Federal, state, and local government construction hasn’t exactly been a steamroller for the past few years, due to the end of stimulus availability and the ongoing effects of budget sequestration.
At press time, the most recent Commerce Department report indicated that government construction spending was up just under 1% in April, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $267 billion, despite overall economic contraction of about 1% in the first quarter. Federal construction spending was the growth leader, rising by 1.9% to a rate of $23.5 billion. State and local projects—a much larger piece of the public pie—were up just 0.7%, to $243.5 billion.
Among non-infrastructure public construction spending categories, healthcare (up 6%) and education (up 2%) appear most promising for this year, according to the Associated Builders and Contractors’ 2014 forecast.
Improving energy performance of existing properties through targeted upgrades—and, sometimes, large-scale reconstruction—continues to be a federal priority. Of 20 projects recently honored by the General Services Administration’s Design Awards program, half were reconstruction jobs, ranging from Beaux Arts courthouses to Modernist offices.
Along with the push for energy efficiency, federal agencies are increasingly exploring telework as an alternative to expanding office space. The bright side? Telecom and AV renovations will be required to help agencies keep off-site staff connected.
Many state and local governments continue to struggle with the sluggish overall economy, causing delays in needed construction. Among the discernible themes among state and local projects submitted to BD+C: new police facilities (designed to reflect changing ideas about community policing), replacement and upgraded courthouses, and mass-transit stations.
Top Government Sector Architecture Firms
Rank | Company | 2013 Government Revenue |
1 | Stantec | $144,299,056 |
2 | Heery International | 125,058,364 |
3 | HOK | 114,753,666 |
4 | SmithGroupJJR | 83,064,158 |
5 | HDR | 81,601,164 |
6 | Skidmore, Owings & Merrill | 57,835,664 |
7 | SHW Group | 56,007,000 |
8 | Gensler | 52,272,600 |
9 | EYP Architecture & Engineering | 42,800,000 |
10 | RS&H | 39,200,000 |
11 | Page | 38,704,000 |
12 | Moseley Architects | 35,135,469 |
13 | Leo A Daly | 29,483,542 |
14 | Perkins+will | 28,975,375 |
15 | Clark Nexsen | 28,873,388 |
16 | ZGF Architects | 27,425,548 |
17 | CannonDesign | 27,000,000 |
18 | FreemanWhite | 25,941,154 |
19 | NBBJ | 19,382,000 |
20 | DLR Group | 19,300,000 |
21 | Hammel, Green and Abrahamson | 19,167,839 |
22 | EwingCole | 17,300,000 |
23 | HKS | 17,247,862 |
24 | PGAL | 16,097,917 |
25 | HNTB Corp. | 15,269,498 |
26 | Westlake Reed Leskosky | 15,049,000 |
27 | Quattrocchi Kwok Architects | 13,230,000 |
28 | Hoefer Wysocki Architecture | 12,860,000 |
29 | Fentress Architects | 12,160,971 |
30 | BLDD Architects | 11,800,000 |
31 | RTKL Associates | 11,469,000 |
32 | SchenkelShultz Architecture | 11,278,000 |
33 | NORR | 9,792,248 |
34 | LS3P | 8,882,375 |
35 | Morris Architects | 8,350,000 |
36 | Davis Brody Bond | 8,263,108 |
37 | LaBella Associates | 8,130,000 |
38 | CTA Architects Engineers | 8,014,884 |
39 | Beyer Blinder Belle | 7,947,688 |
40 | HMC Architects | 6,811,005 |
41 | VOA Associates | 6,808,200 |
42 | Parkhill, Smith & Cooper | 6,687,000 |
43 | Rosser International | 6,652,324 |
44 | LMN Architects | 6,388,100 |
45 | Sherlock, Smith & Adams | 6,388,000 |
46 | Becker Morgan Group | 6,343,277 |
47 | Flad Architects | 6,126,870 |
48 | KZF Design | 5,887,462 |
49 | Epstein | 5,402,000 |
50 | IBI Group ? Gruzen Samton | 5,000,000 |
51 | Solomon Cordwell Buenz | 4,500,000 |
52 | Goodwyn Mills & Cawood | 4,409,249 |
