A quick scan of our 41st annual Giants 300 report reveals a wealth of technology and business innovations across every major building sector and industry discipline.
Architecture firms are developing advanced tools and apps—such as HKS’s “Lab in a Bag” sensor network and Perkins+Will’s “Hazel” infrastructure modeling tool—to help improve the design process and enhance outcomes. They’re adopting emerging technologies like AR/VR and computational design at a breakneck pace, and they are tapping into the deluge of project data in new and inventive ways. They’re also reinventing continuing education with hands-on learning opportunities that take CE to the streets.
Engineering firms such as Arup, Glumac, and Thornton Tomasetti are leveraging their in-house expertise to develop products and tools for their design teams, clients, and even the competition. Some of these products, like Glumac’s G Cloud personal environmental control platform, are the first of their kind. Others, such as Thornton Tomasetti’s Hummingbird Kinetics compact mass damper, are fresh takes on time-tested technologies.
Construction firms are leveraging prefabrication, modularization, VDC, gaming, 3D laser scanning, and other progressive tools and processes to minimize risk, speed delivery, and improve quality control on projects. Case in point: Using BIM and prefabrication, Turner Construction was able to execute a complex, 20,000-sf mechanical penthouse piping fitout in a MIT research building in just four months—a third of the time it would have taken using traditional coordination methods, according to the firm.
Terms like “predictive data analytics,” “machine learning,” and “data visualization” are becoming mainstream in the AEC market. Firms are looking outside the industry for specialists in these emerging fields. They’re also beefing up their investment in and resources for in-house R&D and innovation programs, and are creating quasi think tank cultures with a startup-like vibe.
As an industry observer, I’ve been fascinated by this transformation. But it leads me to wonder, Is the race to innovate leading to healthier bottom lines for AEC firms?
While it’s too early to tell for most firms, several companies report financial gains and new business as a direct result of R&D- and innovation-related initiatives. SmithGroupJJR’s Russ Sykes points to the firm’s more progressive culture (kicked off in 2014) as a key reason for its 15% YOY average growth rate—vs. 8% when the firm had a “conservative culture” (more at: BDCnetwork/SGJ). And, as reported last year, Little’s LaceUp mini-grant R&D program has funded more than 40 unique projects, including one—the Center for Building Performance—that is responsible for winning 14 jobs for the A/E firm.
For other firms, the investment in innovation is viewed as a new cost of doing business in the increasingly competitive and chaotic AEC marketplace.
Related Stories
Giants 400 | Aug 11, 2017
Top 60 construction management firms
Jacobs, Kraus-Anderson, and Hill International are among the nation’s largest construction management and project management firms, as reported in Building Design+Construction’s 2017 Giants 300 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 11, 2017
Top 115 contractor firms
Turner, Whiting-Turner, and AECOM top Building Design+Construction’s ranking of the nation’s largest commercial construction firms, as reported in the 2017 Giants 300 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 9, 2017
Innovation at 72 design firms
The following is a list of advancements architecture and A/E firms underwent in 2016, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2017 Giants 300 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 9, 2017
Top 115 Architecture Firms
Gensler, Perkins+Will, and HKS top Building Design+Construction’s ranking of the nation’s largest architecture firms, as reported in the 2017 Giants 300 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 9, 2017
Top 100 Architecture/Engineering Firms
Stantec, HOK, and CallisonRTKL are among the nation’s largest architecture/engineering firms, according to Building Design+Construction’s 2017 Giants 300 Report.
Giants 400 | Jul 10, 2017
2017 GIANTS 300 REPORT: Ranking the nation's largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms
Now in its 41st year, BD+C’s annual Giants 300 report ranks AEC firms by discipline and across more than 20 building sectors and specialty services.
| Sep 1, 2016
TRANSIT GIANTS: A ranking of the nation's top transit sector design and construction firms
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Perkins+Will, Skanska USA, Webcor Builders, Jacobs, and STV top Building Design+Construction’s annual ranking of the nation’s largest transit sector AEC firms, as reported in the 2016 Giants 300 Report.
| Sep 1, 2016
INDUSTRIAL GIANTS: A ranking of the nation's top industrial design and construction firms
Stantec, BRPH, Fluor Corp., Walbridge, Jacobs, and AECOM top Building Design+Construction’s annual ranking of the nation’s largest industrial sector AEC firms, as reported in the 2016 Giants 300 Report.
| Sep 1, 2016
HOTEL SECTOR GIANTS: A ranking of the nation's top hotel sector design and construction firms
Gensler, HKS, Turner Construction Co., The Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., Jacobs, and JBA Consulting Engineers top Building Design+Construction’s annual ranking of the nation’s largest hotel sector AEC firms, as reported in the 2016 Giants 300 Report.
| Sep 1, 2016
CULTURAL SECTOR GIANTS: A ranking of the nation's top cultural sector design and construction firms
Gensler, Perkins+Will, PCL Construction Enterprises, Turner Construction Co., AECOM, and WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff top Building Design+Construction’s annual ranking of the nation’s largest cultural sector AEC firms, as reported in the 2016 Giants 300 Report.
