What Marques Architekten Ag does

Marques Architekten AG is a privately held Swiss architecture firm headquartered in Lucerne, designing and executing urban architecture projects across Switzerland and broader Europe. The firm was founded in 1993 (originally as Marques.Zurkirchen AG, rebranded to Marques AG in 1997 and to its current name in 2017) and is owned by founding principal Daniele Marques (ETH Zurich-trained, former University Professor at TU Graz and KIT) and co-owner Rainer Schlumpf. The practice operates with approximately 12 employees and serves a mix of public-sector clients (municipalities, cantons, hospitals) and enterprise/private clients across healthcare, sports infrastructure, residential, educational, and civic typologies — including the Eisstadion Davos, Messeturm Basel, Zentrum Cereneo Hertenstein, Klinik Ottakring Wien, and Sportarena Allmend Luzern. Revenue is generated exclusively through custom-quoted, project-based professional services fees tied to individual commissions, competition entries, and invited studies, with multi-year contract cadence typical of large building projects.

The firm's product surface is unified rather than modular: a single architectural design practice covering all project phases from competition and concept through construction administration, delivered on a BIM-based workflow anchored by ArchiCAD 26 with Adobe Creative Suite, Twinmotion for visualization, and 3D printing for physical models. Distribution is via direct enterprise commissions, public-sector competition wins (notably in Switzerland and Austria), and invited tenders. Marketing is reputation-led: a portfolio-rich website, a publications and exhibitions program (monographs, Venice Biennale, DAM Frankfurt), and an unusually dense concentration of industry awards including ICONIC Awards 2024 Best-of-Best and 2021 triple-wins, best architects 22/25, and a 2025 Healing Architecture nomination.

Marques Architekten is not a technology company and exhibits no AI/ML capabilities. Its competitive position rests on principal talent (Marques's academic credentials and personal cultural prizes), an award-rich portfolio accumulated since 1981, and embedded relationships with Swiss and Austrian public-sector clients. The firm relocated to new premises at Rosenberghöhe 4, Luzern on 2025-07-01, and continues to participate actively in architectural competitions across Switzerland, Austria, and the broader European market.

Name

Marques Architekten Ag

Legal name

Marques Architekten AG

Website

https://marques.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Marques Architekten AG is a privately held, award-winning Swiss architecture firm in Lucerne with ~12 employees, designing residential, healthcare, sports, and public-infrastructure projects across Switzerland and Europe via custom project-based fees, competitions, and invited tenders.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architectural Services

NAICS

Architectural Services (541310)

akta.pro primary industry

Architectural Design Services (BPAHAKAA)

Keywords

• Architecture services
• Building design
• Urban planning
• Architectural competitions
• BIM design

Headquarters

HQ city

Luzern

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Architectural Design Services: Project-based fees for architectural design services including urban architecture, residential buildings, commercial projects, public facilities, sports arenas, healthcare facilities, and educational institutions across Switzerland and Europe

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Marques Architekten AG is a Swiss architecture firm that provides architectural design and planning services for buildings and urban projects. The company delivers design solutions across residential, commercial, sports, healthcare, and public-sector projects throughout Switzerland and Europe, participating in both invited and open architectural competitions.

Product overview

Marques Architekten AG is a Swiss architecture firm offering comprehensive architectural services including building design, competitions, and project development. The firm operates as a single unified practice with approximately 12 employees, providing services across all planning and construction phases. The portfolio includes residential buildings, sports facilities, healthcare centers, churches, educational institutions, and public buildings. The firm also documents and publishes its work through monographs and exhibitions, but does not offer separate software products, platforms, or modules.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Award-winning projects in residential, sports, healthcare, and public sectors

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• SIA (Schweizerischer Ingenieur- und Architektenverein)coreOthersProfessional association membership providing industry standards, networking, and professional development for architects and engineers in Switzerland
• BSA (Bund Schweizer Architekten)coreOthersFederation of Swiss Architects - professional association representing architects in Switzerland with focus on architecture quality and professional standards

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• HHF Architects: Basel-based Swiss architecture firm with a portfolio spanning housing, public and cultural projects. Comparable to Marques in scale, Swiss competition focus and building typology mix.
• EM2N Architekten: Zurich-based Swiss architecture practice of similar boutique size with award-winning work in housing, public buildings and urban projects. Comparable to Marques in scale, project typology and Swiss competition culture; also a former employer of co-owner Rainer Schlumpf.
• Camenzind Evolution: Zurich-based Swiss architecture and urban-design firm of comparable boutique scale with strong public-sector and urban project activity. Comparable to Marques in competing for Swiss public commissions and urban-architecture briefs.
• Christ & Gantenbein: Basel-based Swiss architecture practice known for museum, cultural and public buildings. Comparable to Marques as a peer-sized Swiss firm competing in similar cultural and public-typology competitions with an award-winning profile.
• Burckhardt+Partner: Swiss architecture firm with offices across Switzerland and a broad building-design practice covering healthcare, education, residential and public projects. Closely comparable to Marques Architekten in geography, service mix and Swiss public-sector competition activity; notably also a prior employer of co-owner Rainer Schlumpf.
• Diener & Diener Architekten: Basel-headquartered Swiss architecture firm with a strong public-sector and cultural-building portfolio. Comparable to Marques in competing for Swiss cultural and public commissions of similar scale and typology.
• Morger & Degelo Architekten: Basel-based Swiss architecture firm active in cultural, public and residential buildings. Comparable to Marques as a peer-sized Swiss practice engaged in landmark public commissions; documented collaborator with Daniele Marques on earlier projects (1997-2000).

Broad incumbents

• Herzog & de Meuron: Swiss-founded global architecture firm with iconic public, cultural and commercial projects worldwide. Comparable to Marques as a Swiss-rooted practice competing for landmark cultural and public commissions, but operating at a vastly larger scale.
• David Chipperfield Architects: Internationally established architecture practice with deep public and cultural-building portfolio (including museums and civic landmarks). Comparable to Marques at the project typology and competition level, though substantially larger and more international.

Emerging players

• Max Dudler Architekten: Swiss/German architecture firm with a portfolio spanning cultural, public and residential buildings. Comparable to Marques in competing for DACH-region cultural and public-sector commissions of similar building-typology character.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/marques-architekten-ag

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Marques Architekten Ag