FAQs

We have project experience across office buildings, retail centers, restaurants, medical and dental facilities, warehouses, metal buildings, mixed-use developments, churches, municipal facilities, and commercial tenant buildouts. See our Projects page for case studies across these project types.

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Both, Lamp Design Build is a licensed architecture firm (LSBAE) and a licensed general contractor (LSLBC). We offer standalone architecture services - design, drawings, permitting - and a full design-build delivery where our team manages construction through project completion. Most commercial clients choose our design-build path for schedule and cost advantages.

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Yes. Lamp Design Build, LLC holds Certificate of Authority No. AF1011 from the Louisiana State Board of Architectural Examiners, authorizing the firm to practice architecture in Louisiana. Our architect of record, Melvin E. Lamp, holds individual Louisiana architectural license No. 3531 with NCARB certification, which means his credentials meet the national standard set by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards. This dual licensing — firm-level and individual — is what allows Lamp to offer architect-led design-build services where the same team that designs your project also builds it, under one contract and one point of accountability.

Yes. Lamp holds a Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors license No. 45507, classified for Building Construction. Combined with our architectural firm certificate (AF1011), this means Lamp is both an architecture firm and a licensed general contractor — one of the only firms on Louisiana's Northshore that holds both. This structure is what makes architect-led design-build possible: the architect who designs your project is part of the same firm that builds it, eliminating the communication gaps and cost overruns that come from hiring separate architect and contractor teams.

Lamp holds active professional licenses in three states. In Louisiana, we hold both an architectural firm certificate (AF1011) and a general contractor license (No. 45507) for building construction. In Florida, our architect Melvin E. Lamp holds license No. AR104717 from the Board of Architecture & Interior Design. In Mississippi, Melvin E. Lamp holds a reciprocal architectural license through NCARB certification. This multi-state licensing allows us to serve commercial clients across Southeast Louisiana, the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and the Florida Panhandle from our Ponchatoula headquarters.

NCARB stands for the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards. An NCARB-certified architect has met the most rigorous national standard for education, experience, and examination in the profession. Melvin E. Lamp holds NCARB certification, which is what enables reciprocal licensing across state lines — it's why Lamp can practice architecture in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida without re-testing in each state. For clients, NCARB certification means your architect has been vetted at the highest national level, not just the state minimum. Most general contractors and design-build firms in our market do not have an NCARB-certified architect on staff.

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Architect-led design-build is a project delivery method where a licensed architect leads both the design and construction of your project under a single contract. Instead of hiring an architect to draw plans and then separately hiring a contractor to build them — with the inevitable finger-pointing when things don't align — the architect stays involved from first sketch through final inspection. At Lamp Design + Build, our architect of record (Melvin E. Lamp, NCARB) oversees every project from concept through construction, with our licensed general contracting team executing the build. This means one firm, one contract, one point of accountability, and a building that actually matches what was designed.

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Lamp Design + Build is headquartered at 1133 E Pine St, Suite B, Ponchatoula, Louisiana. We provide architectural design and commercial construction services across Southeast Louisiana — including Hammond, Covington, Mandeville, Slidell, and the Greater New Orleans and Baton Rouge metro areas. Our Mississippi architectural license allows us to serve clients along the Gulf Coast, including Bay St. Louis, Waveland, Pass Christian, Gulfport, and Biloxi. Our Florida architectural license covers the Panhandle region, including Crestview and the Emerald Coast. With NCARB certification, we can pursue reciprocal licensing in additional states as project needs require.

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Most design-build firms in our market are contractor-led — they may offer design services, but the licensed architect is either an outside consultant or not involved in the construction phase. At Lamp, the architect is the firm. Melvin E. Lamp is both our NCARB-certified architect of record and the principal overseeing construction. This means design intent isn't lost in translation between separate companies, value engineering happens at the drafting table instead of as a cost-cutting afterthought, and a single professional is accountable for your project from concept through certificate of occupancy. We also hold our own general contractor license (LSLBC No. 45507), so we self-perform construction management rather than subcontracting oversight to a third party.

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Lamp provides full-scope commercial services under one roof. Our architectural services include commercial design, 3D renderings and visualization, value engineering, and planning and municipal permitting support. Our commercial construction services include conventional ground-up construction, metal buildings and warehouses, interior buildouts, tenant retrofits, and cost control management. Because we are both the architect and the builder, every commercial project benefits from integrated design-build delivery — meaning the architect who designed your space is the same team building it, with direct accountability for budget, schedule, and quality.

All of our licenses are publicly verifiable through official state portals:

• Louisiana Architectural Firm Certificate (AF1011) — Verify at the Louisiana State Board of Architectural Examiners: lsbae.com
• Louisiana Individual Architect License (Melvin E. Lamp, No. 3531) — Same portal: lsbae.com
• Louisiana Contractor License (No. 45507) — Verify at the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors: lslbc.louisiana.gov
• Florida Architect License (Melvin Lamp, AR104717) — Verify at MyFloridaLicense.com

We believe transparency in licensing is fundamental to the trust our clients place in us. If you have any questions about our credentials, call us directly at 985-386-9212.

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Yes. Melvin E. Lamp holds Florida architectural license No. AR104717, issued by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Board of Architecture & Interior Design. This license allows Lamp to provide architectural services for Florida projects, including the commercial building code analysis, construction documentation, and design oversight required for projects like the Goodwill Crestview buildout in the Florida Panhandle. Lamp is one of the few Northshore Louisiana firms licensed to practice architecture in both Louisiana and Florida.

Yes. We actively serve the Mississippi Gulf Coast through (MSBOA) (Gulfport, Biloxi, Hattiesburg, Bay St. Louis), the Florida Panhandle through (DPBR) (Tallahassee, Pensacola, Fort Walton Beach), and can coordinate licensure for projects throughout Southeast Louisiana. Contact us to discuss your project's location and scope at projects@lampdesignbuild.com