The nation's largest architecture, engineering, and construction companies are on the BIM bandwagon in a big way, according to Building Design+Construction's premier Top 50 BIM Adopters ranking, published as part of the 2009 Giants 300 survey.
Of the 320 AEC firms that participated in Giants survey, 83% report having at least one BIM seat license in house, half have more than 30 seats, and nearly a quarter (23%) have 100-plus seats. In total, the Giants hold 28,174 BIM seats, with the average firm having 106 seats.
As expected, design firms are the biggest adopters of BIM, representing 48 of the top 50. AECOM Technology Corp. and HDR Architecture hold the most BIM seats, each with 2,000, followed by Parsons Brinckerhoff (1,800), Gensler (1,320), and HOK (840). Turner (#8 with 530 seats) and Mortensen Construction (#38 with 163 seats) are the only pure contractors to make the Top 50 BIM Adopters list.
 |
| Project: Yankee StadiumArchitect: HOK Sport + Venue + EventStructural engineer: Thornton Tomasetti (EA 10)MEP engineer: M-E Engineers (E 15)General contractor: Turner (C 1, CM 17)Construction manager: Tishman Speyer PropertiesRendering: Courtesy Turner Construction Co. |
BIM adoption seems to be slowing among the Giants, which is expected given the rough economic environment. Slightly more than half (51%) of the respondents have added or plan on adding BIM seat licenses in 2009, down from 63% in 2008. And the number of seats being purchased is expected to drop by 56% this year, from a total of 6,465 in 2008 to 2,837 in 2009.
Stantec and Gensler are adding the most seats this year (250 and 199) and are two of only four firms adding more than 100 seats in 2009—compared to eight firms in 2008.
Expanded Top BIM Adopter rankings are available at www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants.
| Company* | # of BIM seat licenses | # seats added in '08 | # seats adding in '09 | |
| *Several firms, including Fluor Corp., report having an enterprise license for BIM-related software, and, therefore, cannot provide adoption numbers. Source: 2009 Giants 300 survey. Expanded BIM rankings at: www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants. | ||||
| 1 | AECOM Technology Corp. | 2,000 | — | — |
| 1 | HDR Architecture | 2,000 | 2,000 | — |
| 3 | Parsons Brinckerhoff | 1,800 | 40 | 50 |
| 4 | Gensler | 1,320 | 300 | 199 |
| 5 | HOK | 840 | — | — |
| 6 | Perkins+Will | 800 | 80 | — |
| 7 | HKS | 650 | 200 | — |
| 8 | Turner | 530 | 200 | 100 |
| 9 | SSOE | 500 | 150 | 50 |
| 10 | Skidmore, Owings & Merrill | 450 | 75 | 25 |
| 11 | Arup | 407 | — | — |
| 12 | RTKL Associates | 373 | 43 | — |
| 13 | Cannon Design | 320 | — | — |
| 14 | SmithGroup | 312 | 80 | — |
| 15 | Merrick & Co. | 302 | 15 | 25 |
| 16 | CH2M HILL | 300 | 40 | — |
| 17 | Jacobs | 280 | 280 | 15 |
| 18 | Middough | 270 | 10 | 20 |
| 18 | TLC Engineering for Architecture | 270 | 25 | — |
| 20 | Day & Zimmermann International | 265 | — | — |
| 21 | Stantec | 250 | 100 | 250 |
| 22 | Dewberry | 233 | 30 | 65 |
| 23 | Perkowitz+Ruth Architects | 225 | — | — |
| 23 | Smith Seckman Reid | 225 | 45 | 20 |
| 25 | KJWW Engineering Consultants | 209 | 35 | — |
| 26 | HNTB | 208 | — | — |
| 27 | Burt Hill | 205 | 25 | — |
| 28 | Gresham, Smith and Partners | 203 | 30 | — |
| 29 | Bergmann Associates, Architects Engineers Planners | 200 | 30 | 20 |
