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
K-12 Schools | Aug 29, 2024
Designing for dyslexia: How architecture can address neurodiversity in K-12 schools
Architects play a critical role in designing school environments that support students with learning differences, particularly dyslexia, by enhancing social and emotional competence and physical comfort. Effective design principles not only benefit students with dyslexia but also improve the learning experience for all students and faculty. This article explores how key design strategies at the campus, classroom, and individual levels can foster confidence, comfort, and resilience, thereby optimizing educational outcomes for students with dyslexia and other learning differences.
Museums | Aug 29, 2024
Bjarke Ingels' Suzhou Museum of Contemporary Art conceived as village of 12 pavilions
The 60,000-sm Suzhou Museum of Contemporary Art in Suzhou, Jiangsu, China recently topped out. Designed by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), the museum is conceived as a village of 12 pavilions, offering a modern interpretation of the elements that have defined the city’s urbanism, architecture, and landscape for centuries.
Adaptive Reuse | Aug 28, 2024
Cities in Washington State will offer tax breaks for office-to-residential conversions
A law passed earlier this year by the Washington State Legislature allows developers to defer sales and use taxes if they convert existing structures, including office buildings, into affordable housing.
Industrial Facilities | Aug 28, 2024
UK-based tire company plans to build the first carbon-neutral tire factory in the U.S.
ENSO, a U.K.-based company that makes tires for electric vehicles, has announced plans to build the first carbon-neutral tire factory in the U.S. The $500 million ENSO technology campus will be powered entirely by renewable energy. The first-of-its-kind tire factory aims to be carbon neutral without purchased offsets, using carbon-neutral raw materials and building materials.
Architects | Aug 28, 2024
KTGY acquires residential high-rise specialist GDA Architects
KTGY, an award-winning design firm focused on architecture, interior design, branded environments and urban design, announced that it has acquired GDA Architects, a Dallas-based architectural firm specializing in high rise residential, hospitality and industrial design.
K-12 Schools | Aug 26, 2024
Windows in K-12 classrooms provide opportunities, not distractions
On a knee-jerk level, a window seems like a built-in distraction, guaranteed to promote wandering minds in any classroom or workspace. Yet, a steady stream of studies has found the opposite to be true.
Building Technology | Aug 23, 2024
Top-down construction: Streamlining the building process | BD+C
Learn why top-down construction is becoming popular again for urban projects and how it can benefit your construction process in this comprehensive blog.
Airports | Aug 22, 2024
Portland opens $2 billion mass timber expansion and renovation to its international airport
This month, the Portland International Airport (PDX) main terminal expansion opened to passengers. Designed by ZGF for the Port of Portland, the 1 million-sf project doubles the capacity of PDX and enables the airport to welcome 35 million passengers per year by 2045.
Adaptive Reuse | Aug 22, 2024
6 key fire and life safety considerations for office-to-residential conversions
Office-to-residential conversions may be fraught with fire and life safety challenges, from egress requirements to fire protection system gaps. Here are six important considerations to consider.
Resiliency | Aug 22, 2024
Austin area evacuation center will double as events venue
A new 45,000 sf FEMA-operated evacuation shelter in the Greater Austin metropolitan area will begin construction this fall. The center will be available to house people in the event of a disaster such as a major hurricane and double as an events venue when not needed for emergency shelter.
