The office market continues to improve, with many projects in development. Rents are rising as vacancy decreases, according to Jones Lang LaSalle’s 2014 U.S. Office Outlook (http://bit.ly/1ildrS7). Dozens of markets are classified as experiencing a “rising phase” (among them, Phoenix, Chicago, Salt Lake City, and Atlanta), while Dallas, Houston, San Francisco, and the Silicon Valley are believed to be peaking.
New-construction leaders include Houston and New York City, and even in calmer markets, AEC firms are busy with workplace fitouts and renovations.
The adage “doing more with less” has become a byword for many businesses since the Great Recession, and clients are trying to maximize every precious inch. “Everyone is looking to use less space,” says Daniel P. Perruzzi, Jr., AIA, LEED AP, Principal at Boston-based Margulies Perruzzi Architects. “They’re looking at ways to modify their office and workplace standards so that they can fit into less.”
Hierarchical office assignments are becoming passé, as is the notion that people will stay in their cubicles for much of the day. “A lot of companies are going down to a single size for offices, so they’re not awarding that space on the basis of rank,” notes Perruzzi. “And as a rule, companies are looking to change the ratio between offices and open workstations. It’s all driven by collaboration.”
Non-assigned space concepts continue to gain popularity. Whether or not they’re actual telecommuters, workers on the move require well-considered accommodations, including easily accessible plug-ins for laptops, tablets, and smartphones. Says Perruzzi, “You have to think about the accommodations both technically and physically. Workers want to be able to plug in their devices and see their desktop no matter which workstation they’re using.”
Analyses by experts like CoreNet Global indicate that space per worker may drop below 100 sf within five years. Perruzzi says workstations won’t necessarily keep shrinking but will likely keep reducing in number. Margulies Perruzzi’s design for Philips North America’s first Workplace Innovation Center involved no private offices and 200 physical workstations for about 260 employees. Called “free addressing,” the plan allows employees to migrate from desk to desk while reducing the number of empty spots left by workers who are off-site.
Says Perruzzi: “There’s no such thing as an individual contributor anymore. It’s about people working in teams that change on a regular basis, are very dynamic, and need constant access to each other.”
Top Office Sector Architecture Firms
| Rank | Company | 2013 Office Revenue |
| 1 | Gensler | $472,552,752 |
| 2 | HOK | 141,723,793 |
| 3 | Perkins+will | 112,815,842 |
| 4 | Skidmore, Owings & Merrill | 83,599,900 |
| 5 | NBBJ | 64,107,000 |
| 6 | Stantec | 62,594,213 |
| 7 | ZGF Architects | 43,902,072 |
| 8 | Page | 37,460,000 |
| 9 | Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates | 36,176,000 |
| 10 | Nelson | 36,089,550 |
| 11 | SmithGroupJJR | 35,614,366 |
| 12 | Hammel, Green and Abrahamson | 33,267,365 |
| 13 | RTKL Associates | 30,705,000 |
| 14 | EYP Architecture & Engineering | 30,000,000 |
| 15 | CannonDesign | 29,000,000 |
| 16 | HKS | 26,255,885 |
| 17 | Corgan | 24,977,990 |
| 18 | HDR | 24,700,000 |
| 19 | RSP Architects | 23,106,000 |
| 20 | Leo A Daly | 20,101,466 |
| 21 | Heery International | 20,011,958 |
| 22 | LS3P | 17,522,964 |
| 23 | Ware Malcomb | 17,500,000 |
| 24 | Kirksey | 15,989,864 |
| 25 | LPA | 15,875,503 |
| 26 | Perkins Eastman | 15,000,000 |
