Join the Building Design+Construction editorial team for this live webinar presenting the 2026-2027 outlook for the U.S. building construction market. This 60-minute webinar will take place Thursday, January 29, at 1 pm eastern.

The webinar will feature a panel of construction industry economists and market experts. Each will present their forecast—construction spending, construction starts, occupancy rates, project financing trends, national/regional overview—for key building sectors, as well as market trends and innovations. Building sectors include:

• Commercial office
• Data centers
• Healthcare
• Higher education
• Hotels
• K-12 schools
• Multifamily housing
• Retail/entertainment
• Warehouse/distribution

This free, one-hour webinar is worth 1.0 AIA LU.

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Meet the experts:

Richard Branch
Chief Economist
The American Institute of Architects (AIA)

Richard is an economist with nearly 30 years of experience in delivering data driven insights and guidance for organizations of all size. Before joining AIA in 2026, he was Chief Economist at Dodge Construction Network, where he spent a total of 14 year specializing in construction economics. Richard's mission is to deliver data-driven insights and guidance to help organizations identify new opportunities and enhance their profitability in the construction sector. 

Patrick Duke
Vice President, Americas Healthcare Solutions Lead 
Turner & Townsend

As Healthcare Solutions Lead for the Americas at Turner and Townsend, Patrick utilizes more than 26 years of building relationships with healthcare leaders, organizations, and industry partner firms to develop strategic solutions that drive value across a facility asset portfolio. 

Patrick's core competencies include capital deployment and portfolio strategy, contract management, and collaborative project delivery models. He is passionate about creating and delivering innovative and collaborative real estate solutions that address the complex and dynamic needs of the healthcare sector across North and South America. His mission is to help clients and partners achieve their goals and optimize their outcomes and have a fulfilling time together making it happen. 

Nick Luettke
Associate Economist
Moody's Analytics

Nick Luettke is an Associate Economist specializing in policy issues related to commercial real estate such as affordable housing, ESG, and downtown office utilization. Nick’s interested in learning how actors across governmental institutions respond to important societal questions concerning commercial real estate. Additionally, Nick analyzes how corporations choose their headquarters and the relationship local governments have with key stakeholders in their community. Nick holds an M.Sc. in Politics, Economics, and Philosophy from Universität Hamburg and an M.A. in Political Science from the George Washington University.

Ken Simonson
Chief Economist
The Associated General Contractors of America

Kenneth D. Simonson has been Chief Economist for the Associated General Contractors of America, the leading national construction trade association, since 2001. He provides insight into the economy and what it implies for construction and related industries through frequent media interviews, presentations and The Data DIGest, his weekly one-page e-newsletter.

Ken has more than 40 years of experience analyzing, advocating and communicating about economic and tax issues. Before joining AGC, he was senior economic advisor in the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy. Earlier, he was vice president and chief economist for the American Trucking Associations. He also worked with the President’s Commission on Industrial Competitiveness, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Federal Home Loan Bank Board and an economic consulting firm.

Moderator
David Barista
Editorial Director
Building Design+Construction, Multifamily Pro+

David Barista has covered the U.S. construction industry for more than 25 years, including multiple editorial roles at Building Design+Construction, where he currently serves as Editorial Director. Previously, he was Editor-in-Chief of Professional Builder, Custom Builder, and ProBuilder.com, properties that combined reach more than 200,000 residential design and construction professionals. He is a seven-time Jesse H. Neal Award winner and an eight-time finalist, recognizing excellence in business journalism.

Learning Objectives:

• Review the 2026-2027 construction market forecast for several primary building sectors, including commercial office, data centers, healthcare, higher education, hotels, K-12 schools, multifamily housing, and retail.
• Discuss the market drivers for growth and major obstacles for these key building sectors, as well as the overall construction market.
• Discover market trends and design/construction innovations in these primary building sectors, including sustainability, decarbonization, health and wellness, and smart building technology.
• Review the key metrics and market reports tracked by construction industry economists and AEC market experts.

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