An analysis of Dun & Bradstreet stats by consultant Paul Abramson indicates that some $11 billion was spent on higher ed construction last year—up a billion from 2012, with nearly 70% comprising new buildings (http://bit.ly/1qhMzaw).
As examined in BD+C’s in-depth May report, university stakeholders face complicated cap-ex stressors, from chronic (lender stinginess, deferred maintenance) to impending (President Obama’s pledge to start rating colleges on value delivered, consumer pushback on ever-rising costs).
Creative approaches to financing, design, and delivery are top-of-mind. Paula Stamp, Business Development Manager in the Los Angeles office of PCL Construction, says clients are exploring CM at risk, design-build, and design risk. Margie Simmons, VP and Education Sector Leader at Stantec, adds: “Higher debt levels will encourage institutions to seek off-balance-sheet financing solutions and P3s.”
Teri Jones, VP at Sundt Construction, sees a similar pattern, plus emphasis on revenue-generating buildings like dorms and recreation centers.
Facility trends observed by Stamp include housing construction by community colleges (serving a growing international-student population) and better use of indoor and outdoor circulation and common space. John Baxter, Education Sector Leader at EYP, says clients are asking for features that enhance an interactive “corridor culture” in dorms.
Michael Medici, AIA, NCARB, Learning Practice Leader and Senior VP at SmithGroupJJR, mentions growing demand for facilities that support interprofessional health sciences education and project-based, career-oriented learning. Also gaining traction: office zones that mimic private-sector workplaces, with less assigned space and more team zones.
Perkins+Will higher ed designers Jeff Ziebarth, Jeff Stebar, and John Long are also seeing this pattern; Long says younger faculty and administrators have been a lot more receptive than veterans.
Top University Sector Architecture Firms
Rank | Company | 2013 Higher Ed Revenue |
1 | CannonDesign | $76,000,000 |
2 | Perkins+will | 45,582,532 |
3 | Stantec | 42,368,888 |
4 | EYP Architecture & Engineering | 39,000,000 |
5 | Gensler | 29,492,000 |
6 | SmithGroupJJR | 27,088,190 |
7 | Clark Nexsen | 21,732,694 |
8 | Skidmore, Owings & Merrill | 20,933,579 |
9 | Page | 19,771,000 |
10 | ZGF Architects | 19,397,489 |
11 | Wilson Architects | 18,500,000 |
12 | Ennead Architects | 18,086,505 |
13 | Flad Architects | 16,260,000 |
14 | SHW Group | 15,991,000 |
15 | Shepley Bulfinch | 15,595,000 |
16 | Harley Ellis Devereaux | 15,120,000 |
17 | Moseley Architects | 15,016,516 |
18 | Lord Aeck Sargent | 13,533,882 |
19 | HMC Architects | 13,440,933 |
20 | NBBJ | 13,242,000 |
21 | HKS | 12,847,559 |
22 | Ballinger | 12,113,215 |
23 | Beyer Blinder Belle | 11,627,926 |
24 | DLR Group | 11,100,000 |
25 | LS3P | 10,532,964 |
26 | Morris Architects | 10,000,000 |
27 | Solomon Cordwell Buenz | 10,000,000 |
28 | Davis Brody Bond | 9,835,655 |
29 | FGM Architects | 9,821,820 |
30 | LPA | 9,561,760 |
31 | Perkins Eastman | 9,300,000 |
32 | Moody Nolan | 9,104,965 |
33 | CO Architects | 8,912,400 |
34 | EwingCole | 7,430,000 |
35 | Heery International | 7,186,274 |
36 | Hastings+Chivetta Architects | 6,378,602 |
37 | Westlake Reed Leskosky | 6,325,000 |
38 | FXFOWLE Architects | 6,200,000 |
39 | Mithun | 6,158,000 |
40 | Goodwyn Mills & Cawood | 6,127,329 |
41 | HOK | 5,876,913 |
42 | BSA LifeStructures | 5,789,413 |
43 | NTD Architecture | 5,586,000 |
44 | LMN Architects | 5,549,900 |
45 | Ratio Architects | 5,537,316 |
46 | Leo A Daly | 5,395,356 |
47 | Bergmann Associates | 5,304,175 |
48 | Little | 5,249,190 |
49 | Hammel, Green and Abrahamson | 4,836,088 |
50 | Legat Architects | 4,685,600 |
51 | GBBN Architects | 4,560,000 |
52 | Carrier Johnson + Culture | 4,060,468 |
53 | Parkhill, Smith & Cooper | 4,026,000 |
54 | Cooper Carry | 3,961,244 |