| 27 | NORR | 14,244,421 |
| 28 | Goettsch Partners | 12,070,000 |
| 29 | VOA Associates | 11,040,757 |
| 30 | Epstein | 10,752,000 |
| 31 | CTA Architects Engineers | 10,438,159 |
| 32 | Margulies Perruzzi Architects | 10,191,746 |
| 33 | Cuningham Group Architecture | 10,068,814 |
| 34 | BRPH | 9,906,000 |
| 35 | DLR Group | 9,800,000 |
| 36 | Environetics | 9,612,351 |
| 37 | Vocon | 9,203,152 |
| 38 | RNL | 8,941,000 |
| 39 | Gresham, Smith and Partners | 8,768,000 |
| 40 | Ziegler Cooper | 8,676,816 |
| 41 | Davis Brody Bond | 8,369,474 |
| 42 | FXFOWLE Architects | 7,880,000 |
| 43 | Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture | 7,750,000 |
| 44 | Clark Nexsen | 7,707,493 |
| 45 | LMN Architects | 7,368,900 |
| 46 | Little | 7,253,565 |
| 47 | Cooper Carry | 7,227,738 |
| 48 | Symmes Maini & McKee Associates | 6,490,000 |
| 49 | WDG Architecture | 5,844,000 |
| 50 | Solomon Cordwell Buenz | 5,300,000 |
| 51 | Carrier Johnson + Culture | 5,118,818 |
| 52 | Swanke Hayden Connell Architects | 4,990,000 |
| 53 | Eppstein Uhen Architects | 4,972,955 |
| 54 | Fentress Architects | 4,551,790 |
| 55 | Francis Cauffman | 4,187,463 |
| 56 | Wight & Company | 3,683,000 |
| 57 | Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart & Associates | 3,653,284 |
| 58 | OZ Architecture | 3,625,600 |
| 59 | GBBN Architects | 3,540,500 |
| 60 | Callison | 3,481,227 |
| 61 | HMC Architects | 3,388,658 |
| 62 | Albert Kahn Associates | 3,297,848 |
| 63 | Baskervill | 3,226,678 |
| 64 | Rule Joy Trammell + Rubio | 3,120,000 |
| 65 | Montroy Andersen DeMarco | 3,107,000 |
| 66 | Goodwyn Mills & Cawood | 2,932,849 |
| 67 | Good Fulton & Farrell | 2,928,000 |
| 68 | JRS Architect | 2,850,000 |
| 69 | HNTB Corp. | 2,793,299 |
| 70 | Ratio Architects | 2,720,819 |
| 71 | Inventure Design Group | 2,711,701 |
| 72 | ai Design Group | 2,663,516 |
| 73 | KZF Design | 2,544,819 |
| 74 | EwingCole | 2,510,000 |
| 75 | RS&H | 2,450,000 |
| 76 | Integrus Architecture | 2,410,899 |
| 77 | MulvannyG2 Architecture | 2,200,000 |
| 78 | Wilson Architects | 2,200,000 |
| 79 | Rosser International | 1,921,665 |
| 80 | Hoffmann Architects | 1,602,000 |
| 81 | Beyer Blinder Belle | 1,496,952 |
| 82 | LaBella Associates | 1,493,586 |
| 83 | Hnedak Bobo Group | 1,339,000 |
| 84 | Commonwealth Architects | 1,212,741 |
| 85 | Hord Coplan Macht | 1,113,153 |
| 86 | MBH Architects | 1,090,000 |
| 87 | PGAL | 1,074,700 |
| 88 | Nadel | 1,000,000 |
| 88 | Polytech Associates | 1,000,000 |
| 90 | P+R Architects | 982,666 |
| 91 | Parkhill, Smith & Cooper | 945,000 |
| 92 | Bergmann Associates | 939,420 |
| 93 | Niles Bolton Associates | 840,919 |
| 94 | Moseley Architects | 744,501 |
| 95 | Moody Nolan | 722,616 |
| 96 | H+L Architecture | 711,172 |
| 97 | EDI International | 630,916 |
| 98 | BLTa | 630,000 |
| 99 | H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture | 611,898 |
| 100 | Hoefer Wysocki Architecture | 605,000 |
| 101 | WATG | Wimberly Interiors | 568,000 |
| 102 | Cambridge Seven Associates | 460,000 |
| 103 | Morris Architects | 335,000 |
| 104 | Emersion Design | 332,073 |
| 105 | DLA Architects | 317,730 |
| 106 | BLDD Architects | 280,000 |
| 107 | Hastings+Chivetta Architects | 243,171 |
| 108 | DesignGroup | 242,580 |
| 109 | Sherlock, Smith & Adams | 235,000 |
| 110 | Slaterpaull Architects | 230,000 |
| 111 | FitzGerald Associates Architects | 210,500 |
| 112 | Poskanzer Skott | 200,000 |
| 113 | SchenkelShultz Architecture | 197,000 |
| 114 | PHX Architecture | 180,000 |
