NBBJ

About NBBJ

NBBJ is a global architecture, planning and design firm founded in 1943 and headquartered in Seattle. Over more than eighty years it has grown into a network of studios in twelve creative capitals, staffed by an unusually mixed group of architects, planners, interior designers, researchers, strategists and clinicians. That last detail matters: employing nurses alongside designers is a direct expression of how deeply the practice invests in understanding how buildings actually get used.

Design Philosophy

The firm describes itself as ideas-driven with an empathetic process, rooted in research, making and the belief that all voices should be heard. Three commitments organise the work: healthy living, engaged communities and environmental stewardship. Underlying all of them is a conviction that the built environment is a lever for change and is inextricably linked to health outcomes.

Market Sectors

• Healthcare - hospitals, ambulatory care, academic medical centres and clinical planning
• Science - research laboratories, life science buildings and translational facilities
• Corporate office - headquarters and workplace campuses for global technology and professional services clients
• Commercial development - mixed-use and speculative office guided by the firm's Creating Community approach
• Education - university academic, research and student life buildings
• Cultural and civic - courthouses, civic buildings and public institutions
• Sports - arenas, stadiums and training facilities
• Urban environments - district masterplans and city-scale frameworks

Services

Beyond core architecture, NBBJ offers a broad set of specialist services that can be engaged independently or as part of a full design commission.

• Design performance - simulation, energy and carbon analysis
• Interior design and lighting design
• Environmental graphic design and experience design
• Healthcare consulting and clinical operations planning
• Urban design and masterplanning
• Workplace strategy and change management

Research and Innovation

Applied research is a formal part of the practice rather than a side activity. Fast Company has named NBBJ one of the most innovative architecture firms five times, most recently in 2025 for a standards-based approach to design intended to give clients greater certainty over cost, schedule and scope. NBBJ is also the only architecture firm to appear on TIME's list of the 100 Most Influential Companies.

Sustainability

The firm is a CarbonNeutral certified company under the Carbon Neutral Protocol, a signatory of the AIA 2030 Challenge and the Amazon Climate Pledge, and a participant in the 1.5°C COP26 Communiqué. Helping clients pursue a zero-carbon future is stated as a core purpose rather than an optional service line.

Recognition

NBBJ has received more than 1,000 awards from organisations including the American Institute of Architects, the Urban Land Institute, Fast Company and MIPIM - a record that spans healthcare, workplace and urban design categories.

Market Position

NBBJ competes at the top tier of global design practices, particularly in healthcare and corporate workplace, where its research-led method and clinical expertise are strong differentiators. For owners weighing design partners on complex, evidence-sensitive projects, the firm offers a rare combination of global reach, sector depth and measurable performance focus.

Global Studio Network

Studios across North America, Europe and Asia allow project teams to be assembled around expertise rather than geography, so a hospital planner in one city can support a project being delivered in another. This distributed model also gives the practice exposure to very different regulatory and construction cultures, which feeds back into how it approaches standardisation and modular thinking.

Who Works With NBBJ

Typical clients include health systems, universities, research institutes, global technology companies, developers and public agencies - organisations running long, high-value capital programmes where design decisions carry decades of operational consequence.