flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Market gains encourage better workplace design [2013 Giants 300 Report]

Market gains encourage better workplace design [2013 Giants 300 Report]

The commercial office sector is finally heating up, led by corporate headquarter and medical office building projects.


By Julie Higginbotham, Senior Editor | July 22, 2013
GlaxoSmithKline recently opened a 208,000-sf office in Philadelphias Navy Yard
GlaxoSmithKline recently opened a 208,000-sf office in Philadelphias Navy Yard Corporate Center. Its 1,300 workers are assigned to neighborhoods and can grab any available workstation. The facility, targeting LEED Platinum for both Core & Shell and CI, has a coffee shop, cafeteria, fitness center, rooftop garden, bank, and tech help center. On the Building Team: Robert A.M. Stern (design architect), Kendall/Heaton (AOR), Francis Cauffman (workplace consultant, interiors), Wick Fisher White (MEP/fire engineer, interiors), and Thornton Tomasetti (SE). PHOTO: JOHN GEORGE

Many firms that do office design and construction stayed afloat during the recession with modest projects—fit-outs, renovations, targeted green retrofits. But the sector’s finally heating up.

Commercial Realtors recently reported an increase in annual gross income for the third year in a row (www.BDCnetwork.com/Realtors2013). Jones Lang LaSalle’s latest office forecast pegged more than a dozen metros as being in “a rising phase,” including Austin, Dallas, Boston, Denver, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, and New York (http://bit.ly/JLLOffice13).

Though speculative projects still lag, corporate HQs and medical office buildings are moving ahead. “The medical office building of the future can accommodate much of what was done in a traditional hospital setting,” says Steve Straus, President of Glumac. “Some of our clients have bold ambitions, including net-zero.”

TOP OFFICE SECTOR ARCHITECTURE FIRMS

 
2012 Office Revenue ($)
1 Gensler $462,700,500
2 HOK $128,726,000
3 Perkins+Will $107,951,672
4 NBBJ $64,002,000
5 Stantec $62,500,236
6 PageSoutherlandPage $43,190,000
7 Heery International $39,443,931
8 Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates $38,081,000
9 RTKL Associates $37,474,000
10 Hammel, Green and Abrahamson $37,307,000

TOP OFFICE SECTOR ENGINEERING FIRMS

 
2012 Office Revenue ($)
1 AECOM Technology Corp. $830,320,000
2 Parsons Brinckerhoff $146,400,000
3 Jacobs Engineering Group $95,180,000
4 Burns & McDonnell $82,020,000
5 Thornton Tomasetti $50,861,467
6 Michael Baker Jr. $50,720,000
7 WSP USA $48,500,162
8 Arup $32,355,607
9 Buro Happold Consulting Engineers $28,720,000
10 AKF Group $26,917,000

TOP OFFICE SECTOR CONSTRUCTION FIRMS

 
2012 Office Revenue ($)
1 Turner Corporation, The $2,195,790,000
2 Structure Tone $1,435,332,000
3 PCL Construction Enterprises $1,409,212,727
4 Clark Group $974,974,066
5 Skanska USA $847,106,242
6 Balfour Beatty $792,915,576
7 Gilbane $690,915,000
8 JE Dunn Construction $613,825,563
9 James G Davis Construction $575,006,000
10 HITT Contracting $535,524,009

On the West Coast, tech firms are creating eye-popping campuses, including NBBJ projects for Amazon (Seattle, 3.3 million sf); Samsung (San Jose, 1.1 million sf, with Arup); and Google (Mountain View, Calif., 1 million sf). Facebook tapped Frank Gehry to design its 420,000-sf Facebook West in Menlo Park, Calif., and Foster + Partners is designing Apple’s 2.8 million-sf, net-zero Campus 2 in Cupertino (to be built by DPR-Skanska.) 

Bleeding-edge companies seek the latest in social engineering and sustainability, but they’re not alone in believing that generational and technological trends justify a reboot in office design.  “The relevance of ‘the office’ is in question,” says Steve Hart, Director of Interior Design at Heery. “Why are you even in an office? We believe the office needs to help individuals feel connected to the company and support a common sense of purpose.”

 

Read BD+C's full Giants 300 Report

Related Stories

Office Buildings | Oct 19, 2023

Proportion of workforce based at home drops to lowest level since pandemic began

The proportion of the U.S. workforce working remotely has dropped considerably since the start of the Covid 19 pandemic, but office vacancy rates continue to rise. Fewer than 26% of households have someone who worked remotely at least one day a week, down sharply from 39% in early 2021, according to the latest Census Bureau Household Pulse Surveys. 

Luxury Residential | Oct 18, 2023

One Chicago wins 2023 International Architecture Award

One Chicago, a two-tower luxury residential and mixed-use complex completed last year, has won the 2023 International Architecture Award. The project was led by JDL Development and designed in partnership between architecture firms Goettsch Partners and Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture.

Giants 400 | Oct 17, 2023

Top 130 Sports Facility Architecture Firms for 2023

Populous, Gensler, HOK, and HKS head BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest sports facility architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.

Office Buildings | Oct 16, 2023

The impact of office-to-residential conversion on downtown areas

Gensler's Duanne Render looks at the incentives that could bring more office-to-residential conversions to life.

Giants 400 | Oct 11, 2023

Top 100 Industrial Sector Architecture Firms for 2023

Ware Malcomb, Arcadis, Stantec, and Gresham Smith top the ranking of the nation's largest industrial facility sector architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.

Products and Materials | Oct 10, 2023

‘Works with WELL’ product licensing program launched by International WELL Building Institute

The International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) recently launched the Works with WELL product licensing program. Works with Well certification allows manufacturers to demonstrate that their products align with WELL strategies. 

Mass Timber | Oct 10, 2023

New York City launches Mass Timber Studio to spur more wood construction

New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) recently launched New York City Mass Timber Studio, “a technical assistance program to support active mass timber development projects in the early phases of project planning and design.”

Government Buildings | Oct 10, 2023

GSA names Elliot Doomes Public Buildings Service Commissioner

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced that the agency’s Public Buildings Service Commissioner Nina Albert will depart on Oct. 13 and that Elliot Doomes will succeed her.

Esports Arenas | Oct 10, 2023

Modular esports arena attracts more than gamers

As the esports market continues to grow to unprecedented numbers, more facilities are being developed by universities and real estate firms each year.

Higher Education | Oct 10, 2023

Tracking the carbon footprint of higher education campuses in the era of online learning

With more effective use of their facilities, streamlining of administration, and thoughtful adoption of high-quality online learning, colleges and universities can raise enrollment by at least 30%, reducing their carbon footprint per student by 11% and lowering their cost per student by 15% with the same level of instruction and better student support.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category

Healthcare Facilities

Watch on-demand: Key Trends in the Healthcare Facilities Market for 2024-2025

Join the Building Design+Construction editorial team for this on-demand webinar on key trends, innovations, and opportunities in the $65 billion U.S. healthcare buildings market. A panel of healthcare design and construction experts present their latest projects, trends, innovations, opportunities, and data/research on key healthcare facilities sub-sectors. A 2024-2025 U.S. healthcare facilities market outlook is also presented.




halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021