| 115 | FGM Architects | 179,784 |
| 116 | BSA LifeStructures | 174,437 |
Top Office Sector Engineering Firms
| Rank | Company | 2013 Office Revenue |
| 1 | AECOM Technology Corp. | $964,240,000 |
| 2 | Jacobs | 504,890,000 |
| 3 | Parsons Brinckerhoff | 158,130,489 |
| 4 | Burns & McDonnell | 102,620,000 |
| 5 | Thornton Tomasetti | 63,427,107 |
| 6 | URS Corp. | 49,783,891 |
| 7 | WSP Group | 49,230,000 |
| 8 | Arup | 43,201,720 |
| 9 | H&A Architects & Engineers | 36,000,000 |
| 10 | Leidos | 28,150,000 |
| 11 | AKF Group | 27,835,000 |
| 12 | KPFF Consulting Engineers | 27,000,000 |
| 13 | Syska Hennessy Group | 26,817,533 |
| 14 | Magnusson Klemencic Associates | 16,437,499 |
| 15 | Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates | 14,220,000 |
| 16 | Glumac | 14,102,479 |
| 17 | Dewberry | 13,478,149 |
| 18 | Bala Consulting Engineers | 12,507,000 |
| 19 | Environmental Systems Design | 12,505,965 |
| 20 | RDK Engineers | 10,690,000 |
| 21 | Vanderweil Engineers | 10,533,700 |
| 22 | GHT Limited | 9,665,000 |
| 23 | Simpson Gumpertz & Heger | 7,430,000 |
| 24 | Allen & Shariff | 7,200,000 |
| 25 | KCI Technologies | 6,400,000 |
| 26 | Walter P Moore and Associates | 6,002,650 |
| 27 | Highland Associates | 6,000,000 |
| 28 | STV | 5,339,000 |
| 29 | DeSimone Consulting Engineers | 5,084,661 |
| 30 | Aon Fire Protection Engineering Corp. | 5,000,000 |
| 31 | Hixson Architecture, Engineering, Interiors | 5,000,000 |
| 32 | SSOE Group | 4,656,959 |
| 33 | H.F. Lenz | 4,362,698 |
| 34 | Joseph R. Loring & Associates | 4,000,000 |
| 35 | KLH Engineers | 3,875,841 |
| 36 | M-E Engineers | 3,863,000 |
| 37 | Newcomb & Boyd | 3,802,993 |
| 38 | Sparling | 3,799,152 |
| 39 | Bridgers & Paxton Consulting Engineers | 3,612,041 |
| 40 | Smith Seckman Reid | 3,508,905 |
| 41 | Affiliated Engineers | 3,104,000 |
| 42 | Interface Engineering | 2,946,713 |
| 43 | Martin/Martin | 2,793,639 |
| 44 | KJWW Engineering Consultants | 2,711,604 |
| 45 | I. C. Thomasson Associates | 2,600,000 |
| 46 | TLC Engineering for Architecture | 2,329,558 |
| 47 | Henderson Engineers | 2,269,347 |
| 48 | ThermalTech Engineering | 2,250,000 |
| 49 | Heapy Engineering | 2,145,190 |
| 50 | CJL Engineering | 1,878,330 |
| 51 | Dunham Associates | 1,750,000 |
| 52 | Wick Fisher White | 1,734,113 |
| 53 | Karpinski Engineering | 1,695,420 |
| 54 | Shive-Hattery | 1,581,161 |
| 55 | CTLGroup | 1,560,000 |
| 56 | Graef | 1,469,354 |
| 57 | Paulus, Sokolowski and Sartor | 1,400,000 |
| 58 | OLA Consulting Engineers | 1,398,000 |
| 59 | TTG | 1,383,325 |
| 60 | Kamm Consulting | 1,344,151 |
| 61 | CCRD Partners | 1,270,000 |
| 62 | G&W Engineering Corp. | 1,091,000 |
| 63 | M/E Engineering | 1,034,842 |
| 64 | Brinjac Engineering | 1,032,104 |
| 65 | Coffman Engineers | 1,028,004 |
| 66 | Mazzetti | 1,013,140 |
| 67 | Rist-Frost-Shumway Engineering | 1,000,000 |
| 68 | Guernsey | 958,526 |
| 69 | Ross & Baruzzini | 828,783 |
| 70 | Apogee Consulting Group | 815,250 |
| 71 | GRW | 562,957 |
| 72 | CRB | 495,240 |
| 73 | Zak Companies | 458,187 |
| 74 | Davis, Bowen & Friedel | 331,004 |
| 75 | Wallace Engineering | 310,000 |
| 76 | French & Parrello Associates | 264,900 |
| 77 | Primera Engineers | 253,000 |
| 78 | RMF Engineering | 150,000 |
| 79 | Integrated Design Group | 137,118 |
| 80 | P2S Engineering | 135,228 |
| 81 | Spectrum Engineers | 85,926 |
| 82 | Stanley Consultants | 12,178 |
| 83 | Total Building Commissioning | 4,798 |
Top Office Sector Construction Firms
