Federal, state, and local government construction hasn’t exactly been a steamroller for the past few years, due to the end of stimulus availability and the ongoing effects of budget sequestration.
At press time, the most recent Commerce Department report indicated that government construction spending was up just under 1% in April, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $267 billion, despite overall economic contraction of about 1% in the first quarter. Federal construction spending was the growth leader, rising by 1.9% to a rate of $23.5 billion. State and local projects—a much larger piece of the public pie—were up just 0.7%, to $243.5 billion.
Among non-infrastructure public construction spending categories, healthcare (up 6%) and education (up 2%) appear most promising for this year, according to the Associated Builders and Contractors’ 2014 forecast.
Improving energy performance of existing properties through targeted upgrades—and, sometimes, large-scale reconstruction—continues to be a federal priority. Of 20 projects recently honored by the General Services Administration’s Design Awards program, half were reconstruction jobs, ranging from Beaux Arts courthouses to Modernist offices.
Along with the push for energy efficiency, federal agencies are increasingly exploring telework as an alternative to expanding office space. The bright side? Telecom and AV renovations will be required to help agencies keep off-site staff connected.
Many state and local governments continue to struggle with the sluggish overall economy, causing delays in needed construction. Among the discernible themes among state and local projects submitted to BD+C: new police facilities (designed to reflect changing ideas about community policing), replacement and upgraded courthouses, and mass-transit stations.
Top Government Sector Architecture Firms
Rank | Company | 2013 Government Revenue |
1 | Stantec | $144,299,056 |
2 | Heery International | 125,058,364 |
3 | HOK | 114,753,666 |
4 | SmithGroupJJR | 83,064,158 |
5 | HDR | 81,601,164 |
6 | Skidmore, Owings & Merrill | 57,835,664 |
7 | SHW Group | 56,007,000 |
8 | Gensler | 52,272,600 |
9 | EYP Architecture & Engineering | 42,800,000 |
10 | RS&H | 39,200,000 |
11 | Page | 38,704,000 |
12 | Moseley Architects | 35,135,469 |
13 | Leo A Daly | 29,483,542 |
14 | Perkins+will | 28,975,375 |
15 | Clark Nexsen | 28,873,388 |
16 | ZGF Architects | 27,425,548 |
17 | CannonDesign | 27,000,000 |
18 | FreemanWhite | 25,941,154 |
19 | NBBJ | 19,382,000 |
20 | DLR Group | 19,300,000 |
21 | Hammel, Green and Abrahamson | 19,167,839 |
22 | EwingCole | 17,300,000 |
23 | HKS | 17,247,862 |
24 | PGAL | 16,097,917 |
25 | HNTB Corp. | 15,269,498 |
26 | Westlake Reed Leskosky | 15,049,000 |
27 | Quattrocchi Kwok Architects | 13,230,000 |
28 | Hoefer Wysocki Architecture | 12,860,000 |
29 | Fentress Architects | 12,160,971 |
30 | BLDD Architects | 11,800,000 |
31 | RTKL Associates | 11,469,000 |
32 | SchenkelShultz Architecture | 11,278,000 |
33 | NORR | 9,792,248 |
34 | LS3P | 8,882,375 |
35 | Morris Architects | 8,350,000 |
36 | Davis Brody Bond | 8,263,108 |
37 | LaBella Associates | 8,130,000 |
38 | CTA Architects Engineers | 8,014,884 |
39 | Beyer Blinder Belle | 7,947,688 |
40 | HMC Architects | 6,811,005 |
41 | VOA Associates | 6,808,200 |
42 | Parkhill, Smith & Cooper | 6,687,000 |
43 | Rosser International | 6,652,324 |
44 | LMN Architects | 6,388,100 |
45 | Sherlock, Smith & Adams | 6,388,000 |
46 | Becker Morgan Group | 6,343,277 |
47 | Flad Architects | 6,126,870 |
48 | KZF Design | 5,887,462 |
49 | Epstein | 5,402,000 |
50 | IBI Group ? Gruzen Samton | 5,000,000 |
51 | Solomon Cordwell Buenz | 4,500,000 |
52 | Goodwyn Mills & Cawood | 4,409,249 |
53 | Wight & Company | 4,402,093 |
54 | RSP Architects | 4,326,000 |
55 | Harley Ellis Devereaux | 4,310,000 |
56 | Carrier Johnson + Culture | 4,066,891 |
