Orange County’s 26 largest architectural firms reported $461.7 million in OC billings for the year ended June 30, up 4.3% from a year ago. The firms also increased their employment of architects by 4% to 383 this year.
LPA Design Studios of Irvine reported 20% growth to $92 million in billings, improving its ranking to the top spot. It worked on projects like the Michelle Obama Branch Library in Long Beach and Christ Cathedral Arboretum in Garden Grove. Its companywide billings for the 12-month period ended June 30 climbed 13% to $156 million.
“Our integrated design approach is helping clients find value and get the most for their money,” LPA Chief Executive Wendy Rogers told the Business Journal. “We are seeing growth across market sectors and geographic markets as clients look for designers to help them address the wide array of challenges they are facing today.”
Last year’s top ranked firm, AO, fell to No. 2 as it reported $74.6 million in billings, down 3.2% from a year ago. The Orange-based architectural firm was responsible for the Parkside Market project at Downtown Disney, The Row at Red Hill apartment complex in Santa Ana and Banc, a 12-floor and 600,000-square-foot hotel in Irvine (see page 1 for more).
No. 3 Ware Malcomb reported $55.2 million in billings, down 2.6% year over year. Its notable projects includes Orange County School of Music and Dance, Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum and Tishman Speyer industrial buildings. Ware Malcomb Chairman Larry Armstrong wrote this week’s Leader Board (see page 53).
The three biggest firms on this year’s list accounted for almost half of the total architectural billings in Orange County.
“The architectural industry in Orange County is in a period of transition,” Rogers said.
“Leading firms are leveraging technology and data-driven strategies to better meet client needs and maximize project outcomes.
“At the same time, ongoing economic uncertainty – both locally and nationally – has led many clients to pause or delay projects as they assess the best path forward.”
Other Upward Moving Firms
The biggest jump in billings was the Orange office of Aecom Technical Services, which reported a 96% increase to $31.6 million, helping it jump from No. 9 to No. 5 spot.
Local Aecom projects include Riverside (91) Freeway improvements between Orange and Riverside counties, a new facility for the Westminster Police Department and the Governor George Deukmejian Courthouse in Long Beach.
Rounding out the top five was No. 4 Gensler Newport Beach, with nearly $36 million in Orange County billings this year, a 4% increase.
Irvine-based TCA Architects Inc. reported a 61% jump in local billings for the year ended June 30, which reached $11.7 million. TCA jumped from No. 20 in 2024 to No. 15 this year.
TCA’s notable Orange County projects include Park on First in Santa Ana, Paloma at Main Place in Santa Ana, Hanover Laguna Niguel, The Residences at Airport Village in Newport Beach, Bloom South Coast Metro in Santa Ana, Blu II in Laguna Niguel and MemorialCare San Clemente.
Other firms reporting a boost in billings from a year ago include Irvine-based No. 7 MVE + Partners Inc., up 25%, Newport Beach-based No. 10 Little Diversified Architectural Consulting Inc., up 19%, and Irvine-based No. 25 O Arch, up 14%.
Notables:
• New York-based CannonDesign said its billings climbed 12% to $28 million, good for the No. 8 spot. CannonDesign, which has an Irvine office, said in a statement to the Business Journal that the firm “remains in growth mode across the country.”
“We’ve acquired three new firms in the past 18 months, ranging from smart buildings to sustainable design practices,” according to the CannonDesign statement. “We remain very optimistic about the future of our business in Orange County.”
• Bay Area-based Dahlin Architecture, which has a local office in Irvine, reported the biggest decline on this list, falling 60% to $853,000.
• Irvine-based Carlile Coatsworth Architects ranked No. 24 on the 2025 list of top architectural firms, with $3.4 million in billings reported this year, a 30% drop.
• Irvine-based KTGY dropped one notch to No. 6 with local billings of $31.2 million, a 6.6% drop from last year.
Research Director Desmond Celo contributed to this report.
