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
| May 23, 2013
Supertall 'Sky City' will house 4,400 families in Changsha, China
Broad Sustainable Building has completed a long and arduous approval process, and is starting excavation and construction on Sky City in June, 2013. The proposed "world's tallest building" will be a mixed-use project that could accommodate life and work needs of up to 30,000 people.
| May 23, 2013
Are design-build contracts killing small architecture firms?
Are federal design-build contract laws unfair to small firms? AIA thinks so, citing an interesting fact: an architecture firm spends a median of $260,000 to compete for a design-build project.
| May 23, 2013
Is the 'bring your own device' discussion stumping your IT group?
A new twist to the communication challenge most companies and IT departments face is the “bring your own device,” or BYOD, conundrum. I call it a conundrum because it is stumping many IT professionals.
| May 23, 2013
Portland State University’s School of Architecture launches Center for Public Interest Design
Portland State University’s School of Architecture is proud to announce the launch of its new Center for Public Interest Design, a research center that aims to investigate and utilize the power of design to make social, economic and environmental change in disadvantaged communities worldwide. The Center is the first of its kind in the nation.
| May 22, 2013
Return of retail? Rent growth seen in recovering markets
Like digging a ditch with a spoon, retail demand driven by population growth has eaten away at the supply of available store space in the markets that have been slowest to recover from the downturn. Vacancy rates are reaching a point that will give at least some landlords in every market the clout to demand slightly higher rents.
| May 22, 2013
New ASTM standard enhances hollow structural sections
ASTM A1085 is a big step forward in simplifying HSS design and usage, thereby making it a more desirable option for HSS.
| May 22, 2013
Architecture billings take a step back in April, ending growth streak
For the first time in 10 months, the AIA's Architecture Billings Index slipped into negative territory, falling to 48.6 in April, down from 51.9 the previous month. This is the ABI's lowest mark since July 2012.
| May 21, 2013
Foster + Partners reveals plans for London residential towers
British firm Foster + Partners has unveiled plans for two residential skyscrapers as part of a mixed-use development in north London.
| May 21, 2013
RSMeans cost comparisons: pools, racquetball courts, bowling alleys, hockey/soccer facilities
Construction market analysts from RSMeans offer construction costs per square foot for four building types across 25 metro markets.
