This website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies. Visit our updated privacy and cookie policy to learn more.
This Website Uses Cookies
By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to our cookie policy. Learn More
This website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies. Visit our updated privacy and cookie policy to learn more.
search
cart
facebook twitter linkedin youtube
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
  • News
    • Newswire
  • Features
    • Projects
    • Companies
  • Top Lists
  • Current Issue
  • Blogs
  • Submit Your Photos
    • People
    • Events
    • Projects
  • Resources
    • Proposals & Bids
    • Industry Jobs
    • Subscribe
    • eNewsletter
    • Events
    • Advertise
    • Reprints and Plaques
    • Staff Directory
    • Construction Cities
  • ENR Home
  • Other Regions
    • ENR Home
    • California
    • MidAtlantic
    • Midwest
    • Mountain States
    • New York
    • New England
    • Northwest
    • Southeast
    • Southwest
    • Texas & Louisiana
Home » Regional Design Firms Struggling From Slow Economy, Stalled Projects
Mountain States Construction CompaniesFeaturesMountain States

Regional Design Firms Struggling From Slow Economy, Stalled Projects

June 22, 2011
Mark Shaw
Reprints
No Comments

Design firms across the mountain states are reportedly suffering the same malaise: financially stalled projects, a sluggish economic recovery and too much competition for shrinking public-sector work.

Rendering Courtesy of RNL
The RNL-designed Metro State Student Success Building will become the western gateway to the Auraria Campus in Denver.
Rendering Courtesy of Anderson Mason Dale Architects
The Southeast Wyoming Welcome Center in Cheyenne has a cutting-edge residential appeal.

An AIA Architecture Billings Index national survey of April business activity confirms at least part of the story, with 63% of firms surveyed reporting they have at least one project stalled from a lack of financing and that the average value of those projects is almost $50 million per firm.

The survey's major findings also included:

The availability of construction project financing remains a major issue for many architecture firms. In April, 57% of survey respondents rated the issue as very or extremely serious, and an additional 30% indicated it was a somewhat serious issue.

Nearly half of respondents (45%) said that the availability of credit has become more restrictive over the past year, with just 16% seeing an easing of credit availability.

“This data only serves to reinforce the dire need for lawmakers to act to alleviate a credit crunch that continues to plague one of the economy's biggest job creating engines—the design and construction industry,” says AIA President Clark Manus.

Revenues Flat or Down

Bottom-line numbers tell the rest of the story. Regional design firm revenue for 2010 reported as part of this year's rankings shows, with few exceptions, declines from 2009 totals and a 30% to 50% reduction from 2007 pre-recession figures. Most firms have already tightened their belts and are now concerned they may be witnessing a “new normal” for the industry.

“Our biggest concern is the slow pace of the economic recovery and its profound effect on our profession as a whole,” says Ken Field, a principal and president of RB+B Architects Inc., Fort Collins, Colo. “We are seeing very talented architectural graduates as well as seasoned professionals without jobs, and many are being forced to leave the profession.”

Designers complain that owners have driven prices and fees to bare-bones levels, expecting keen competition for every project. “Architecture is increasingly becoming a commodity, with selection driven by the lowest initial fee,” says Stuart L. Coppedge, an associate principal with RTA Architects, Colorado Springs. “Without significant changes in how we practice, at some point low fees will reduce the level of service architects are able to provide their clients.”

Previous 1 2 Next

ENR Subscribe

Recent Articles by Mark Shaw

A Preview of the 2019 Top Specialty Contractors From ENR Mountain States

SME Steel Contractors Named ENR Mountain States Specialty Contractor of the Year

Denver Airport Terminates P3 Contract For Main Terminal Renovation

Mark-shaw

Mark Shaw is the editor-in-chief of ENR Mountain States, co-editor of ENR Southwest, and the senior editor in charge of ENR's Contractor Business Strategy. He serves as ENR's Rocky Mountain bureau chief in Denver.

Related Articles

Regional Designers Push for More Diverse Services and Help Clients With Project Funding

Top Regional Designers See An Upswing in Commercial Work

Design Firms Throughout the Region Continue to See Solid Growth

Related Products

ENR Texas & Louisiana June 10, 2019 Issue

ENR MidAtlantic December 24, 2018 Issue

Post a comment to this article

Report Abusive Comment


Top Lists

Top Design FirmsTop Design Firms
Regional Design Work Remains Steady Even as Fees Tighten, Uncertainties Rise


Top ContractorsTop Contractors
Regional Contractors See Market Strength Continuing Through 2020


Top Specialty ContractorsTop Specialty Contractors
Subcontractors Can Expect More Growth, Labor Shortages in 2019



Industry Jobs

Videos

ENR Proposals and Bids


ENR twitterfeed
Tweets by ENR_MS

ENR

ENR December 16, 2019 cover

Dec 16, 2019

To attract a broader and more diverse workforce, companies and unions are courting the LGBTQ+ community and strengthening recruiting and retention efforts.

View More Create Account
  • Resources
    • advertise
    • contact us
    • about us
    • photo submissions
    • customer service
    • digital edition
    • Survey And Sample
  • Subscription Center
    • Subscribe
    • Website Registration
    • Privacy Policy
    • eNewsletters
    • FAQ
  • Multimedia
    • Videos
    • Slideshows
    • Photo Contest

Copyright ©2019. All Rights Reserved BNP Media.

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing