Demand for data centers is “exploding,” says Raj Gupta, PE, LEED AP, CEO of Environmental Systems Design and emeritus member of BD+C’s Editorial Board. According to Gartner Inc., in 2010, 2% of data centers contained 52% of total data center floor space and accounted for 63% of data center hardware spending.
In 2015, 2% of data centers will contain 60% of data center floor space and account for 71% of data center hardware spending.
“Traditional in-house enterprise data centers are under attack,” says Jon Hardcastle, Gartner’s research director. Virtualization technologies are helping companies to utilize their infrastructure more effectively, and data centers are getting more efficient. The move to consolidated third-party data centers is trimming the total number of midsize facilities, while large data centers are benefitting from the rise of cloud computing. +
TOP 25 DATA CENTER SECTOR ARCHITECTURE FIRMS
| Rank | Company | 2011 Data Center Revenue ($) |
| 1 | Corgan Associates | 22,854,000 |
| 2 | Gensler | 20,100,000 |
| 3 | HDR Architecture | 16,000,000 |
| 4 | LEO A DALY | 14,753,871 |
| 5 | PageSoutherlandPage | 12,890,000 |
| 6 | Integrated Design Group | 11,436,000 |
| 7 | Reynolds, Smith and Hills | 4,200,000 |
| 8 | RTKL Associates | 3,840,295 |
| 9 | CTA Architects Engineers | 3,787,800 |
| 10 | EwingCole | 3,000,000 |
| 11 | SMMA|Symmes Maini & McKee Associates | 2,123,426 |
| 12 | HLW International | 1,900,000 |
| 13 | Fentress Architects | 1,456,103 |
| 14 | Kirksey Architecture | 1,379,269 |
| 15 | PGAL | 1,096,000 |
| 16 | Heery International | 808,000 |
| 17 | Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr & Huber | 600,000 |
| 18 | Harley Ellis Devereaux | 600,000 |
| 19 | IBI Group | 563,474 |
| 20 | H+L Architecture | 537,059 |
| 21 | Ware Malcomb | 515,000 |
| 22 | Solomon Cordwell Buenz | 500,000 |
| 23 | HOK | 426,798 |
| 24 | Rule Joy Trammell + Rubio | 350,000 |
| 25 | Gresham, Smith and Partners | 234,347 |
TOP 25 DATA CENTER SECTOR ENGINEERING FIRMS
| Rank | Company | 2011 Data Center Revenue ($) |
| 1 | Fluor Corp. | 212,484,600 |
| 2 | Jacobs | 119,930,000 |
| 3 | Syska Hennessy Group | 43,577,806 |
| 4 | URS Corp. | 34,475,000 |
| 5 | Merrick & Co. | 31,500,000 |
| 6 | AKF Group | 10,500,000 |
| 7 | Atkins North America | 10,035,923 |
| 8 | Parsons Brinckerhoff | 7,400,000 |
| 9 | Eaton Energy Solutions | 6,169,598 |
| 10 | KPFF Consulting Engineers | 5,000,000 |
| 11 | H.F. Lenz Co. | 4,741,000 |
| 12 | Burns & McDonnell | 4,500,000 |
| 13 | Stantec | 4,230,000 |
| 14 | Glumac | 4,196,563 |
| 15 | Science Applications International Corp. | 3,950,000 |
| 16 | Zak Companies | 3,043,228 |
| 17 | Michael Baker Jr., Inc | 2,970,000 |
| 18 | R.G. Vanderweil Engineers | 2,830,900 |
| 19 | RMF Engineering | 2,500,000 |
| 20 | ESD|Environmental Systems Design | 2,450,000 |
| 21 | H&A Architects & Engineers | 2,300,000 |
| 22 | RDK Engineers | 2,245,000 |
| 23 | Guernsey | 2,041,552 |
| 24 | Middough | 1,750,000 |
| 25 | M+W U.S. | 1,654,867 |
TOP 25 DATA CENTER SECTOR CONSTRUCTION FIRMS
| Rank | Company | 2011 Data Center Revenue ($) |
| 1 | Holder Construction | 1,293,000,000 |
| 2 | DPR Construction | 666,292,020 |
| 3 | Turner Corporation, The | 434,435,518 |
| 4 | Whiting-Turner Contracting, The | 393,539,085 |
| 5 | Skanska USA | 369,889,632 |
| 6 | Mortenson Construction | 304,900,000 |
| 7 | Balfour Beatty US | 277,879,080 |
| 8 | Structure Tone | 259,250,000 |
| 9 | Jacobs | 119,930,000 |
| 10 | Gilbane Building | 104,166,000 |
| 11 | JE Dunn Construction | 89,426,706 |
| 12 | Weitz Co., The | 71,442,860 |
| 13 | James G. Davis Construction | 60,000,000 |