57 | BRPH | 3,957,000 |
58 | FGM Architects | 3,776,698 |
59 | Ennead Architects | 3,729,000 |
60 | RNL | 3,418,000 |
61 | WDG Architecture | 3,095,000 |
62 | Perkins Eastman | 3,000,000 |
63 | GWWO | 2,965,804 |
64 | Gresham, Smith and Partners | 2,787,930 |
65 | Integrus Architecture | 2,705,119 |
66 | Hoffmann Architects | 2,654,000 |
67 | Swanke Hayden Connell Architects | 2,534,000 |
68 | Ratio Architects | 2,462,355 |
69 | LPA | 2,205,538 |
70 | Emersion Design | 2,183,039 |
71 | Array Architects | 2,138,000 |
72 | WHR Architects | 2,076,445 |
73 | Cooper Carry | 1,987,669 |
74 | Little | 1,961,000 |
75 | Bergmann Associates | 1,941,360 |
76 | OZ Architecture | 1,724,680 |
77 | Legat Architects | 1,675,500 |
78 | LBL Architects | 1,600,000 |
79 | Schrader Group Architecture | 1,573,559 |
80 | Symmes Maini & McKee Associates | 1,563,000 |
81 | Good Fulton & Farrell | 1,373,500 |
82 | H+L Architecture | 1,295,496 |
83 | Harvard Jolly Architecture | 1,221,576 |
84 | Cambridge Seven Associates | 1,210,000 |
85 | FXFOWLE Architects | 1,180,000 |
86 | Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart & Associates | 1,128,560 |
87 | Moody Nolan | 1,083,924 |
88 | CO Architects | 1,031,600 |
89 | Shepley Bulfinch | 836,000 |
90 | Corgan | 762,894 |
91 | Cuningham Group Architecture | 742,891 |
92 | Lord Aeck Sargent | 742,273 |
93 | GBBN Architects | 660,000 |
94 | Nadel | 650,000 |
95 | Eppstein Uhen Architects | 640,751 |
96 | Commonwealth Architects | 599,591 |
97 | Hastings+Chivetta Architects | 491,188 |
98 | DesignGroup | 433,190 |
99 | Baskervill | 391,276 |
100 | Payette | 383,755 |
101 | Taylor Design | 372,052 |
102 | LawKingdon Architecture | 350,000 |
103 | Anderson Mikos Architects | 350,000 |
104 | NAC|Architecture | 345,476 |
105 | Environetics | 341,475 |
106 | Kirksey | 323,571 |
107 | H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture | 305,903 |
108 | Hnedak Bobo Group | 301,000 |
109 | TEG Architects | 235,686 |
110 | RBB Architects | 215,897 |
111 | BBS Architects | 200,030 |
112 | DLA Architects | 133,140 |
113 | Fanning/Howey Associates | 50,000 |
114 | BSA LifeStructures | 41,019 |
115 | ai Design Group | 33,048 |
Top Government Sector Engineering Firms
Rank | Company | 2013 Government Revenue |
1 | Fluor Corporation | $2,675,202,710 |
2 | URS Corp. | 648,982,536 |
3 | AECOM Technology Corp. | 574,020,000 |
4 | Jacobs | 287,190,693 |
5 | STV | 168,948,000 |
6 | Burns & McDonnell | 99,462,332 |
7 | Parsons Brinckerhoff | 57,994,366 |
8 | Leidos | 55,125,000 |
9 | H&A Architects & Engineers | 38,735,000 |
10 | Allen & Shariff | 33,964,317 |
11 | Dewberry | 26,388,476 |
12 | Arup | 23,554,256 |
13 | Smith Seckman Reid | 19,741,666 |
14 | Simpson Gumpertz & Heger | 19,066,000 |
15 | Affiliated Engineers | 15,598,000 |
16 | Syska Hennessy Group | 12,155,407 |
17 | Thornton Tomasetti | 10,996,123 |
18 | Coffman Engineers | 10,676,374 |
19 | KPFF Consulting Engineers | 10,500,000 |
20 | RMF Engineering | 10,000,000 |
21 | Guernsey | 9,680,758 |
22 | Shive-Hattery | 9,029,738 |
23 | Walker Parking Consultants | 8,925,000 |
24 | Bridgers & Paxton Consulting Engineers | 8,780,161 |
25 | WSP Group | 8,060,000 |
26 | Interface Engineering | 6,809,917 |
27 | Glumac | 6,650,738 |
28 | Joseph R. Loring & Associates | 6,500,000 |
29 | Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates | 5,870,000 |
30 | TTG | 5,811,850 |
31 | Graef | 5,387,348 |
32 | KJWW Engineering Consultants | 5,191,493 |
33 | TLC Engineering for Architecture | 5,134,526 |
34 | Heapy Engineering | 5,072,001 |
35 | Ross & Baruzzini | 4,975,183 |
36 | I. C. Thomasson Associates | 4,750,000 |
37 | KCI Technologies | 4,600,000 |
38 | Vanderweil Engineers | 4,565,800 |
39 | Degenkolb Engineers | 4,462,450 |
40 | GRW | 3,753,047 |
41 | Sparling | 3,690,424 |
42 | H.F. Lenz | 3,559,848 |