55 | CTA Architects Engineers | 3,737,320 |
56 | Cambridge Seven Associates | 3,473,000 |
57 | PGAL | 3,260,300 |
58 | BLDD Architects | 3,000,000 |
59 | IBI Group ? Gruzen Samton | 3,000,000 |
60 | Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates | 2,974,000 |
61 | Slaterpaull Architects | 2,879,532 |
62 | Hord Coplan Macht | 2,843,072 |
63 | OZ Architecture | 2,825,000 |
64 | Kirksey | 2,822,225 |
65 | Rule Joy Trammell + Rubio | 2,801,380 |
66 | WDG Architecture | 2,757,000 |
67 | RS&H | 2,450,000 |
68 | SchenkelShultz Architecture | 2,386,000 |
69 | Payette | 2,282,352 |
70 | Corgan | 2,202,280 |
71 | Integrus Architecture | 2,191,762 |
72 | BLTa | 2,175,000 |
73 | H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture | 2,141,323 |
74 | WHR Architects | 1,958,367 |
75 | Baskervill | 1,853,208 |
76 | Ashley McGraw Architects | 1,836,510 |
77 | KZF Design | 1,698,300 |
78 | Eppstein Uhen Architects | 1,691,787 |
79 | VOA Associates | 1,628,847 |
80 | GWWO | 1,623,501 |
81 | Wight & Company | 1,586,000 |
82 | Hoffmann Architects | 1,548,000 |
83 | Symmes Maini & McKee Associates | 1,530,000 |
84 | PBK | 1,500,000 |
85 | NAC|Architecture | 1,424,431 |
86 | LaBella Associates | 1,310,186 |
87 | Niles Bolton Associates | 1,263,210 |
88 | Nelson | 1,213,987 |
89 | Fentress Architects | 1,120,400 |
90 | Urban Design Group | 1,100,000 |
91 | Environetics | 1,087,370 |
92 | NORR | 1,052,484 |
93 | Becker Morgan Group | 1,037,159 |
94 | Albert Kahn Associates | 904,065 |
95 | RTKL Associates | 849,000 |
96 | Good Fulton & Farrell | 815,800 |
97 | Goettsch Partners | 810,000 |
98 | BBS Architects | 800,240 |
99 | Commonwealth Architects | 775,074 |
100 | Francis Cauffman | 707,774 |
101 | RNL | 690,000 |
102 | RBB Architects | 657,149 |
103 | RSP Architects | 620,000 |
104 | Gresham, Smith and Partners | 567,000 |
105 | Fanning/Howey Associates | 541,000 |
106 | Rosser International | 539,460 |
107 | Harvard Jolly Architecture | 530,103 |
108 | DesignGroup | 457,970 |
109 | Hnedak Bobo Group | 353,000 |
110 | JRS Architect | 295,000 |
111 | Emersion Design | 273,766 |
112 | Ware Malcomb | 240,000 |
113 | H+L Architecture | 236,252 |
114 | Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart & Associates | 226,716 |
115 | Sherlock, Smith & Adams | 219,000 |
Top University Sector Engineering Firms
Rank | Company | 2013 Higher Ed Revenue |
1 | AECOM Technology Corp. | $76,410,000 |
2 | Jacobs | 35,150,000 |
3 | URS Corp. | 29,434,668 |
4 | Vanderweil Engineers | 26,614,500 |
5 | Burns & McDonnell | 24,152,332 |
6 | Affiliated Engineers | 22,469,000 |
7 | Parsons Brinckerhoff | 20,057,993 |
8 | STV | 18,416,000 |
9 | Arup | 14,561,909 |
10 | KJWW Engineering Consultants | 13,071,767 |
11 | BR+A Consulting Engineers | 10,120,000 |
12 | WSP Group | 9,120,000 |
13 | Simpson Gumpertz & Heger | 9,070,000 |
14 | Thornton Tomasetti | 7,942,631 |
15 | M-E Engineers | 7,243,000 |
16 | P2S Engineering | 7,170,208 |
17 | Shive-Hattery | 6,612,598 |
18 | Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates | 6,550,000 |
19 | Dewberry | 6,331,593 |
20 | Environmental Systems Design | 6,144,227 |
21 | RMF Engineering | 5,400,000 |
22 | AKF Group | 5,261,000 |
23 | Glumac | 4,922,565 |
24 | M/E Engineering | 4,699,367 |
25 | TTG | 4,600,100 |
26 | Newcomb & Boyd | 4,505,166 |
27 | RDK Engineers | 4,490,000 |
28 | Heapy Engineering | 4,426,631 |
29 | KCI Technologies | 4,400,000 |
30 | Interface Engineering | 4,351,590 |
31 | Joseph R. Loring & Associates | 4,100,000 |
32 | I. C. Thomasson Associates | 3,500,000 |
33 | Spectrum Engineers | 3,347,542 |
34 | Highland Associates | 3,200,000 |
35 | KPFF Consulting Engineers | 3,125,000 |
36 | Syska Hennessy Group | 3,072,512 |
37 | Ross & Baruzzini | 3,043,445 |
38 | H.F. Lenz | 2,878,115 |
39 | Rist-Frost-Shumway Engineering | 2,850,000 |
40 | Sparling | 2,553,080 |
41 | Smith Seckman Reid | 2,519,005 |