| 29 | Syska Hennessy Group | 200 | — | — |
| 31 | X-nth | 199 | 10 | — |
| 32 | PageSoutherlandPage | 181 | 36 | 50 |
| 33 | Albert Kahn Associates | 180 | 35 | 10 |
| 33 | Goodwyn Mills and Cawood | 180 | 20 | — |
| 35 | Affiliated Engineers | 175 | 13 | — |
| 36 | Heery International | 173 | 10 | 10 |
| 37 | Fanning/Howey Associates | 169 | 12 | 26 |
| 38 | Mortenson Construction | 163 | 25 | — |
| 39 | Morris Architects | 162 | 20 | — |
| 40 | KMD Architects | 155 | 20 | 10 |
| 41 | Clark Nexsen | 153 | 10 | — |
| 42 | KlingStubbins | 150 | 50 | 75 |
| 42 | RNL Design | 150 | — | — |
| 44 | GRAEF | 145 | 15 | 5 |
| 44 | Leo A Daly | 145 | 22 | 30 |
| 44 | NTD Architecture | 145 | — | — |
| 47 | Arquitectonica | 140 | — | — |
| 47 | Corgan Associates | 140 | 25 | — |
| 47 | CTA Architects Engineers | 140 | 115 | — |
| 47 | Little | 140 | — | — |
| 2009 | 2008 | Company | 2008 Billings ($) |
| Rank | |||
| Source: 2009 Giants 300 survey. For expanded Architecture Firm rankings, visit: www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants | |||
| 1 | 1 | Gensler | 744,300,000 |
| 2 | 2 | Perkins+Will | 400,000,000 |
| 3 | 3 | Callison | 185,000,000 |
| 4 | — | Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates | 146,000,000 |
| 5 | 4 | NBBJ | 135,735,000 |
| 6 | 5 | RMJM | 129,989,567 |
| 7 | 9 | WATG | 110,889,000 |
| 8 | 6 | Perkins Eastman | 107,000,000 |
| 9 | 7 | Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects | 81,070,000 |
| 10 | 15 | tvsdesign | 71,000,000 |
| 11 | 13 | HMC Architects | 65,446,823 |
| 12 | 8 | Arquitectonica | 62,400,000 |
| 13 | 10 | MulvannyG2 Architecture | 60,000,000 |
| 14 | 34 | VOA Associates | 51,000,000 |
| 15 | 12 | NTD Architecture | 49,200,000 |
| 16 | 24 | Corgan Associates | 48,929,118 |
| 17 | 17 | Anshen+Allen | 47,394,883 |
| 18 | 18 | OZ Architecture | 44,300,000 |
| 19 | 14 | Perkowitz+Ruth Architects | 44,000,000 |
| 20 | 21 | FXFOWLE Architects | 43,700,000 |
| 21 | 19 | Cooper Carry | 42,715,000 |
| 22 | 11 | Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart & Associates | 42,470,000 |
| 23 | 23 | Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbott | 42,081,801 |
| 24 | 26 | Ware Malcomb | 41,896,419 |
| 25 | 35 | BBG-BBGM | 41,000,000 |
| 26 | 27 | RSP Architects | 40,091,508 |
| 27 | — | BLT Architects | 39,500,000 |
| 28 | 29 | FRCH Design Worldwide | 39,000,000 |
| 29 | — | SchenkelShultz | 34,880,000 |
| 30 | 29 | KKE Architects | 33,200,000 |
| 31 | 37 | WWCOT | 32,400,000 |
| 32 | 33 | FKP Architects | 31,939,000 |
| 33 | 48 | Fentress Architects | 31,679,680 |
| 34 | — | NAC Architecture | 31,551,000 |
| 35 | 35 | Jerde Partnership, The | 28,700,000 |
| 36 | — | SHW Group | 28,000,000 |
| 37 | 43 | Morris Architects | 27,109,737 |
| 38 | — | RBB Architects | 27,000,000 |
| 39 | 28 | WHR Architects | 26,400,000 |
| 40 | 38 | MBH Architects | 26,294,628 |
| 41 | — | Goodwyn Mills and Cawood | 26,240,000 |
| 42 | 20 | Nadel Architects | 26,000,000 |
| 43 | — | Polshek Partnership Architects | 25,397,128 |
| 44 | 32 | Niles Bolton Associates | 25,300,000 |
| 45 | 22 | Mithun | 24,000,000 |
| 46 | 44 | Cuningham Group Architecture | 23,892,676 |
| 47 | 41 | Harvard Jolly | 23,828,636 |
| 48 | 45 | Solomon Cordwell Buenz | 23,500,000 |
| 49 | 42 | Carrier Johnson + Culture | 22,000,000 |
| 50 | — | Gould Evans Associates | 21,402,000 |
| 51 | — | Cambridge Seven Associates | 21,400,000 |
