Defpoints

Who makes the most, from Record.

But we’re all still in trouble.

By Charles Linn:

The total revenue of Architectural Record’s Top 150 Architecture Firms surged in 2007, even as the AIA’s Architectural Billings Index (ABI) for March dropped to 39.7, its lowest level since the institute began tracking architects’ invoices in 1995. The firms on the list, which is based on survey data collected for Engineering News-Record’s Top 500 Design Firms survey, say their revenue increased from an estimated $8.6 billion in 2006 to $10.4 billion last year. The trend parallels the entire list of ENR Top 500 firms which, all told, reported $80.62 billion in revenue, up 15.8 percent from 2006. Firms that work in markets such as manufacturing and civil engineering are not included on the RECORD Top 150 Firms list unless they report sufficient revenue from architectural design.

Top Ten Firms (by revenue):

1. AECOM Technology Corp. Los Angeles, Calif.
2. Gensler San Francisco, Calif.
3. HOK St. Louis, Mo.
4. URS Corp. San Francisco, Calif.
5. HKS Inc. Dallas, Texas
6. Perkins+Will Chicago, Ill.
7. Skidmore Owings & Merrill LLP New York, N.Y.
8. RTKL Associates Inc. Baltimore, Md.
9. RMJM Hillier New York, N.Y.
10. HDR Omaha, Neb.

And some surprises:

29. Rafael Vinoly (the sweatshop labor undoubtedly helps)

32. Arquitectonica (seriously, how do these guys still get work? Have they had a decent idea since the 1980s?)

99. Pei Cobb Freed (why so low? I would think with their many towers in Asia and the like, they would be ranked higher)

107. FX Fowle (same as Pei Cobb Freed, except with the Middle East and India this time)