53 | Wight & Company | 4,402,093 |
54 | RSP Architects | 4,326,000 |
55 | Harley Ellis Devereaux | 4,310,000 |
56 | Carrier Johnson + Culture | 4,066,891 |
57 | BRPH | 3,957,000 |
58 | FGM Architects | 3,776,698 |
59 | Ennead Architects | 3,729,000 |
60 | RNL | 3,418,000 |
61 | WDG Architecture | 3,095,000 |
62 | Perkins Eastman | 3,000,000 |
63 | GWWO | 2,965,804 |
64 | Gresham, Smith and Partners | 2,787,930 |
65 | Integrus Architecture | 2,705,119 |
66 | Hoffmann Architects | 2,654,000 |
67 | Swanke Hayden Connell Architects | 2,534,000 |
68 | Ratio Architects | 2,462,355 |
69 | LPA | 2,205,538 |
70 | Emersion Design | 2,183,039 |
71 | Array Architects | 2,138,000 |
72 | WHR Architects | 2,076,445 |
73 | Cooper Carry | 1,987,669 |
74 | Little | 1,961,000 |
75 | Bergmann Associates | 1,941,360 |
76 | OZ Architecture | 1,724,680 |
77 | Legat Architects | 1,675,500 |
78 | LBL Architects | 1,600,000 |
79 | Schrader Group Architecture | 1,573,559 |
80 | Symmes Maini & McKee Associates | 1,563,000 |
81 | Good Fulton & Farrell | 1,373,500 |
82 | H+L Architecture | 1,295,496 |
83 | Harvard Jolly Architecture | 1,221,576 |
84 | Cambridge Seven Associates | 1,210,000 |
85 | FXFOWLE Architects | 1,180,000 |
86 | Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart & Associates | 1,128,560 |
87 | Moody Nolan | 1,083,924 |
88 | CO Architects | 1,031,600 |
89 | Shepley Bulfinch | 836,000 |
90 | Corgan | 762,894 |
91 | Cuningham Group Architecture | 742,891 |
92 | Lord Aeck Sargent | 742,273 |
93 | GBBN Architects | 660,000 |
94 | Nadel | 650,000 |
95 | Eppstein Uhen Architects | 640,751 |
96 | Commonwealth Architects | 599,591 |
97 | Hastings+Chivetta Architects | 491,188 |
98 | DesignGroup | 433,190 |
99 | Baskervill | 391,276 |
100 | Payette | 383,755 |
101 | Taylor Design | 372,052 |
102 | LawKingdon Architecture | 350,000 |
103 | Anderson Mikos Architects | 350,000 |
104 | NAC|Architecture | 345,476 |
105 | Environetics | 341,475 |
106 | Kirksey | 323,571 |
107 | H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture | 305,903 |
108 | Hnedak Bobo Group | 301,000 |
109 | TEG Architects | 235,686 |
110 | RBB Architects | 215,897 |
111 | BBS Architects | 200,030 |
112 | DLA Architects | 133,140 |
113 | Fanning/Howey Associates | 50,000 |
114 | BSA LifeStructures | 41,019 |
115 | ai Design Group | 33,048 |
Top Government Sector Engineering Firms
Rank | Company | 2013 Government Revenue |
1 | Fluor Corporation | $2,675,202,710 |
2 | URS Corp. | 648,982,536 |
3 | AECOM Technology Corp. | 574,020,000 |
4 | Jacobs | 287,190,693 |
5 | STV | 168,948,000 |
6 | Burns & McDonnell | 99,462,332 |
7 | Parsons Brinckerhoff | 57,994,366 |
8 | Leidos | 55,125,000 |
9 | H&A Architects & Engineers | 38,735,000 |
10 | Allen & Shariff | 33,964,317 |
11 | Dewberry | 26,388,476 |
12 | Arup | 23,554,256 |
13 | Smith Seckman Reid | 19,741,666 |
14 | Simpson Gumpertz & Heger | 19,066,000 |
15 | Affiliated Engineers | 15,598,000 |
16 | Syska Hennessy Group | 12,155,407 |
17 | Thornton Tomasetti | 10,996,123 |
18 | Coffman Engineers | 10,676,374 |
19 | KPFF Consulting Engineers | 10,500,000 |
20 | RMF Engineering | 10,000,000 |
21 | Guernsey | 9,680,758 |
22 | Shive-Hattery | 9,029,738 |
23 | Walker Parking Consultants | 8,925,000 |
24 | Bridgers & Paxton Consulting Engineers | 8,780,161 |
25 | WSP Group | 8,060,000 |
26 | Interface Engineering | 6,809,917 |
27 | Glumac | 6,650,738 |
28 | Joseph R. Loring & Associates | 6,500,000 |
29 | Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates | 5,870,000 |
30 | TTG | 5,811,850 |
31 | Graef | 5,387,348 |
32 | KJWW Engineering Consultants | 5,191,493 |
33 | TLC Engineering for Architecture | 5,134,526 |
34 | Heapy Engineering | 5,072,001 |
35 | Ross & Baruzzini | 4,975,183 |