| 52 | 50 | Kirksey | 20,821,686 |
Related Stories
| May 18, 2011
One of Delaware’s largest high schools seeks LEED for Schools designation
The $82 million, 280,000-sf Dover (Del.) High School will have capacity for 1,800 students and feature a 900-seat theater, a 2,500-seat gymnasium, and a 5,000-seat football stadium.
| May 18, 2011
Carnegie Hall vaults into the 21st century with a $200 million renovation
Historic Carnegie Hall in New York City is in the midst of a major $200 million renovation that will bring the building up to contemporary standards, increase educational and backstage space, and target LEED Silver.
| May 17, 2011
Redesigning, redefining the grocery shopping experience
The traditional 40,000- to 60,000-sf grocery store is disappearing and much of the change is happening in the city. Urban infill sites and mixed-use projects offer grocers a rare opportunity to repackage themselves into smaller, more efficient, and more convenient retail outlets. And the AEC community will have a hand in developing how these facilities will look and operate.
| May 17, 2011
Architecture billings index fell in April, hurt by tight financing for projects
The architecture billings index, a leading indicator of U.S. construction activity, fell in April, hurt by tight financing for projects. The architecture billings index fell 2.9 points last month to 47.6, a level that indicates declining demand for architecture services, according to the American Institute of Architects.
| May 17, 2011
Sustainability tops the syllabus at net-zero energy school in Texas
Texas-based firm Corgan designed the 152,200-sf Lady Bird Johnson Middle School in Irving, Texas, with the goal of creating the largest net-zero educational facility in the nation, and the first in the state. The facility is expected to use 50% less energy than a standard school.
| May 17, 2011
Gilbane partners with Steel Orca on ultra-green data center
Gilbane, along with Crabtree, Rohrbaugh & Associates, has been selected to partner with Steel Orca to design and build a 300,000-sf data center in Bucks County, Pa., that will be powered entirely through renewable energy sources--gas, solar, fuel cells, wind and geo-thermal. Completion is scheduled for 2013.
| May 17, 2011
Should Washington, D.C., allow taller buildings?
Suggestions are being made that Washington revise its restrictions on building heights. Architect Roger Lewis, who raised the topic in the Washington Post a few weeks ago, argues for a modest relaxation of the height limits, and thinks that concerns about ruining the city’s aesthetics are unfounded.
| May 17, 2011
The New Orleans master plan
At an afternoon panel during last week's AIA National Conference in New Orleans, Goody Clancy Principal David Dixon and Manning Principal W. Raymond Manning shared their experiences creating the New Orleans Master Plan, a document that sets a new course for the city, from land use and transportation planning to environmental protection.
| May 17, 2011
Do these buildings look like buffalo to you?
It’s hard to contemplate winter now that we’re mid-spring, but when the seasons change, ice skaters in Winnipeg will be able to keep warm in plywood shelters designed by Patkau Architects. The designers created temporary shelters inspired by animal behavior—specifically, buffalo bracing against the wind. Check them out.
