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
Adaptive Reuse | Sep 12, 2024
White paper on office-to-residential conversions released by IAPMO
IAPMO has published a new white paper titled “Adaptive Reuse: Converting Offices to Multi-Residential Family,” a comprehensive analysis of addressing housing shortages through the conversion of office spaces into residential units.
Mixed-Use | Sep 10, 2024
Centennial Yards, a $5 billion mixed-use development in downtown Atlanta, tops out its first residential tower
Centennial Yards Company has topped out The Mitchell, the first residential tower of Centennial Yards, a $5 billion mixed-use development in downtown Atlanta. Construction of the apartment building is expected to be complete by the middle of next year, with first move-ins slated for summer 2025.
Healthcare Facilities | Sep 9, 2024
Exploring the cutting edge of neuroscience facility design
BWBR Communications Specialist Amanda Fisher shares the unique considerations and challenges of designing neuroscience facilities.
Office Buildings | Sep 6, 2024
Fact sheet outlines benefits, challenges of thermal energy storage for commercial buildings
A U.S. Dept. of Energy document discusses the benefits and challenges of thermal energy storage for commercial buildings. The document explains how the various types of thermal energy storage technologies work, where their installation is most beneficial, and some practical considerations around installations.
Office Buildings | Sep 5, 2024
Office space downsizing trend appears to be past peak
The office downsizing trend may be past its peak, according to a CBRE survey of 225 companies with offices in the U.S., Canada, and Latin America. Just 37% of companies plan to shrink their office space this year compared to 57% last year, the survey found.
University Buildings | Sep 4, 2024
UC San Diego’s new Multidisciplinary Life Sciences Building will support research and teaching in both health and biological sciences
The University of California San Diego has approved plans for a new Multidisciplinary Life Sciences Building, with construction starting this fall. The 200,000-sf, six-level facility will be the first building on the UC San Diego campus to bridge health science research with biological science research and teaching.
Codes and Standards | Sep 3, 2024
Atlanta aims to crack down on blighted properties with new tax
A new Atlanta law is intended to crack down on absentee landlords including commercial property owners and clean up neglected properties. The “Blight Tax” allows city officials to put levies on blighted property owners up to 25 times higher than current millage rates.
Resiliency | Sep 3, 2024
Phius introduces retrofit standard for more resilient buildings
Phius recently released, REVIVE 2024, a retrofit standard for more resilient buildings. The standard focuses on resilience against grid outages by ensuring structures remain habitable for at least a week during extreme weather events.
Construction Costs | Sep 2, 2024
Construction material decreases level out, but some increases are expected to continue for the balance Q3 2024
The Q3 2024 Quarterly Construction Insights Report from Gordian examines the numerous variables that influence material pricing, including geography, global events and commodity volatility. Gordian and subject matter experts examine fluctuations in costs, their likely causes, and offer predictions about where pricing is likely to go from here. Here is a sampling of the report’s contents.
Adaptive Reuse | Aug 29, 2024
More than 1.2 billion sf of office space have strong potential for residential conversion
More than 1.2 billion sf of U.S. office space—14.8% of the nation’s total—have strong potential for conversion to residential use, according to real estate software and services firm Yardi. Yardi’s new Conversion Feasibility Index scores office buildings on their suitability for multifamily conversion.