36 | I. C. Thomasson Associates | 4,750,000 |
37 | KCI Technologies | 4,600,000 |
38 | Vanderweil Engineers | 4,565,800 |
39 | Degenkolb Engineers | 4,462,450 |
40 | GRW | 3,753,047 |
41 | Sparling | 3,690,424 |
42 | H.F. Lenz | 3,559,848 |
43 | Barge Waggoner Sumner & Cannon | 3,495,000 |
44 | SSOE Group | 3,332,408 |
45 | Newcomb & Boyd | 3,140,130 |
46 | M/E Engineering | 3,096,775 |
47 | Henderson Engineers | 2,989,363 |
48 | RDK Engineers | 2,880,000 |
49 | Apogee Consulting Group | 2,732,049 |
50 | Spectrum Engineers | 2,497,641 |
51 | Brinjac Engineering | 2,083,384 |
52 | M-E Engineers | 2,000,000 |
53 | Davis, Bowen & Friedel | 1,610,242 |
54 | Walter P Moore and Associates | 1,441,663 |
55 | Rist-Frost-Shumway Engineering | 1,350,000 |
56 | CTLGroup | 1,330,000 |
57 | GHT Limited | 1,300,000 |
58 | French & Parrello Associates | 1,213,200 |
59 | Dunham Associates | 1,200,000 |
60 | AKF Group | 1,186,000 |
61 | Highland Associates | 1,150,000 |
62 | Paulus, Sokolowski and Sartor | 1,015,000 |
63 | Environmental Systems Design | 920,969 |
64 | BR+A Consulting Engineers | 920,000 |
65 | Aon Fire Protection Engineering Corp. | 918,914 |
66 | CJL Engineering | 870,000 |
67 | Mazzetti | 831,363 |
68 | Primera Engineers | 775,000 |
69 | ThermalTech Engineering | 750,000 |
70 | KLH Engineers | 480,951 |
71 | OLA Consulting Engineers | 262,000 |
72 | Zak Companies | 208,120 |
73 | Wick Fisher White | 195,530 |
74 | Wallace Engineering | 150,000 |
75 | Total Building Commissioning | 122,935 |
76 | G&W Engineering Corp. | 109,200 |
77 | P2S Engineering | 99,369 |
78 | DeSimone Consulting Engineers | 90,000 |
79 | Stanley Consultants | 74,747 |
80 | Integrated Design Group | 55,650 |
Top Government Sector Construction Firms
Rank | Company | 2013 Government Revenue |
1 | Turner Construction | $2,343,544,729 |
2 | Clark Group | 2,342,085,755 |
3 | PCL Construction | 1,343,431,142 |
4 | Walsh Group, The | 1,188,110,497 |
5 | Hensel Phelps | 1,184,760,000 |
6 | Balfour Beatty US | 1,145,573,619 |
7 | Gilbane | 814,257,000 |
8 | Tutor Perini Corp. | 767,580,319 |
9 | McCarthy Holdings | 738,000,000 |
10 | Lend Lease | 551,622,000 |
11 | Skanska USA | 493,318,641 |
12 | Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., The | 455,618,872 |
13 | Brasfield & Gorrie | 379,267,063 |
14 | JE Dunn Construction | 321,764,977 |
15 | Hunt Construction Group | 277,300,000 |
16 | Mortenson Construction | 178,340,000 |
17 | STV | 168,948,000 |
18 | Hunt Companies | 154,387,811 |
19 | Sundt Construction | 153,006,199 |
20 | HITT Contracting | 145,900,000 |
21 | O'Neil Industries/W.E. O'Neil | 142,005,318 |
22 | CORE Construction Group | 135,900,848 |
23 | Manhattan Construction | 126,300,000 |
24 | Heery International | 125,058,364 |
25 | W. M. Jordan Company | 117,481,667 |
26 | Yates Companies, The | 111,200,000 |
27 | Holder Construction | 110,063,000 |
28 | Flintco | 106,026,635 |
29 | Hoffman Construction | 84,474,600 |
30 | Messer Construction | 79,799,220 |
31 | B. L. Harbert International | 74,365,423 |
32 | Consigli Construction | 74,312,383 |
33 | James G. Davis Construction | 72,010,706 |
34 | Suffolk Construction | 67,717,700 |
35 | DPR Construction | 65,709,181 |
36 | Coakley & Williams Construction | 61,953,906 |
37 | C.W. Driver | 58,850,000 |
38 | Parsons Brinckerhoff | 57,994,366 |
39 | Ryan Companies US | 57,693,535 |
40 | Fortis Construction | 52,585,000 |
41 | Shawmut Design and Construction | 49,000,000 |
42 | Leopardo Companies | 47,786,003 |
43 | Bernards | 46,000,000 |
44 | Swinerton Builders | 45,394,000 |
45 | Walbridge | 41,300,000 |
46 | Hill International | 41,000,000 |
47 | Power Construction | 39,000,000 |
48 | Kitchell Corp. | 38,162,513 |
49 | KBE Building Corp. | 37,661,458 |
