"People feel they have to protect everybody from everything, but no one has that type of budget, so you have to prioritize," says Glen Rasmussen, senior associate focused on security for OWP/P Architects, Chicago.
Sean Ahrens, a senior security manager from Chantilly, Va.-based consultant Gage Babcock, says security costs for new buildings are often viewed as a percentage of construction but that percent can range dramatically. "The security costs for a new office building may be 1%, but it may be 5% for an embassy," he says.