Vocon is a woman-owned architecture and interior design firm founded in Cleveland in 1987 with five employees and now more than 200 across offices in Cleveland, New York and Chicago. Its practice centers on workplace: interior architecture, workplace strategy, experiential brand design, procurement, adaptive reuse and the repositioning of existing buildings. The firm is WBENC-certified and has more than 50 projects carrying LEED, Fitwel or WELL certification. It reached net-zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions in 2025, a year ahead of the target the Science Based Targets initiative verified in 2024. Vocon ranked 30th on Interior Design’s Top 100 Giants and 373rd on ENR’s Top 500 Design Firms in 2026. It served as interior architect on the Sherwin-Williams global headquarters in Cleveland.
Five employees and a few folding tables is how Vocon describes its 1987 start. The Cleveland firm now has more than 200 people and works from three offices: Prospect Avenue in Cleveland, Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, and North Franklin Street in Chicago.
The practice is built around architecture and interior design, but the surrounding services are what shape most engagements. Workplace strategists study how organizations actually use space before drawings begin. An experiential brand design team handles signage, wayfinding and storytelling. Procurement covers furniture, artwork, finishes, fabrics, carpets and wall coverings. Two newer lines, adaptive reuse and repositioning, aim at owners and developers looking to convert historic or underused buildings and to lift the market value of existing assets through lobby renovations and amenity floors.
Client work skews toward corporate interiors and workplace. KeyBank, PwC, Morgan Stanley, Goodyear, Citigroup, Tokio Marine, WPP, Westfield and the Cleveland Foundation all appear in the firm’s certified-project list, alongside civic work for Cuyahoga County and residential and student housing schemes including the Cleveland Institute of Art housing at 702 Euclid Avenue and BVQ Lofts.
Sustainability shows up in the numbers rather than in claims. More than fifty Vocon projects carry recognized certifications, including LEED CI Platinum at PwC San Francisco and Bain & Company Boston, LEED NC Gold at Goodyear World Headquarters and Cuyahoga County Administrative Headquarters, and Fitwel and WELL certifications elsewhere. The firm’s own net-zero carbon target for 2030 was verified by the Science Based Targets initiative, and it reports reaching net-zero Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions in 2025, a year early.
Vocon is a woman-owned firm certified through the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council. Recent placements include third on Crain’s Cleveland Business list of largest architectural firms, thirtieth on Interior Design’s Top 100 Giants, ninetieth on Architectural Record’s Top 300 U.S. architecture firms, and 373rd on ENR’s Top 500 Design Firms.
