Lexington is well-known for its horse ranches and thoroughbred racetracks, including Keeneland. The city is an ideal sanctuary for young professionals, families, and retirees, owing to a varied employment market and a stable economy.

If you’re planning to build a multifamily project in the city, here are seven of the best architects with this expertise in Lexington. These architectural firms were selected for their portfolios, backgrounds, accolades, and press features.

EOP Architects

201 W Short Street, #700, Lexington, KY 40507

EOP Architects is a multi-award-winning architecture and interior design firm based in Lexington and Louisville. Its design-driven ethos is based on the belief that architecture can and must inspire and transform, all while delivering strong cultural and environmental value. Its project types include buildings for the civic, academic, research, health care, mixed-use, hotel, office, recreational, fitness, residential, and food sectors. 

The firm prides itself on its ability to listen to clients, recognize project challenges, and distill those ideas into innovative and cost-effective design solutions. The firm’s works have been featured by the press, including in The Lane Report, NBBJ, WTVQ, The Business Journals, and Billboard. EOP has earned a slew of regional and national design accolades. The concept of design excellence has driven this achievement. The firm’s dedication to collaborating with clients to create lively, functional, and attractive spaces earned its team the AIA Kentucky Firm of the Year Award in 2010.

Sherman Carter Barnhart Architects

2405 Harrodsburg Road, Lexington, KY 40504

Sherman Carter Barnhart Architects is a regional company serving customers since 1979, including the P-12 education, higher education, multi-family housing, government, and civic markets. The firm, with offices in Lexington, Louisville & Paducah fosters a collaborative environment to provide innovative designs that contribute to the communities they serve.

Thinking and creating outside of the box fuels the company’s desire to create unique designs. Sherman Carter Barnhart specializes in creating inviting, sustainable, and productive spaces through design efficiencies. The Principal in Charge of the multi-family housing, higher education and civic studios is Mike Smith. Mike was a member of the 2007 Leadership Lexington & 2009 Leadership Kentucky classes & is an active advocate of the American Cancer Society organizations.

integrity ARCHITECTURE

2414 Palumbo Drive, Suite 125, Lexington, KY 40509

integrity ARCHITECTURE utilizes state of the art technology to create and present design ideas to clients, providing owners with a unique and immersive project experience. This technology allows their team to design projects more quickly and efficiently at no added cost to their client. Led by Principals Joey Nolasco, Joe Rasnick, and Aaron Bivens, their team has designed more than 6.2 million square feet of project space in a variety of markets across Kentucky.

The Hope Center is a Lexington-based non-profit that offers assistance in rebuilding the lives of those who need help. That’s why the integrity Architecture team was particularly excited about being a part of this project. Featuring nearly 50 apartment units for men in recovery, the Hope Center wished to convey their belief that everyone deserves a quality home, regardless of past or present lifestyle choices or economic status. In 2019, the facility was named Lexington’s first federal Department of Housing and Urban Development “Envision Center” – a rare designation indicating the federal government’s endorsement of its programs and impact in the community.

Joseph & Joseph + Bravura Architects

628 Winchester Road, Suite 302, Lexington, KY 40505

Alfred and Oscar Joseph, two brothers, founded Joseph & Joseph + Bravura Architects in 1908 after earning a reputation with structures that still dot Louisville’s skyline. Cass Moter, a structural engineer, became a partner in the business in 1964, and his son, Merrill Moter, joined the team in 1973 and became a partner in 1982. Cash Moter, Merrill’s son, joined the business in 2004 and became a partner in 2013. After Merrill stepped down from the company in 2018, Eric Huelsman joined the firm in 2018 and became a partner in 2020.

In 2020, Joseph & Joseph acquired Bravura Architecture, Interiors, and Master Planning. Jim Walters formed Bravura in 1991. The combined firm has carved out a niche in park design while also leaving a creative imprint on many of Louisville’s performing-arts institutions, multi-family residential buildings, and office buildings. The firm’s two strong cultures were well suited to one another and could offer additional capacity and power to serve clients if they worked together. The company offers a wide range of services, including distillery and general architecture, interior design, master planning, building evaluation, historic preservation, 3D printing, and digital building scanning.

Studio A Architecture

2330 Frankfort Avenue, Louisville, KY 40206

Studio A Architecture is a full-service architectural firm based in Louisville, Kentucky with an office in Lexington, as well as satellite offices in Cleveland, Atlanta, Panama City, San Francisco and opening soon in Nashville. The firm offers a wide range of architectural design services studios for multifamily, commercial, senior living, and hospitality design and is currently working in over 20 states throughout the U.S. They are excited to have clients that have brought them into the Lexington market years ago as they continue to serve the region with quality design work.

CMW Architects & Engineers

249 East Main Street, Suite 100, Lexington, KY 40507

CMW Architects & Engineers is a multi-disciplined design company that offers architectural, engineering, interior design, and landscape architecture services. The firm has become one of the region’s premier design firms with over 50 years of expertise. Its distinct process starts by meeting with the customer to understand their needs and goals. Its collaborative method then incorporates problem-solving and results in innovative design ideas.

CMW’s pool of experts are members of the American Institute of Architects, the US Green Building Council, and LEED APs. Under the direction of Brian Hill as Vice President, the firm’s works were also featured by the press, including Lane Report and The Commercial Appeal. The firm is likewise an awardee of the 2013 Adaptive Reuse Award for the renovation of the Lynch Fire Station and the 1980 Honor Award by the Kentucky AIA Awards Program.

Guyon Architects

507 West Main Street, Lexington, KY 40507

Guyon Architects was founded in 1985 as a multi-disciplinary firm dedicated to the practice of studio architecture. It provides architectural, design, and urban planning services to customers in Lexington, Louisville, and their neighboring communities. Scott Guyon is the firm’s principal and owner. He is a member of the American Institute of Architects and a LEED AP winner.

Guyon Architects has received 13 Excellence in Architectural Design awards from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) since 1988. These are awards cover a range of areas and types, including the design of small projects like houses and restaurants as well as the design of huge enterprises like banks and commercial buildings. The firm is more decorated than any other architectural practice in Kentucky’s AIA award history.