Planning, Design & Application, Inc.

What Planning, Design & Application, Inc. does

Planning, Design & Application, Inc. (PD&A) is a privately held interior and architectural design firm incorporated in California and headquartered at 971-B Calle Negocio in San Clemente. Founded in 2015 and operated by Co-Presidents Karen Struck and Michael Russell, the firm provides project planning, interior architectural design, and construction documentation/oversight services to hospitality, commercial, residential, and special-project clients. The firm explicitly frames its planning and programming phase as the foundation for successful design outcomes, distinguishing its process from typical design firms.

PD&A's service offering is organized around three integrated phases: (1) project planning and programming, which the firm positions as a prerequisite for informed design development; (2) interior architectural design that produces inventive, detail-oriented, and tailored solutions; and (3) construction documentation, purchasing coordination, and construction/installation oversight that link design concepts to completed reality. Revenue is generated through project-based professional services engagements with custom quotations tied to scope, complexity, and project requirements — pricing is not publicly disclosed. The firm operates from a single San Clemente office with no disclosed headcount, no external funding, no parent company, and no subsidiaries, and it markets through its website (pdanda.com) and Instagram (@planningdesignapplication) alongside project portfolio presentations.

PD&A's client base is concentrated in luxury and upper-upscale hospitality, with documented engagements for major brands including Waldorf-Astoria, Hilton, Marriott, Montage, Four Seasons, InterContinental, Harrah's, HardRock, Radisson, and Disneyland, as well as restaurant, country club, retail, and commercial real estate clients such as Hahn Co., Rouse Co., and Jupiter Development. Project work spans the United States with concentration in California and Hawaii, and extends internationally to South Korea, Malaysia, Italy, Germany, and Mexico. Notable international and event-driven engagements include the Four Seasons Hotel Munich, InterContinental Hotel Seoul, La Renascente in Italy, and the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics (via principal Michael Russell's prior work at Sussman/Prejza). The firm has begun extending beyond hospitality into boutique assisted living (Raya's Paradise) and custom residential (Bradbury Estate).

Name

Planning, Design & Application, Inc.

Legal name

Planning, Design & Application, Inc.

Website

https://pdanda.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

PD&A is a privately held, boutique interior and architectural design firm based in San Clemente, California, founded in 2015 and co-led by Karen Struck and Michael Russell. It delivers project planning, interior design, and construction documentation for hotels, resorts, restaurants, country clubs, and commercial clients across the US and select international markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

San Clemente

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

Revenue model

1. Design Services: Professional services revenue generated through planning, design, and interior architectural services for hospitality, residential, and commercial projects. Revenue is project-based, derived from developers, entrepreneurs, property owners, and investors.

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

PD&A is an interior and architectural design firm providing project planning, design development, and construction management services for hospitality, residential, and commercial clients. Services are organized around a planning-first methodology in which programming and feasibility analysis precede design, with the firm delivering full-scope design through to construction documentation and installation oversight.

Product overview

Planning, Design & Application, Inc. (PD&A) is an architectural and interior design firm providing comprehensive design services rather than a software product company. The company offers a unified suite of design services encompassing project planning, architectural design, interior design, and construction management for hospitality, retail, and commercial clients worldwide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Project Planning Services Professional planning and programming services that establish project foundations through systematic scoping and feasibility analysis, designed to increase client confidence and save time and money for developers, hospitality operators, property owners, and investors.
• Interior Architectural Design

Named customers42 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Yabu Pushelberg: Award-winning hospitality and residential interior design firm serving Four Seasons, Rosewood, and other luxury hotel groups—directly comparable in targeting luxury hospitality interior design with international reach.
• Richmond International: Hospitality interior design firm serving luxury hotel brands with international projects—comparable client base including Four Seasons and similar luxury hospitality design focus.
• Stonehill & Taylor: Hospitality interior design firm serving luxury and boutique hotels including branded residences and resorts—comparable boutique-style hospitality design focus to PD&A.
• Pierre-Yves Rochon (PYR): Paris-based luxury hospitality interior design firm working with Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, and other luxury brands—directly comparable in serving premium hotel clients with international presence.
• Hirsch Bedner Associates (HBA): Global hospitality interior design firm working with luxury and upper-upscale hotel brands including Four Seasons, Hilton, and Marriott—directly comparable client base and service offering to PD&A but at substantially larger scale.
• Wilson Associates: Hospitality-focused interior design firm serving global hotel brands including Hilton, Marriott, and Four Seasons—comparable client overlap and project types to PD&A.
• Champalimaud Design: Luxury hospitality and residential interior design studio with international portfolio including Four Seasons, Rosewood, and Mandarin Oriental properties—comparable premium hospitality client base and project types.
• WATG (Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo): Architecture and design firm with extensive hospitality portfolio including luxury resorts and hotels across multiple geographies—directly comparable scope of hospitality architecture and interior design services.

Broad incumbents

• Gensler: Global architecture and design firm with a significant hospitality practice serving major hotel brands—broader portfolio of services and much larger scale than PD&A, but overlapping in hospitality design.
• HKS Architects: Large architectural firm with hospitality and resort practice including major hotel brands—broader scale and architectural focus versus PD&A's design specialty, but overlapping in hospitality project delivery.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/planningdesignapplication

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 Planning, Design & Application, Inc.