ARCHITECTURE FIRMS ARE STEADILY REGROUPING FROM THE LAST DOWNTURN, SAYS THE AIA

摘要

A more fragmented architectural industry is recovering modestly from the recent economic recession. Profits and hiring are up. Firms are diversifying their activities and services. BIM is approaching a tipping point in terms of its growing importance for billable projects. And domestic projects continue to be most firms' bread and butter. These are some of the findings in "The Business of Architecture," AlA's Firm Survey Report for 2014. The results of the survey, conducted for the Institute by Readex Research, are compiled from responses to an emailed questionnaire by 2,038 firms. The survey recounts the impact of a devastating recession, when architectural firms' gross billings for the years 2008 to 2011 plummeted by 40%. Construction spending, at $900 billion in 2013, still lags the $1.17 trillion in spending in 2006. But since 2011, firms' gross billings grew by 20% to $31.1 billion last year, and net billings were up as well, to $23.4 billion.