furnishings), Historic Preservation (restoration and adaptive reuse), and Historic Tax Credits Consulting (guiding clients through federal and state preservation incentives). Supporting these are Urban Design/Master Planning services for municipalities and institutions, and Campus Planning for educational clients. Projects span residential, multi-family, mixed-use, institutional, hospitality, historical, educational, and cultural typologies throughout French Louisiana.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• First mass timber gymnasium in Louisiana (Berchmans Academy)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Oats & MarinominorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 1 January 2019Architecture/landscape architecture collaboration on Parc Banquette small project in Lafayette. Short-term project partnership.
• Lue Svendson Landscape ArchitectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing landscape architecture partnership on multiple projects including Hotel Klaus, Tunica-Biloxi Courthouse, Carencro Welcome Center, Sonnier Residence, and Saint-Luc Master Plan. Collaborative design relationship delivering integrated architecture and landscape solutions.
• CARBOcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEngineering and infrastructure partner on Bicycle Lafayette Master Plan project for Lafayette Consolidated Government. Collaboration on bike infrastructure and urban design projects.
• MakemadecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreative/design partner on multiple projects including Bicycle Lafayette Master Plan, Route Lafayette wayfinding, Saint-Luc Master Plan, Standard Title building, and SO Studio's own office design. Ongoing collaborative relationship.
• Joni Hammons Landscape ArchitectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLandscape architect collaboration on Saint-Luc Master Plan French immersion campus in Arnaudville. Partnership on educational and cultural campus planning.
• Louisiana State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegulatory collaboration on historic preservation projects including Carencro Welcome Center and Hotel Klaus. SHPO involvement required for state historic tax credit projects and National Register compliance.
• National Park ServicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal regulatory partnership on Hotel Klaus historic rehabilitation. NPS collaboration required for federal historic tax credit projects and historic preservation compliance.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Lee Ledbetter & Associates: New Orleans architecture firm specializing in historic preservation, residential, and institutional projects, overlapping SO Studio's preservation and design vocabulary.
• AOS Interior Design: Interior design firm with overlapping service scope in residential, hospitality, and commercial interiors; comparable scale and complementary offering to SO Studio's interior design service line.
• Waggonner & Ball: New Orleans architecture and urban design practice working at the intersection of architecture, master planning, and water-management urbanism, with comparable civic and master-planning engagements in Louisiana.
• EskewDumezRipple: Louisiana-headquartered architecture firm recognized for cultural, civic, and adaptive-reuse work with a comparable emphasis on contextual design and award-winning institutional projects.
• Studio WTA: New Orleans-based architecture studio of similar scale and cultural/community focus, with comparable work in historic preservation and contemporary civic and residential architecture in Louisiana.
• Holly & Smith Architects: Regional Louisiana architecture practice with comparable institutional, educational, and civic portfolio across the Gulf South.

Broad incumbents

• HOK: Large global architecture practice with educational, civic, and healthcare offerings that overlap SO Studio's institutional segments, although at much larger scale and broader portfolio.

Emerging players

• BNIM: National architecture firm known for high-performance, sustainable, and civic/community-focused design; comparable in LEED-led practice and civic master-planning scope.
• Mithun: Design firm with strong educational, cultural, and urban-design portfolio emphasizing sustainability and community impact, overlapping SO Studio's K-12 and master-planning work.
• Lake|Flato Architects: Texas-based firm with strong cultural, educational, and sustainable-design portfolio, comparable in mission-driven, contextually grounded approach and in leadership of mass-timber/sustainable civic work.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/SOStudioArchitecture

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 SO Studio Architecture