| Rank | Company | 2013 Office Revenue |
| 1 | Turner Construction | $1,965,630,000 |
| 2 | Structure Tone | 1,770,996,000 |
| 3 | Balfour Beatty US | 1,083,107,816 |
| 4 | PCL Construction | 965,124,704 |
| 5 | Gilbane | 850,668,144 |
| 6 | Clark Group | 768,213,069 |
| 7 | Skanska USA | 756,888,741 |
| 8 | Hensel Phelps | 595,480,000 |
| 9 | Suffolk Construction | 575,149,178 |
| 10 | HITT Contracting | 510,600,000 |
| 11 | Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., The | 483,040,306 |
| 12 | Hathaway Dinwiddie Construction | 478,000,000 |
| 13 | Clayco | 474,300,000 |
| 14 | DPR Construction | 419,864,261 |
| 15 | James G. Davis Construction | 409,209,373 |
| 16 | Holder Construction | 375,561,000 |
| 17 | Clune Construction | 350,356,681 |
| 18 | Walsh Group, The | 330,591,769 |
| 19 | JE Dunn Construction | 319,712,834 |
| 20 | Tutor Perini Corp. | 299,785,799 |
| 21 | Plaza Construction | 281,000,000 |
| 22 | Brasfield & Gorrie | 255,289,660 |
| 23 | Lend Lease | 203,243,000 |
| 24 | Ryan Companies US | 198,980,348 |
| 25 | Manhattan Construction | 195,656,000 |
| 26 | Choate Construction | 176,908,443 |
| 27 | Parsons Brinckerhoff | 158,130,489 |
| 28 | McGough | 144,000,000 |
| 29 | Austin Commercial | 126,751,064 |
| 30 | Swinerton Builders | 125,070,000 |
| 31 | McShane Companies, The | 120,701,443 |
| 32 | Pepper Construction | 116,840,000 |
| 33 | Mortenson Construction | 114,140,000 |
| 34 | JLL | 107,497,010 |
| 35 | Linbeck Group | 105,400,000 |
| 36 | C.W. Driver | 102,470,000 |
| 37 | Shawmut Design and Construction | 93,000,000 |
| 38 | B. L. Harbert International | 92,475,153 |
| 39 | CORE Construction Group | 91,118,620 |
| 40 | Leopardo Companies | 90,583,950 |
| 41 | McCarthy Holdings | 84,700,000 |
| 42 | Consigli Construction | 82,688,033 |
| 43 | Messer Construction | 75,756,377 |
| 44 | Power Construction | 67,000,000 |
| 45 | Hoar Construction | 66,258,000 |
| 46 | Weitz Company, The | 65,679,309 |
| 47 | Robins & Morton | 64,633,817 |
| 48 | Sundt Construction | 63,414,544 |
| 49 | Beck Group, The | 61,444,072 |
| 50 | Hill International | 61,000,000 |
| 51 | Yates Companies, The | 50,000,000 |
| 52 | URS Corp. | 49,783,891 |
| 53 | Hunt Construction Group | 46,000,000 |
| 54 | Fortis Construction | 41,800,000 |
| 55 | Adolfson & Peterson Construction | 40,492,626 |
| 56 | LeChase Construction Services | 39,360,000 |
| 57 | Bomel Construction | 38,747,785 |
| 58 | Rodgers Builders | 37,126,784 |
| 59 | Paric Corp. | 35,000,000 |
| 60 | Haselden Construction | 30,679,991 |
| 61 | IMC Construction | 30,597,000 |
| 62 | Barton Malow | 28,706,771 |
| 63 | Haskell | 28,625,841 |
| 64 | Coakley & Williams Construction | 26,086,629 |
| 65 | New South Construction | 22,590,000 |
| 66 | Flintco | 22,000,000 |
| 67 | EMJ Corp. | 21,000,000 |
| 68 | Layton Construction | 20,800,000 |
| 69 | E.W. Howell | 20,491,000 |
| 70 | O'Neil Industries/W.E. O'Neil | 20,354,165 |
| 71 | Heery International | 20,011,958 |
| 72 | Kitchell Corp. | 19,231,158 |
| 73 | Hill & Wilkinson | 19,149,000 |
| 74 | Walbridge | 18,100,000 |
| 75 | Wight & Company | 16,827,000 |
| 76 | Harkins Builders | 16,300,000 |
| 77 | James McHugh Construction | 14,829,260 |
| 78 | Hoffman Construction | 14,000,000 |
| 79 | Kraus-Anderson Construction | 10,000,000 |
| 80 | Batson-Cook | 8,329,557 |
| 81 | Gray Construction | 7,600,000 |
| 82 | Stalco Construction | 7,380,000 |
| 83 | Allen & Shariff | 7,200,000 |
| 84 | Boldt Company, The | 7,044,051 |
| 85 | Bernards | 6,700,000 |
