K-12 School Sector Giants: Pent-up demand finally produces movement in schools market [2014 Giants 300 Report]

After a long period of anemic performance, with growth mostly driven by renovations and additions, the K-12 sector is showing renewed interest in new construction. Consultant Paul Abramson, using data from Dun & Bradstreet, calculates that districts spent about $13.4 billion on construction projects in 2013, about $7.6 billion of which went for new schools (http://bit.ly/1kN4qkv).

Highest-spending regions included Texas-Louisiana-Oklahoma-Arkansas ($2.3 billion, or 17% of the nation’s K-12 total) and Arizona-California-Hawaii-Nevada ($1.68 billion). The lowest-spending regions included debt-plagued Illinois with neighboring states Minnesota and Wisconsin ($651 million) and Alaska-Idaho-Oregon-Washington ($558 million).

High schools are outpacing other K-12 facilities in construction spending, with the dollar value of projected 2014 starts at $4.15 billion, or 44% of the K-12 total. That’s followed by 33% for elementary schools, 23% for middle schools, and <1% for administrative and support projects.

Among the evident design trends: STEM morphing into STEAM with the addition of arts enrichment (sometimes with professional-quality performance spaces) to science, technology, engineering, and math schools; growing enthusiasm for vocational training facilities that provide an alternative to the traditional college prep path; and schools that do a better job of cementing community connections by leveraging local architectural themes.

The push for sustainable K-12 facilities also marches on; at high levels of green, the theme typically suffuses the pedagogy. Hood River (Ore.) Middle School’s Music and Science Building was recently certified net-zero energy by the International Living Future Institute, making it the first public school building to earn the tough-to-achieve designation.

Top K-12 School Sector Architecture Firms

Rank	Company	2013 K-12 Revenue
1	DLR Group	$41,000,000
2	SHW Group	40,016,000
3	PBK	35,880,000
4	HMC Architects	26,097,082
5	Fanning/Howey Associates	17,877,000
6	Perkins+will	16,668,514
7	Heery International	14,994,535
8	NAC\|Architecture	14,494,206
9	LPA	14,191,442
10	Perkins Eastman	13,950,000
11	Quattrocchi Kwok Architects	13,230,000
12	Moseley Architects	12,521,613
13	Integrus Architecture	12,229,858
14	Corgan	10,372,178
15	FGM Architects	9,846,977
16	NTD Architecture	9,200,000
17	Parkhill, Smith & Cooper	8,580,000
18	Symmes Maini & McKee Associates	8,375,000
19	Stantec	8,097,800
20	SchenkelShultz Architecture	7,880,000
21	SEI Design Group	7,566,000
22	Slaterpaull Architects	7,500,468
23	DLA Architects	7,255,830
24	GWWO	7,047,216
25	BRPH	6,681,000
26	Legat Architects	6,630,200
27	Wight & Company	6,579,000
28	Ashley McGraw Architects	6,093,874
29	HMFH Architects	6,032,607
30	BBS Architects	5,950,250
31	BLDD Architects	5,750,000
32	LaBella Associates	5,644,772
33	LS3P	5,155,547
34	Eppstein Uhen Architects	4,623,477
35	H+L Architecture	4,070,997
36	EwingCole	4,020,000
37	FXFOWLE Architects	3,940,000
38	Harley Ellis Devereaux	3,780,000
39	Cooper Carry	3,402,330
40	Goodwyn Mills & Cawood	3,399,167
41	CTA Architects Engineers	3,336,600
42	HKS	3,142,143
43	Cuningham Group Architecture	3,052,272
44	Schrader Group Architecture	3,047,414
45	NORR	2,976,836
46	Hord Coplan Macht	2,948,595
47	Ratio Architects	2,879,009
48	Albert Kahn Associates	2,775,253
49	IBI Group ? Gruzen Samton	2,500,000
50	RS&H	2,450,000
51	Harvard Jolly Architecture	2,097,387
52	Shepley Bulfinch	2,000,000
53	Becker Morgan Group	1,945,649
54	Leo A Daly	1,787,681
55	Good Fulton & Farrell	1,704,900
56	KZF Design	1,490,333
57	Clark Nexsen	1,441,748
58	Little	1,410,229
59	LMN Architects	1,223,400
60	Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart & Associates	1,213,567
61	Environetics	1,137,965
62	Massa Montalto Architects	1,056,000
63	VOA Associates	989,711
64	Mithun	930,000
65	Gensler	700,000
66	WHR Architects	699,316
67	PGAL	672,000
68	Ennead Architects	585,055
69	Davis Brody Bond	570,932
70	DesignGroup	538,710
71	OZ Architecture	487,900
72	Kirksey	466,989
73	HNTB Corp.	444,786
74	Beyer Blinder Belle	405,394
75	CO Architects	386,900
76	RSP Architects	377,000
77	LawKingdon Architecture	350,000
78	Ziegler Cooper	348,762
79	Morris Architects	335,000
80	Rule Joy Trammell + Rubio	320,000
81	Cambridge Seven Associates	305,000
82	Ware Malcomb	284,000
83	Hoffmann Architects	260,000
84	CASCO Diversified Corp.	250,000
85	JRS Architect	235,000
86	Rosser International	230,000
87	Page	229,000
88	Nelson	210,577
89	Gresham, Smith and Partners	200,000
90	Hastings+Chivetta Architects	169,568
91	Nadel	130,000
92	Epstein	108,000
93	BSA LifeStructures	106,426
94	ATA Beilharz Architects	104,525
95	Niles Bolton Associates	104,386
96	Hensley Lamkin Rachel	100,000
97	GBBN Architects	97,000
98	Sherlock, Smith & Adams	92,000
99	Lord Aeck Sargent	75,379
100	Poskanzer Skott	50,000
101	TEG Architects	11,928

