The Experiential Design Index

Top 9 Firms for Library / Archive Projects

Ranked by recency-weighted eligible project count at library / archive venues, 2021–2026. The 9 highest-scoring firms hold a numbered rank; 11 more firms with eligible activity are listed below the table.

Counts design-discipline credits only -- exhibit design, interpretive planning, media design, architecture, master planning, landscape architecture, environmental graphics, lighting design -- held in a role the firm offers as a standalone service. Fabrication, AV integration, and consulting credits appear on project pages but don't place a firm on this list. Standard recency weighting and sourcing bonus apply.

Counts reflect the work this index has recorded, not a census of any firm's total output — coverage depth varies by firm — and a position here implies no judgment of design quality.

RankScore FirmHQEligible projects
13.0 Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners New York, NY Entry Lobby, Ruth's Bookstore & David Berg Rare Book Room (2025), NYPL Visitor Center (2023), The Polonsky Exhibition of The New York Public Library's Treasures (2021), Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library (2021)
22.7 Proun Design Somerville, MA From Concept to Product: Meroë Morse and Polaroid's Culture of Art and Innovation, 1945-1969 (2024), The South Sea Bubble, 1720: Narratives of the First International Crash (2023), Not an Ostrich: & Other Images from America's Library (2022), Neilson Library: An Evolution (2021)
32.2 Pure+Applied New York, NY The Awe of the Arctic: A Visual History (2024), NYPL Visitor Center (2023), The Polonsky Exhibition of The New York Public Library's Treasures (2021)
41.9 Tillotson Design Associates New York, NY NYPL Visitor Center (2023), Building Renovation (2021), The Polonsky Exhibition of The New York Public Library's Treasures (2021)
51.9 Pentagram New York, NY Live from New York: The Lorne Michaels Collection (2025), Shakespeare Exhibition Hall (2024)
61.6 Snøhetta Brooklyn, NY Far Rockaway Library (2024), Beijing City Library (Beijing Sub-Center Library) (2023)
71.5 RLMG Watertown, MA Material Lumina: Luminous Books (2023), Randall Lewis Second Story and Beyond (2023)
81.4 Bluecadet Philadelphia, PA Shakespeare Exhibition Hall (2024), Up From the People: Protest and Change in D.C. (2021)
91.4 Studio Joseph New York, NY Shakespeare Exhibition Hall (2024), Up From the People: Protest and Change in D.C. (2021)

Also active in this category

Firms with eligible activity in the window that fall outside the ranked table — fewer than 2 eligible projects, or a score below the top 9. Listed alphabetically, not ranked.

FirmHQEligible projects
Anita Jorgensen Lighting Design New York, NY Collecting Memories: Treasures from the Library of Congress (2024)
C&G Partners New York, NY The American Story (2025)
CambridgeSeven Cambridge, MA Randall Lewis Second Story and Beyond (2023)
Cortina Productions McLean, VA The American Story (2025)
HealyKohler Design Washington, DC Rare Book Room and Special Collections Galleries (2023)
KieranTimberlake Philadelphia, PA Shakespeare Exhibition Hall (2024)
Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects New York, NY Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library (2021)
Plus And Greater Than Portland, OR Early Learning Environments (2025)
Rockwell Group New York, NY Harvey Fierstein Theatre Lab (2024)
Tessellate New York, NY We Who Believe in Freedom: Black Feminist DC (2023)
Upswell Portland, OR Collecting Memories: Treasures from the Library of Congress (2024)