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
Related Stories
| Mar 23, 2011
AIA adds 13 new contract documents to Documents-on-Demand service
Web-based solution adds 13 popular Architect’s Scope of Services Documents to AIA Documents-on-Demand, providing easy access to documents anytime, anywhere.
| Mar 23, 2011
After 60 years of student lobbying, new activity center opens at University of Texas
The new Student Activity Center at the University of Texas campus, Austin, is the result of almost 60 years of students lobbying for another dedicated social and cultural center on campus. The 149,000-sf facility is designed to serve as the "campus living room," and should earn a LEED Gold certification, a first for the campus.
| Mar 23, 2011
Architecture Billings Index shows nominal increase
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the February Architecture Billings Index score was 50.6, up slightly from a reading of 50.0 the previous month. This score reflects a modest increase in demand for design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings). The new projects inquiry index was 56.4, compared to a mark of 56.5 in December.
| Mar 22, 2011
The American National Standards Institute accredits Stantec for greenhouse gas verification
Stantec Consulting Ltd.’s Atmospheric Environment Group has been awarded accreditation by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for verification of assertions related to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The Scope of Accreditation is for verification of emissions and removals at the organizational level for Group 1 – General.
| Mar 22, 2011
Mayor Bloomberg unveils plans for New York City’s largest new affordable housing complex since the ’70s
Plans for Hunter’s Point South, the largest new affordable housing complex to be built in New York City since the 1970s, include new residences for 5,000 families, with more than 900 in this first phase. A development team consisting of Phipps Houses, Related Companies, and Monadnock Construction has been selected to build the residential portion of the first phase of the Queens waterfront complex, which includes two mixed-use buildings comprising more than 900 housing units and roughly 20,000 square feet of new retail space.
| Mar 21, 2011
RATIO Architects announces merger with Cherry Huffman Architects
RATIO Architects, Inc. with studios in Indianapolis and Champaign, Ill., recently announced it has merged with prominent Raleigh, N.C., firm Cherry Huffman Architects.
| Mar 18, 2011
Universities will compete to build a campus on New York City land
New York City announced that it had received 18 expressions of interest in establishing a research center from universities and corporations around the world. Struggling to compete with Silicon Valley, Boston, and other high-tech hubs, officials charged with developing the city’s economy have identified several city-owned sites that might serve as a home for the research center for applied science and engineering that they hope to establish.
| Mar 17, 2011
Perkins Eastman launches The Green House prototype design package
Design and architecture firm Perkins Eastman is pleased to join The Green House project and NCB Capital Impact in announcing the launch of The Green House Prototype Design Package. The Prototype will help providers develop small home senior living communities with greater efficiency and cost savings—all to the standards of care developed by The Green House project.
| Mar 17, 2011
Hospitality industry turns to HTS Texas for ‘do not disturb’ air conditioned comfort
Large resort hotels and hospitality properties throughout the Southwest have been working with local contractors, engineers and HTS Texas for the latest innovations in quiet heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment. The company has completed 12+ projects throughout Texas and the Southwestern U.S. over the past 18 to 24 months, and is currently working on six more hotel projects throughout the region.
