Addressing weaknesses laid bare by COVID-19, infrastructure projects are poised to drive world economies back to pre-pandemic positions with a simple mantra to build back better. As global design firms restructure operations, projects also are being reconfigured to fit a continental shift in client priorities.

Last year’s pandemic-induced shutdowns slowed many global markets to the point of contraction. As a result, this year’s Top 225 International Design Firms reported major revenue changes and the rankings shuffled accordingly. WSP Global Inc. ranked No. 1 on the 2021 list, a position that the Montreal-based engineering firm has not held since 2017. The company increased its revenue from $4.57 billion on last year’s list to $4.71 billion this year, based on 2020 revenue.