Top K-12 School Sector Engineering Firms

Rank	Company	2013 K-12 Revenue
1	AECOM Technology Corp.	$50,930,000
2	URS Corp.	47,642,239
3	Jacobs	35,150,000
4	Parsons Brinckerhoff	20,057,993
5	TTG	12,352,642
6	STV	8,018,000
7	Shive-Hattery	5,975,671
8	KCI Technologies	4,800,000
9	Dewberry	4,340,398
10	Joseph R. Loring & Associates	4,300,000
11	Heapy Engineering	4,079,921
12	Thornton Tomasetti	3,617,144
13	Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates	3,380,000
14	Allen & Shariff	3,000,000
15	Interface Engineering	2,934,922
16	KJWW Engineering Consultants	2,878,919
17	Paulus, Sokolowski and Sartor	2,800,000
18	Brinjac Engineering	2,677,720
19	Simpson Gumpertz & Heger	2,610,000
20	M/E Engineering	2,531,610
21	Primera Engineers	2,357,000
22	French & Parrello Associates	2,297,300
23	Coffman Engineers	2,147,260
24	Henderson Engineers	2,103,903
25	Bridgers & Paxton Consulting Engineers	2,024,344
26	RDK Engineers	1,880,000
27	Wallace Engineering	1,691,000
28	KPFF Consulting Engineers	1,625,000
29	H.F. Lenz	1,619,250
30	Highland Associates	1,600,000
31	KLH Engineers	1,384,045
32	Glumac	1,306,149
33	AKF Group	1,299,000
34	Rist-Frost-Shumway Engineering	1,000,000
35	Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr & Huber	1,000,000
36	CJL Engineering	994,410
37	TLC Engineering for Architecture	967,161
38	M-E Engineers	966,000
39	Walter P Moore and Associates	937,062
40	Vanderweil Engineers	808,300
41	Karpinski Engineering	720,037
42	Sparling	682,833
43	Martin/Martin	674,166
44	SSOE Group	664,516
45	RMF Engineering	650,000
46	Aon Fire Protection Engineering Corp.	540,000
47	Newcomb & Boyd	534,136
48	Environmental Systems Design	521,731
49	Guernsey	502,819
50	I. C. Thomasson Associates	500,000
51	G&W Engineering Corp.	484,000
52	Wick Fisher White	446,553
53	Arup	431,084
54	CTLGroup	400,000
55	OLA Consulting Engineers	308,400
56	Kamm Consulting	286,426
57	DeSimone Consulting Engineers	262,015
58	GRW	189,200
59	Zak Companies	178,364
60	Dunham Associates	150,000
61	Mazzetti	149,031
62	Davis, Bowen & Friedel	132,028
63	Affiliated Engineers	112,000
64	Spectrum Engineers	93,110
65	Magnusson Klemencic Associates	76,069