43 | Barge Waggoner Sumner & Cannon | 3,495,000 |
44 | SSOE Group | 3,332,408 |
45 | Newcomb & Boyd | 3,140,130 |
46 | M/E Engineering | 3,096,775 |
47 | Henderson Engineers | 2,989,363 |
48 | RDK Engineers | 2,880,000 |
49 | Apogee Consulting Group | 2,732,049 |
50 | Spectrum Engineers | 2,497,641 |
51 | Brinjac Engineering | 2,083,384 |
52 | M-E Engineers | 2,000,000 |
53 | Davis, Bowen & Friedel | 1,610,242 |
54 | Walter P Moore and Associates | 1,441,663 |
55 | Rist-Frost-Shumway Engineering | 1,350,000 |
56 | CTLGroup | 1,330,000 |
57 | GHT Limited | 1,300,000 |
58 | French & Parrello Associates | 1,213,200 |
59 | Dunham Associates | 1,200,000 |
60 | AKF Group | 1,186,000 |
61 | Highland Associates | 1,150,000 |
62 | Paulus, Sokolowski and Sartor | 1,015,000 |
63 | Environmental Systems Design | 920,969 |
64 | BR+A Consulting Engineers | 920,000 |
65 | Aon Fire Protection Engineering Corp. | 918,914 |
66 | CJL Engineering | 870,000 |
67 | Mazzetti | 831,363 |
68 | Primera Engineers | 775,000 |
69 | ThermalTech Engineering | 750,000 |
70 | KLH Engineers | 480,951 |
71 | OLA Consulting Engineers | 262,000 |
72 | Zak Companies | 208,120 |
73 | Wick Fisher White | 195,530 |
74 | Wallace Engineering | 150,000 |
75 | Total Building Commissioning | 122,935 |
76 | G&W Engineering Corp. | 109,200 |
77 | P2S Engineering | 99,369 |
78 | DeSimone Consulting Engineers | 90,000 |
79 | Stanley Consultants | 74,747 |
80 | Integrated Design Group | 55,650 |
Top Government Sector Construction Firms
Rank | Company | 2013 Government Revenue |
1 | Turner Construction | $2,343,544,729 |
2 | Clark Group | 2,342,085,755 |
3 | PCL Construction | 1,343,431,142 |
4 | Walsh Group, The | 1,188,110,497 |
5 | Hensel Phelps | 1,184,760,000 |
6 | Balfour Beatty US | 1,145,573,619 |
7 | Gilbane | 814,257,000 |
8 | Tutor Perini Corp. | 767,580,319 |
9 | McCarthy Holdings | 738,000,000 |
10 | Lend Lease | 551,622,000 |
11 | Skanska USA | 493,318,641 |
12 | Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., The | 455,618,872 |
13 | Brasfield & Gorrie | 379,267,063 |
14 | JE Dunn Construction | 321,764,977 |
15 | Hunt Construction Group | 277,300,000 |
16 | Mortenson Construction | 178,340,000 |
17 | STV | 168,948,000 |
18 | Hunt Companies | 154,387,811 |
19 | Sundt Construction | 153,006,199 |
20 | HITT Contracting | 145,900,000 |
21 | O'Neil Industries/W.E. O'Neil | 142,005,318 |
22 | CORE Construction Group | 135,900,848 |
23 | Manhattan Construction | 126,300,000 |
24 | Heery International | 125,058,364 |
25 | W. M. Jordan Company | 117,481,667 |
26 | Yates Companies, The | 111,200,000 |
27 | Holder Construction | 110,063,000 |
28 | Flintco | 106,026,635 |
29 | Hoffman Construction | 84,474,600 |
30 | Messer Construction | 79,799,220 |
31 | B. L. Harbert International | 74,365,423 |
32 | Consigli Construction | 74,312,383 |
33 | James G. Davis Construction | 72,010,706 |
34 | Suffolk Construction | 67,717,700 |
35 | DPR Construction | 65,709,181 |
36 | Coakley & Williams Construction | 61,953,906 |
37 | C.W. Driver | 58,850,000 |
38 | Parsons Brinckerhoff | 57,994,366 |
39 | Ryan Companies US | 57,693,535 |
40 | Fortis Construction | 52,585,000 |
41 | Shawmut Design and Construction | 49,000,000 |
42 | Leopardo Companies | 47,786,003 |
43 | Bernards | 46,000,000 |
44 | Swinerton Builders | 45,394,000 |
45 | Walbridge | 41,300,000 |
46 | Hill International | 41,000,000 |
47 | Power Construction | 39,000,000 |
48 | Kitchell Corp. | 38,162,513 |
49 | KBE Building Corp. | 37,661,458 |
50 | Beck Group, The | 36,300,176 |
51 | Allen & Shariff | 33,964,317 |
52 | Barton Malow | 33,108,673 |
53 | Wight & Company | 32,543,000 |
54 | Haselden Construction | 32,300,743 |
55 | Absher Construction | 31,202,850 |
56 | Structure Tone | 29,981,000 |
57 | Hoar Construction | 29,474,000 |
58 | Hathaway Dinwiddie Construction | 29,000,000 |
59 | New South Construction | 28,999,000 |
