The construction industry has entered a recession that has affected virtually every region and market. The downturn has had its most immediate impact on the design professionals on the front end of projects. For the world’s largest engineers and architects, this means now is a good time to reexamine their services and strategies.
Only a short time ago, the world market was one of the hottest most large design firms had ever seen. Many firms worried market sectors were close to overheating, putting pressure on staff, costs and materials supplies. The scale of the 2007-2008 boom can be seen in the design revenue reported by ENR’s Top 200 Design Firms. The Top 200 generated $52.62 billion in design revenue in 2008 from projects outside their respective home countries, a rise of 22.4% over 2007’s $42.99 billion.