Top K-12 School Sector Construction Firms

Rank	Company	2013 K-12 Revenue
1	Gilbane	$480,230,252
2	Turner Construction	419,619,000
3	Balfour Beatty US	372,288,885
4	CORE Construction Group	278,177,865
5	Skanska USA	212,802,648
6	Swinerton Builders	182,000,000
7	Kraus-Anderson Construction	181,000,000
8	JE Dunn Construction	167,798,654
9	Consigli Construction	151,997,147
10	Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., The	146,933,150
11	Adolfson & Peterson Construction	142,957,713
12	Barton Malow	142,524,833
13	McCarthy Holdings	140,400,000
14	PCL Construction	122,996,983
15	Tutor Perini Corp.	120,049,254
16	McShane Companies, The	118,124,887
17	Flintco	110,350,000
18	KBE Building Corp.	89,239,714
19	Bernards	85,000,000
20	Sundt Construction	69,522,647
21	Absher Construction	67,476,142
22	LeChase Construction Services	65,600,000
23	Walsh Group, The	62,965,887
24	Wight & Company	61,092,000
25	Lend Lease	59,255,000
26	Haselden Construction	55,166,396
27	LPCiminelli	54,810,831
28	Shawmut Design and Construction	51,000,000
29	Ryan Companies US	48,316,285
30	URS Corp.	47,642,239
31	Yates Companies, The	42,800,000
32	Pepper Construction	35,760,000
33	C.W. Driver	35,595,000
34	E.W. Howell	33,818,000
35	Coakley & Williams Construction	32,267,167
36	Brasfield & Gorrie	30,364,402
37	Choate Construction	30,237,395
38	Bette Companies, The	29,375,000
39	S. M. Wilson & Co.	25,725,568
40	Suffolk Construction	25,620,266
41	EMJ Corp.	24,000,000
42	Parsons Brinckerhoff	20,057,993
43	Manhattan Construction	19,124,000
44	New South Construction	17,650,000
45	Hill & Wilkinson	17,026,000
46	Kitchell Corp.	16,545,918
47	Heery International	14,994,535
48	HITT Contracting	14,900,000
49	Robins & Morton	13,176,447
50	W. M. Jordan Company	12,735,471
51	Messer Construction	12,453,591
52	Structure Tone	12,081,000
53	Hill International	12,000,000
54	Boldt Company, The	11,978,048
55	Hathaway Dinwiddie Construction	11,690,000
56	James G. Davis Construction	10,187,161
57	Stalco Construction	10,040,000
58	STV	8,018,000
59	Hunt Construction Group	7,000,000
60	O'Neil Industries/W.E. O'Neil	5,825,412
61	Weis Builders	3,389,000
62	Beck Group, The	3,117,539
63	Allen & Shariff	3,000,000
64	Linbeck Group	2,590,000
65	Batson-Cook	1,810,861
66	Hoar Construction	1,769,000
67	Clark Group	1,731,296
68	James McHugh Construction	1,460,905
69	Weitz Company, The	1,434,533
70	IMC Construction	1,433,690
71	Astorino	743,040
72	JLL	242,655

Read BD+C's full 2014 Giants 300 Report

In a recent survey conducted by Building Design+Construction, more than 75% of respondents indicated they currently use BIM or plan to use it. Respondents were also asked to comment on their experiences with BIM, what they liked and disliked about BIM, and what BIM-related advice they would give to their peers.