42 | Martin/Martin | 2,263,812 |
43 | Karpinski Engineering | 2,170,197 |
44 | Aon Fire Protection Engineering Corp. | 2,000,000 |
45 | Fishbeck, Thompson, Carr & Huber | 2,000,000 |
46 | SSOE Group | 1,912,012 |
47 | Henderson Engineers | 1,838,909 |
48 | TLC Engineering for Architecture | 1,806,782 |
49 | Zak Companies | 1,706,697 |
50 | Bridgers & Paxton Consulting Engineers | 1,686,953 |
51 | CJL Engineering | 1,657,350 |
52 | Graef | 1,584,321 |
53 | Primera Engineers | 1,456,000 |
54 | CCRD Partners | 1,388,000 |
55 | Brinjac Engineering | 1,303,855 |
56 | Paulus, Sokolowski and Sartor | 1,200,000 |
57 | Wallace Engineering | 1,133,000 |
58 | Stanley Consultants | 1,090,529 |
59 | Leidos | 1,040,000 |
60 | Walter P Moore and Associates | 1,005,161 |
61 | Allen & Shariff | 1,000,000 |
62 | Dunham Associates | 950,000 |
63 | Bala Consulting Engineers | 926,000 |
64 | Degenkolb Engineers | 855,093 |
65 | OLA Consulting Engineers | 840,000 |
66 | Mazzetti | 774,981 |
67 | DeSimone Consulting Engineers | 474,096 |
68 | KLH Engineers | 468,745 |
69 | ThermalTech Engineering | 460,000 |
70 | French & Parrello Associates | 300,690 |
71 | GHT Limited | 260,000 |
72 | Wick Fisher White | 223,276 |
73 | CTLGroup | 220,000 |
74 | Davis, Bowen & Friedel | 204,422 |
75 | Barge Waggoner Sumner & Cannon | 200,000 |
76 | Magnusson Klemencic Associates | 166,730 |
77 | Coffman Engineers | 116,263 |
Top University Sector Construction Firms
Rank | Company | 2013 Higher Ed Revenue |
1 | Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., The | $818,698,552 |
2 | Turner Construction | 774,984,000 |
3 | Gilbane | 475,524,757 |
4 | Skanska USA | 371,024,162 |
5 | PCL Construction | 368,990,947 |
6 | Clark Group | 312,942,079 |
7 | Shawmut Design and Construction | 265,610,000 |
8 | Barton Malow | 264,908,516 |
9 | Structure Tone | 229,539,000 |
10 | Consigli Construction | 227,995,719 |
11 | Mortenson Construction | 220,320,000 |
12 | McCarthy Holdings | 203,600,000 |
13 | Sundt Construction | 185,867,366 |
14 | Holder Construction | 176,219,000 |
15 | Messer Construction | 172,997,147 |
16 | Balfour Beatty US | 171,519,250 |
17 | JE Dunn Construction | 164,791,311 |
18 | LeChase Construction Services | 164,000,000 |
19 | Walbridge | 163,500,000 |
20 | Power Construction | 159,000,000 |
21 | Beck Group, The | 157,055,739 |
22 | Suffolk Construction | 149,745,824 |
23 | Tutor Perini Corp. | 145,671,900 |
24 | DPR Construction | 140,724,634 |
25 | W. M. Jordan Company | 130,566,823 |
26 | C.W. Driver | 127,735,000 |
27 | Flintco | 113,500,000 |
28 | Walsh Group, The | 111,960,180 |
29 | Boldt Company, The | 107,802,444 |
30 | Brasfield & Gorrie | 107,242,213 |
31 | Juneau Construction | 97,432,186 |
32 | Manhattan Construction | 89,176,000 |
33 | Rodgers Builders | 88,744,572 |
34 | McGough | 82,000,000 |
35 | Summit Contracting Group | 80,286,141 |
36 | Choate Construction | 77,541,745 |
37 | Pepper Construction | 72,000,000 |
38 | Hathaway Dinwiddie Construction | 66,219,000 |
39 | Bernards | 66,000,000 |
40 | Hensel Phelps | 65,670,000 |
41 | O'Neil Industries/W.E. O'Neil | 65,552,134 |
42 | Kraus-Anderson Construction | 64,000,000 |
43 | Hunt Construction Group | 64,000,000 |
44 | B. L. Harbert International | 63,854,476 |
45 | Lend Lease | 56,720,000 |
46 | CORE Construction Group | 55,821,501 |
47 | Fortis Construction | 53,628,000 |
48 | Layton Construction | 52,600,000 |
49 | Paric Corp. | 50,000,000 |
50 | New South Construction | 47,702,000 |
51 | Hill & Wilkinson | 46,288,000 |
52 | Austin Commercial | 44,335,793 |
53 | Yates Companies, The | 42,800,000 |
54 | Bette Companies, The | 38,929,000 |
55 | Hoffman Construction | 37,000,000 |
56 | Coakley & Williams Construction | 32,064,969 |
57 | Adolfson & Peterson Construction | 30,713,572 |
58 | URS Corp. | 29,434,668 |
59 | James G. Davis Construction | 27,506,326 |
60 | Weitz Company, The | 26,478,980 |