50 | Beck Group, The | 36,300,176 |
51 | Allen & Shariff | 33,964,317 |
52 | Barton Malow | 33,108,673 |
53 | Wight & Company | 32,543,000 |
54 | Haselden Construction | 32,300,743 |
55 | Absher Construction | 31,202,850 |
56 | Structure Tone | 29,981,000 |
57 | Hoar Construction | 29,474,000 |
58 | Hathaway Dinwiddie Construction | 29,000,000 |
59 | New South Construction | 28,999,000 |
60 | Haskell | 28,573,183 |
61 | S. M. Wilson & Co. | 28,521,558 |
62 | Robins & Morton | 28,415,079 |
63 | Harkins Builders | 28,400,000 |
64 | EMJ Corp. | 21,000,000 |
65 | LeChase Construction Services | 19,680,000 |
66 | Bomel Construction | 19,327,000 |
67 | Layton Construction | 17,900,000 |
68 | Adolfson & Peterson Construction | 17,884,760 |
69 | McShane Companies, The | 17,672,043 |
70 | BlueScope Construction | 14,554,879 |
71 | Juneau Construction | 11,405,546 |
72 | Hill & Wilkinson | 10,864,000 |
73 | E.W. Howell | 9,541,000 |
74 | James McHugh Construction | 8,334,048 |
75 | Choate Construction | 7,670,062 |
76 | Weitz Company, The | 6,600,000 |
77 | JLL | 6,000,000 |
78 | Stalco Construction | 5,620,500 |
79 | LPCiminelli | 4,790,613 |
80 | Kraus-Anderson Construction | 3,000,000 |
81 | Bette Companies, The | 2,697,000 |
82 | Astorino | 2,384,468 |
83 | Batson-Cook | 1,390,120 |
84 | Graycor | 1,152,668 |
85 | Alberici Constructors | 1,080,320 |
86 | Paric Corp. | 1,000,000 |
87 | IMC Construction | 75,000 |
Read BD+C's full 2014 Giants 300 Report
Related Stories
Architects | Oct 2, 2018
Gensler, in latest report, highlights where resilient design could make the greatest impact on the built environment
The firm showcases its own recent projects as demonstrations for what can work in six areas.
Architects | Sep 24, 2018
Assembly (and rigorous planning) required: Managing the pros and cons of modular construction
While offering efficiency and flexibility, modular construction requires extensive planning and collaboration to avoid potential challenges.
Architects | Sep 19, 2018
Back it up: Parking lot trends
There are two shifts that we are seeing in parking lot planning and design – and these shifts are rooted in parking’s place at the intersection of environment, transportation, and market behavior.
Architects | Sep 14, 2018
We’ve entered the golden age of brain science. What does it mean for AEC firms?
New research from the SMPS Foundation explores the known principles and most recent research surrounding the human brain and behavioral science. The goal: to discover connections between the science and the AEC business.
Architects | Sep 6, 2018
S/L/A/M Collaborative completes merger with L.A.-based firm
The healthcare sector is one of Frank Webb Architects’ strengths.
Giants 400 | Sep 6, 2018
What's happening at 89 design firms
The latest developments at 89 of the nation's largest architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms.
Architects | Sep 6, 2018
Little details, big questions: Occupancy planning 101 for healthcare facilities
Transitioning into a new hospital is no easy feat and daily tasks can have a huge impact.
Architects | Aug 14, 2018
AIA takes a firmer stand on making schools safer with better design
The Institute urges the formation of a federal clearinghouse for best practices, and wants security-related design to be eligible for grants.
Architects | Aug 9, 2018
The convergence of product design and architecture
Great design is born out of simplicity, purity, timelessness, unobtrusiveness and intuitiveness.
Architects | Aug 1, 2018
Client experience as competitive advantage for AEC firms
Clients are looking for solutions to their business problems from collaborative advisors. They’ve come to expect a higher level of service and detail than what was provided in the past.