| 86 | W. M. Jordan Company | 6,575,178 |
| 87 | Graycor | 6,456,452 |
| 88 | KBE Building Corp. | 5,964,801 |
| 89 | STV | 5,339,000 |
| 90 | Weis Builders | 5,031,000 |
| 91 | Bette Companies, The | 4,834,000 |
| 92 | Alberici Constructors | 2,961,966 |
| 93 | Absher Construction | 2,256,599 |
| 94 | S. M. Wilson & Co. | 1,607,814 |
| 95 | Douglas Company, The | 1,479,136 |
| 96 | LPCiminelli | 1,349,300 |
| 97 | Astorino | 1,334,650 |
Read BD+C's full 2014 Giants 300 Report
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
SAFTI FIRST hires Tim Nass as National Sales Manager
SAFTI FIRST, a leading USA manufacturer of fire rated glazing and framing systems, is pleased to announce the addition of Tim Nass as National Sales Manager. In his new role, Tim will be working closely with architects and contract glaziers in selecting the appropriate and most economical fire rated glazing solution for their project. He will also be coordinating SAFTI FIRST’s extensive network of architectural representatives throughout the United States.
| Aug 11, 2010
NCARB welcomes new board of directors
The National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) introduces its Board of Directors for FY10, who were installed during the culmination of the Council’s 90th Annual Meeting and Conference in Chicago.
| Aug 11, 2010
Berkebile wins $100K award for commitment to environment
Robert Berkebile, the founding principal of BNIM Architects and a founding member of the U.S. Green Building Council, has been selected to receive a $100,000 Heinz Award. The award honors his role in promoting green building design and for his commitment and action toward restoring social, economic, and environmental vitality to America’s communities through sustainable architecture and planning.
| Aug 11, 2010
Polshek Partnership unveils design for University of North Texas business building
New York-based architect Polshek Partnership today unveiled its design scheme for the $70 million Business Leadership Building at the University of North Texas in Denton. Designed to provide UNT’s 5,400-plus business majors the highest level of academic instruction and professional training, the 180,000-sf facility will include an open atrium, an internet café, and numerous study and tutoring rooms—all designed to help develop a spirit of collaboration and team-oriented focus.
| Aug 11, 2010
University of Florida aiming for nation’s first LEED Platinum parking garage
If all goes as planned, the University of Florida’s new $20 million Southwest Parking Garage Complex in Gainesville will soon become the first parking facility in the country to earn LEED Platinum status. Designed by the Boca Raton office of PGAL to meet criteria for the highest LEED certification category, the garage complex includes a six-level, 313,000-sf parking garage (927 spaces) and an attached, 10,000-sf, two-story transportation and parking services office building.
| Aug 11, 2010
Draft NIST report on Cowboys practice facility collapse released for public comment
A fabric-covered, steel frame practice facility owned by the National Football League’s Dallas Cowboys collapsed under wind loads significantly less than those required under applicable design standards, according to a report released today for public comment by the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
| Aug 11, 2010
Callison, MulvannyG2 among nation's largest retail design firms, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 75 Retail Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
