Design firms in the Mountain States share the same concerns about industry growth as their colleagues and competitors elsewhere in the U.S.: uncertain support for public infrastructure and shaky financing in the few private-sector markets showing signs of life. There is more optimism now than in the past few years but also ongoing angst—after another year of flat revenue—about the health of the global economy and political vagaries here at home.
"Our greatest concern is the international debt crisis, its potential impact on the U.S. economy and recovery from the recession," says Brad Buchanan, principal at Denver architectural firm RNL. "While many states, including Colorado, are performing well in the recovery, U.S. markets are fragile, and investors, debt and equity, private and institutional, are still tentative."