61 | Bomel Construction | 24,949,344 |
62 | Linbeck Group | 24,410,000 |
63 | LPCiminelli | 23,426,935 |
64 | IMC Construction | 22,086,310 |
65 | Hill International | 22,000,000 |
66 | HITT Contracting | 20,900,000 |
67 | E.W. Howell | 20,566,000 |
68 | Parsons Brinckerhoff | 20,057,993 |
69 | STV | 18,416,000 |
70 | Stalco Construction | 17,780,000 |
71 | Haselden Construction | 17,425,677 |
72 | Kitchell Corp. | 13,043,551 |
73 | Hoar Construction | 12,920,000 |
74 | Batson-Cook | 12,513,549 |
75 | Absher Construction | 12,280,813 |
76 | S. M. Wilson & Co. | 10,863,488 |
77 | James McHugh Construction | 10,538,534 |
78 | Robins & Morton | 8,714,264 |
79 | Clune Construction | 8,635,947 |
80 | Haskell | 8,294,931 |
81 | Alberici Constructors | 7,380,631 |
82 | Heery International | 7,186,274 |
83 | Wight & Company | 4,935,000 |
84 | Gray Construction | 3,880,000 |
85 | Ryan Companies US | 3,715,948 |
86 | KBE Building Corp. | 2,694,826 |
87 | Leopardo Companies | 1,907,266 |
88 | Douglas Company, The | 1,507,502 |
89 | JLL | 1,375,045 |
90 | Astorino | 1,222,033 |
91 | Allen & Shariff | 1,000,000 |
Read BD+C's full 2014 Giants 300 Report
Related Stories
| Jan 31, 2014
Trump Hotel Collections announces luxury hotel for Rio de Janeiro
The 13-story, 171-guestroom Trump Rio will be Trump Hotel Collection’s first property in South America and the only luxury hotel in the neighborhood when it opens in 2016.
| Jan 31, 2014
LEGO, Google partner to develop 3D modeling tool for LEGO structures
The free tool, called Build, allows Chrome users to create virtual 3D structures using any shape and color in the LEGO catalog.
| Jan 31, 2014
Ultra-modern McDonald's restaurant voted one of world's best new buildings
This McDonald's, which is combined with a fuel station and recreation areas, was awarded the Best Commercial Building of the Year by architecture website ArchDaily.
| Jan 31, 2014
6 considerations for rehabbing student union buildings
Most colleges and universities feel pressure to offer the latest amenities in order to attract and retain the best and brightest students. While hauling in the bulldozer to create modern facilities is attractive in some regards, deciding to renovate can be just as effective and, in some cases, even preferable to new construction.
| Jan 30, 2014
Mayors of 10 metros unite to cut building-related climate pollution
Organizers say combined initiative could cut as much climate-change pollution as generated by 1 million cars every year, and lower energy bills by nearly $1 billion annually.
| Jan 30, 2014
See how architects at NBBJ are using computational design to calculate the best views on projects [video]
In an ideal world, every office employee would have a beautiful view from his or her desk. While no one can make that happen in real life, computational design can help architects maximize views from every angle.
| Jan 30, 2014
The evolving workplace: One designer's inspiration board
"Open office" has been a major buzzword for decades, and like any buzzword, some of the novelty has worn off. I don't believe we will abandon the open office, but I do think we need to focus on providing a dynamic mix of open and closed spaces.
| Jan 30, 2014
How reverse engineering nature can spur design innovation
It’s not enough to copy nature. Today’s designers need a deeper understanding of environmental nuance, from the biome in.
| Jan 30, 2014
What to expect in the metal building industry in 2014
Every year brings changes. This one won’t be any different. We’ll see growth in some areas, declines in others. Here’s a little preview of what we’ll be writing about 2014 when 2015 comes rolling in.
| Jan 30, 2014
What's in store for healthcare capital markets in 2014?
Despite the shake up stemming from the Affordable Care Act, 2014 will be an active year in healthcare capital markets, according to real estate experts from CBRE Healthcare.