A quick scan of our 41st annual Giants 300 report reveals a wealth of technology and business innovations across every major building sector and industry discipline.
Architecture firms are developing advanced tools and apps—such as HKS’s “Lab in a Bag” sensor network and Perkins+Will’s “Hazel” infrastructure modeling tool—to help improve the design process and enhance outcomes. They’re adopting emerging technologies like AR/VR and computational design at a breakneck pace, and they are tapping into the deluge of project data in new and inventive ways. They’re also reinventing continuing education with hands-on learning opportunities that take CE to the streets.
Engineering firms such as Arup, Glumac, and Thornton Tomasetti are leveraging their in-house expertise to develop products and tools for their design teams, clients, and even the competition. Some of these products, like Glumac’s G Cloud personal environmental control platform, are the first of their kind. Others, such as Thornton Tomasetti’s Hummingbird Kinetics compact mass damper, are fresh takes on time-tested technologies.
Construction firms are leveraging prefabrication, modularization, VDC, gaming, 3D laser scanning, and other progressive tools and processes to minimize risk, speed delivery, and improve quality control on projects. Case in point: Using BIM and prefabrication, Turner Construction was able to execute a complex, 20,000-sf mechanical penthouse piping fitout in a MIT research building in just four months—a third of the time it would have taken using traditional coordination methods, according to the firm.
Terms like “predictive data analytics,” “machine learning,” and “data visualization” are becoming mainstream in the AEC market. Firms are looking outside the industry for specialists in these emerging fields. They’re also beefing up their investment in and resources for in-house R&D and innovation programs, and are creating quasi think tank cultures with a startup-like vibe.
As an industry observer, I’ve been fascinated by this transformation. But it leads me to wonder, Is the race to innovate leading to healthier bottom lines for AEC firms?
While it’s too early to tell for most firms, several companies report financial gains and new business as a direct result of R&D- and innovation-related initiatives. SmithGroupJJR’s Russ Sykes points to the firm’s more progressive culture (kicked off in 2014) as a key reason for its 15% YOY average growth rate—vs. 8% when the firm had a “conservative culture” (more at: BDCnetwork/SGJ). And, as reported last year, Little’s LaceUp mini-grant R&D program has funded more than 40 unique projects, including one—the Center for Building Performance—that is responsible for winning 14 jobs for the A/E firm.
For other firms, the investment in innovation is viewed as a new cost of doing business in the increasingly competitive and chaotic AEC marketplace.
Related Stories
Giants 400 | Sep 9, 2022
Top 80 Hotel Sector Contractors + CM Firms for 2022
AECOM, Suffolk Construction, STO Building Group, and Swinerton top the ranking of the nation's largest hotel and resort sector contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Sep 9, 2022
Top 70 Hotel Sector Engineering + EA Firms for 2022
Jensen Hughes, Jacobs, WSP, and Kimley-Horn top the ranking of the nation's largest hotel and resort sector engineering and engineering/architecture (EA) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Sep 8, 2022
Top 115 Hotel Sector Architecture + AE Firms for 2022
Gensler, WATG, HKS, and Stantec top the ranking of the nation's largest hotel and resort sector architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Sep 7, 2022
Top 110 Industrial Sector Contractors + CM Firms for 2022
Clayco, Arco Construction, Ryan Companies, and STO Building Group top the ranking of the nation's largest industrial facility sector contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Sep 7, 2022
Top 90 Industrial Sector Engineering + EA Firms for 2022
Jacobs, Integrated Project Services, Burns & McDonnell, and Kimley-Horn head the ranking of the nation's largest industrial facility sector engineering and engineering/architecture (EA) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Sep 7, 2022
Top 95 Industrial Sector Architecture + AE Firms for 2022
Ware Malcomb, Stantec, Haskell, and Macgregor Associates Architects top the ranking of the nation's largest industrial facility sector architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Sep 1, 2022
Top 100 K-12 School Contractors and CM Firms for 2022
Gilbane, Core Construction, Skanska, and Balfour Beatty head the ranking of the nation's largest K-12 school sector contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Sep 1, 2022
Top 70 K-12 School Engineering + EA Firms for 2022
AECOM, Jacobs, WSP, and CMTA top the ranking of the nation's largest K-12 school sector engineering and engineering/architecture (EA) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Sep 1, 2022
Top 160 K-12 School Architecture + AE Firms for 2022
PBK, DLR Group, Huckabee, and Stantec head the ranking of the nation's largest K-12 school sector architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 29, 2022
Top 50 Senior Living Facility Contractors + CM Firms for 2022
Whiting-Turner, Ryan Companies US, W.E. O'Neil Construction, and KBE Building Corp. top the ranking of the nation's largest senior living facility contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.