| 14 | Hensel Phelps Construction | 50,360,000 |
| 15 | Messer Construction | 49,404,845 |
| 16 | Hoffman Corp. | 46,541,098 |
| 17 | Manhattan Construction Group | 44,196,000 |
| 18 | Brasfield & Gorrie | 34,612,782 |
| 19 | URS Corp. | 34,475,000 |
| 20 | Sundt Construction | 28,801,944 |
| 21 | Kitchell | 24,310,000 |
| 22 | Ryan Companies US | 23,664,942 |
| 23 | Harkins Builders | 21,000,000 |
| 24 | McShane Companies, The | 20,000,000 |
| 25 | Yates Companies., The | 20,000,000 |
Related Stories
| Jan 13, 2014
Custom exterior fabricator A. Zahner unveils free façade design software for architects
The web-based tool uses the company's factory floor like "a massive rapid prototype machine,” allowing designers to manipulate designs on the fly based on cost and other factors, according to CEO/President Bill Zahner.
| Jan 13, 2014
AEC professionals weigh in on school security
An exclusive survey reveals that Building Teams are doing their part to make the nation’s schools safer in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook tragedy.
| Jan 13, 2014
6 legislative actions to ignite the construction economy
The American Institute of Architects announced its “punch list” for Congress that, if completed, will ignite the construction economy by spurring much needed improvements in energy efficiency, infrastructure, and resiliency, and create jobs for small business.
| Jan 12, 2014
CES showcases innovations: Can any of these help you do your job better?
The Consumer Electronics Show took place this past week in Las Vegas. Known for launching new products and technologies, many of the products showcased there set the bar for future innovators. The show also signals trends to watch in technology applicable to the design and building industry.
| Jan 12, 2014
The ‘fuzz factor’ in engineering: when continuous improvement is neither
The biggest threat to human life in a building isn’t the potential of natural disasters, but the threat of human error. I believe it’s a reality that increases in probability every time a code or standard change is proposed.
| Jan 12, 2014
5 ways virtual modeling can improve facilities management
Improved space management, streamlined maintenance, and economical retrofits are among the ways building owners and facility managers can benefit from building information modeling.
| Jan 11, 2014
Getting to net-zero energy with brick masonry construction [AIA course]
When targeting net-zero energy performance, AEC professionals are advised to tackle energy demand first. This AIA course covers brick masonry's role in reducing energy consumption in buildings.
| Jan 10, 2014
What the states should do to prevent more school shootings
To tell the truth, I didn’t want to write about the terrible events of December 14, 2012, when 20 children and six adults were gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. I figured other media would provide ample coverage, and anything we did would look cheap or inappropriate. But two things turned me around.
| Jan 10, 2014
Special Report: K-12 school security in the wake of Sandy Hook
BD+C's exclusive five-part report on K-12 school security offers proven design advice, technology recommendations, and thoughtful commentary on how Building Teams can help school districts prevent, or at least mitigate, a Sandy Hook on their turf.
| Jan 10, 2014
Resiliency, material health among top AEC focuses for 2014: Perkins+Will survey
Architectural giant Perkins+Will recently surveyed its staff of 1,500 design pros to forcast hot trends in the AEC field for 2014. The resulting Design + Insights Survey reflects a global perspective.