60 | Haskell | 28,573,183 |
61 | S. M. Wilson & Co. | 28,521,558 |
62 | Robins & Morton | 28,415,079 |
63 | Harkins Builders | 28,400,000 |
64 | EMJ Corp. | 21,000,000 |
65 | LeChase Construction Services | 19,680,000 |
66 | Bomel Construction | 19,327,000 |
67 | Layton Construction | 17,900,000 |
68 | Adolfson & Peterson Construction | 17,884,760 |
69 | McShane Companies, The | 17,672,043 |
70 | BlueScope Construction | 14,554,879 |
71 | Juneau Construction | 11,405,546 |
72 | Hill & Wilkinson | 10,864,000 |
73 | E.W. Howell | 9,541,000 |
74 | James McHugh Construction | 8,334,048 |
75 | Choate Construction | 7,670,062 |
76 | Weitz Company, The | 6,600,000 |
77 | JLL | 6,000,000 |
78 | Stalco Construction | 5,620,500 |
79 | LPCiminelli | 4,790,613 |
80 | Kraus-Anderson Construction | 3,000,000 |
81 | Bette Companies, The | 2,697,000 |
82 | Astorino | 2,384,468 |
83 | Batson-Cook | 1,390,120 |
84 | Graycor | 1,152,668 |
85 | Alberici Constructors | 1,080,320 |
86 | Paric Corp. | 1,000,000 |
87 | IMC Construction | 75,000 |
Read BD+C's full 2014 Giants 300 Report
Related Stories
Building Team | Jun 27, 2022
Chapel of St. Ignatius by Steven Holl Architects receives AIA’s twenty-five year award
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is honoring the Chapel of St. Ignatius in Seattle, designed by Steven Holl Architects, with its Twenty-five Year Award.
Green | Jun 22, 2022
The business case for passive house multifamily
A trio of Passive House experts talk about the true costs and benefits of passive house design and construction for multifamily projects.
Building Team | Jun 22, 2022
Design for new San Clemente Marine Safety Headquarters would create new public plaza
A proposed design by HMC Architects for a new San Clemente Marine Safety Headquarters makes creative use of the seaside topography of the Pacific Coast.
Augmented Reality | Jun 22, 2022
Not just for POKÉMON GO anymore: how augmented reality is transforming architecture
By solving a long-standing communication problem, Augmented Reality (AR) is poised to make architecture quicker, nimbler, and more cost effective.
Healthcare Facilities | Jun 22, 2022
Arizona State University’s Health Futures Center: A new home for medical tech innovation
In Phoenix, the Arizona State University (ASU) has constructed its Health Futures Center—expanding the school’s impact as a research institution emphasizing medical technology acceleration and innovation, entrepreneurship, and healthcare education.
Market Data | Jun 22, 2022
Architecture Billings Index slows but remains strong
Architecture firms reported increasing demand for design services in May, according to a new report today from The American Institute of Architects (AIA).
Green | Jun 22, 2022
World’s largest commercial Living Building opens in Portland, Ore.
The world’s largest commercial Living Building recently opened in Portland, Ore.
Multifamily Housing | Jun 21, 2022
Two birds, one solution: Can we solve urban last-mile distribution and housing challenges at the same time?
When it comes to the development of both multifamily housing and last-mile distribution centers, particularly in metropolitan environments, each presents its own series of challenges and hurdles. One solution: single-use structures.
Libraries | Jun 21, 2022
Kingston, Ontario, library branch renovation cuts energy use to 55% of benchmark
A recent renovation of the Kingston (Ontario) Frontenac Public Library Central Branch greatly boosted energy and water efficiency while making the facility healthier and safer.
Building Materials | Jun 20, 2022
Early-stage procurement: The next evolution of the construction supply chain
Austin Commercial’s Jason Earnhardt explains why supply chain issues for the construction industry are not going to go away and how developers and owners can get ahead of project roadblocks.