Architecture firm billings remained soft entering into 2024, with an AIA/Deltek Architecture Billings Index (ABI) score of 46.2 in January. Any score below 50.0 indicates decreasing business conditions.
“This now marks the lengthiest period of declining billings since 2010, although it is reassuring that the pace of this decline is less rapid and the broader economy showed improvement in January,” said Kermit Baker, PhD, AIA Chief Economist. "Firms are seeing growth with inquiries into new projects and value of newly signed design contracts is holding steady, showing potential signs of interest from clients in new projects.”
Business conditions remained weak at firms in all regions of the country except the Midwest, where modest growth was seen in three of the last four months. Firms with a multifamily residential specialization continue to report the softest business conditions of all specializations.
The ABI score is a leading economic indicator of construction activity, providing an approximately nine-to-twelve-month glimpse into the future of nonresidential construction spending activity. The score is derived from a monthly survey of architecture firms that measures the change in the number of services provided to clients.
Key ABI highlights for January include:
- Regional averages: Northeast (43.6); Midwest (50.9); South (45.2); West (46.6)
- Sector index breakdown: commercial/industrial (47.0); institutional (48.5); mixed practice (firms that do not have at least half of their billings in any one other category) (42.9); multifamily residential (44.6)
- Project inquiries index: 53.8
- Design contracts index: 49.7
Note: The regional and sector categories are calculated as three-month moving averages and may not always average out to the national score. Every January the AIA research department updates the seasonal factors used to calculate the ABI, resulting in a revision of recent ABI values.
Related Stories
| Apr 3, 2013
Construction spending up 20% since 2011, growth will continue, says Gilbane report
The monthly rate of construction spending is up 20% in 24 months and increased in 18 of the last 24 months, which is a good leading indicator for new construction work in Q3-Q4 2013, according to Gilbane's latest Market Conditions in Construction report.
| Apr 3, 2013
5 award-winning modular buildings
The Modular Building Institute recently revealed the winners of its annual Awards of Distinction contest. There were 42 winners in all across six categories. Here are five projects that caught our eye.
| Apr 2, 2013
6 lobby design tips
If you do hotels, schools, student unions, office buildings, performing arts centers, transportation facilities, or any structure with a lobby, here are six principles from healthcare lobby design that make for happier users—and more satisfied owners.
| Apr 2, 2013
4 hospital lobbies provide a healthy perspective
A carefully considered entry zone can put patients at ease while sending a powerful branding message for your healthcare client. Our experts show how to do it through four project case studies.
| Apr 2, 2013
Green building consultant explores the truth about green building performance in new book
A new book from leading sustainability, green building author and expert Jerry Yudelson challenges assumptions about the value of sustainable design and environmentally-friendly buildings.
| Mar 29, 2013
Stanford researchers develop nanophotonic panel that reflects sun's heat out of the atmosphere
Researchers at Stanford University have developed a nanophotonic material that not only reflects sunlight, but actually beams the thermal energy out of the earth's atmosphere.
| Mar 29, 2013
Detroit's historic Whitney Building to be renovated for hotel, apartments
Detroit's David Whitney Building, a 19-story landmark erected in 1915, will be renovated for an Aloft hotel and apartments.
| Mar 29, 2013
PBS broadcast to highlight '10 Buildings That Changed America'
WTTW Chicago, in partnership with the Society of Architectural Historians, has produced "10 Builidngs That Changed America," a TV show set to air May 12 on PBS.
| Mar 29, 2013
Shenzhen projects halted as Chinese officials find substandard concrete
Construction on multiple projects in Guangdong Province—including the 660-m Ping'an Finance Center—has been halted after inspectors in Shenzhen, China, have found at least 15 local plants producing concrete with unprocessed sea sand, which undermines building stabity.
| Mar 29, 2013
Pearce Brinkley Cease + Lee joins Clark Nexsen
Clark Nexsen, PC, headquartered in Norfolk, Va., has announced that the architecture firm Pearce Brinkley Cease + Lee (PBC+L) of Raleigh and Asheville, NC, has officially joined Clark Nexsen.