Is there life after death? Judging by the commercial office sector, maybe there is. After several years in an advanced stage of morbidity, propped up largely by tenant fitouts and renovations, the office sector may be starting to show signs of life.
The ULI Center for Capital Markets and Real Estate recently stated (based on data from CBRE) that the sector is expected to show “steady and substantial three-year improvements,” with vacancy rates declining from 15.4% this year, to 14.4% in 2013 and 12.3% by year-end 2014.
Rental rates should be up 3.7% in ’13, says the ULI. +
TOP 25 OFFICE SECTOR ARCHITECTURE FIRMS
| Rank | Company | 2011 Office Revenue ($) |
| 1 | Gensler | 432,000,000 |
| 2 | HOK | 144,865,720 |
| 3 | Perkins+Will | 103,737,646 |
| 4 | HDR Architecture | 40,800,000 |
| 5 | Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates | 40,030,000 |
| 6 | Hammel, Green and Abrahamson | 39,600,000 |
| 7 | NBBJ | 38,830,000 |
| 8 | RTKL Associates | 38,055,565 |
| 9 | Nelson | 36,223,716 |
| 10 | SmithGroupJJR | 30,700,000 |
| 11 | Heery International | 29,004,000 |
| 12 | PageSoutherlandPage | 28,130,000 |
| 13 | HLW International | 26,750,000 |
| 14 | HNTB Architecture | 25,231,479 |
| 15 | Cannon Design | 23,000,000 |
| 16 | IBI Group | 22,391,853 |
| 17 | EYP Architecture & Engineering | 20,000,000 |
| 18 | Little | 19,739,500 |
| 19 | LEO A DALY | 16,832,770 |
| 20 | Ware Malcomb | 16,762,000 |
| 21 | DLR Group | 14,000,000 |
| 22 | ZGF Architects | 13,227,504 |
| 23 | RSP Architects | 13,151,000 |
| 24 | HKS | 12,227,874 |
| 25 | Corgan Associates | 12,109,000 |
TOP 25 OFFICE SECTOR ENGINEERING FIRMS
| Rank | Company | 2011 Office Revenue ($) |
| 1 | AECOM Technology Corp. | 1,291,000,000 |
| 2 | Jacobs | 261,100,000 |
| 3 | Parsons Brinckerhoff | 127,900,000 |
| 4 | Science Applications International Corp. | 116,240,000 |
| 5 | URS Corp. | 58,000,000 |
| 6 | Burns & McDonnell | 43,493,660 |
| 7 | Michael Baker Jr., Inc. | 42,890,000 |
| 8 | Stantec | 42,300,000 |
| 9 | Dewberry | 41,215,530 |
| 10 | Thornton Tomasetti | 34,780,000 |
| 11 | WSP USA | 34,500,000 |
| 12 | ESD/Environmental Systems Design | 22,900,000 |
| 13 | Arup | 19,146,849 |
| 14 | Syska Hennessy Group | 18,504,074 |
| 15 | AKF Group | 15,500,000 |
| 16 | Sebesta Blomberg | 14,590,000 |
| 17 | GHT Limited | 13,891,000 |
| 18 | Clark Nexsen | 13,029,482 |
| 19 | Glumac | 11,736,618 |
| 20 | KPFF Consulting Engineers | 10,000,000 |
| 21 | R.G. Vanderweil Engineers | 9,354,500 |
| 22 | Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates | 8,967,000 |
| 23 | RDK Engineers | 8,835,000 |
| 24 | H&A Architects & Engineers | 7,757,000 |
| 25 | Interface Engineering | 7,290,488 |
TOP 25 OFFICE SECTOR CONSTRUCTION FIRMS
| Rank | Company | 2011 Office Revenue ($) |
| 1 | Turner Corporation, The | 1,489,944,482 |
| 2 | Clark Group | 1,148,992,603 |
| 3 | Structure Tone | 1,004,320,000 |
| 4 | Balfour Beatty US | 825,948,471 |
| 5 | Hensel Phelps Construction | 619,660,000 |
| 6 | Gilbane Building Co. | 617,058,000 |
| 7 | PCL Construction Enterprises | 594,444,509 |
| 8 | BL Harbert International | 589,000,000 |
| 9 | James G. Davis Construction Corp. | 450,000,000 |
| 10 | Clayco | 426,000,000 |
| 11 | Suffolk Construction | 388,644,645 |
| 12 | Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., The | 386,520,693 |
| 13 | Holder Construction | 327,000,000 |
| 14 | Tutor Perini Corp. | 312,940,000 |
| 15 | Weitz Company, The | 302,418,397 |
| 16 | Ryan Companies US | 288,463,756 |
| 17 | DPR Construction | 261,922,722 |
| 18 | Jacobs | 261,100,000 |
| 19 | Webcor Builders | 229,121,806 |
| 20 | Mortenson | 221,980,000 |
| 21 | Walsh Group, The | 211,738,006 |
| 22 | JE Dunn Construction | 203,050,158 |
| 23 | Pepper Construction Group | 197,357,000 |
| 24 | Jones Lang LaSalle | 180,000,000 |
| 25 | Lend Lease | 173,228,092 |
Related Stories
| Oct 16, 2013
5 secrets of successful entrepreneurs
If you’re on the outside looking in, successful entrepreneurship may seem mysterious. But it isn’t. Here are five patterns of behavior that are common to successful entrepreneurs.
| Oct 15, 2013
High-rise Art Deco courthouse gets a makeover in Amarillo, Texas
Recognized as one of the most significant Art Deco courthouses in Texas, the Potter County Courthouse is modernized and restored to its 1930s aesthetic.
| Oct 10, 2013
Behind the scenes at the U40 Summit: See the $5,000 U40 Vision competition in progress [slideshow]
Sixty-five up-and-coming AEC leaders are battling for $5,000 in prizes today at BD+C's Under 40 Leadership Summit in San Francisco.
| Oct 10, 2013
Arthur Gensler to architects: Don't give away your ideas
The founder of Gensler advises dozens of up-and-coming AEC professionals at BD+C's Under 40 Leadership Summit in San Francisco.
| Oct 9, 2013
From power plant to office: Ambler Boiler House conversion
The shell of a 19th-century industrial plant is converted into three levels of modern office space.
| Oct 7, 2013
10 award-winning metal building projects
The FDNY Fireboat Firehouse in New York and the Cirrus Logic Building in Austin, Texas, are among nine projects named winners of the 2013 Chairman’s Award by the Metal Construction Association for outstanding design and construction.
| Oct 7, 2013
Progressive steel joist and metal decking design [AIA course]
This three-part course takes a building owner’s perspective on the range of cost and performance improvements that are possible when using a more design-analytical and collaborative approach to steel joist and metal decking construction.
Sponsored | | Oct 7, 2013
Bridging the digital divide between the BIM haves and have nots
There's no doubt that BIM is the future of design. But for many firms, finding a bridge to access rich model data and share it with those typically left on the sidelines can be the difference between winning a bid or not.
| Oct 7, 2013
How to streamline your operations
The average U.S. office worker generates two pounds of paper each day, according to the EPA. Ninety percent of that trash is made up of printed materials: marketing reports, project drafts, copy machine mistakes, and unwanted mail. Here are a few ways AEC firms can streamline their management processes.
| Oct 7, 2013
Reimagining the metal shipping container
With origins tracing back to the mid-1950s, the modern metal shipping container continues to serve as a secure, practical vessel for transporting valuable materials. However, these reusable steel boxes have recently garnered considerable attention from architects and constructors as attractive building materials.
