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Architects Offices Industry Profile Excerpt
| SIC Codes: 0781, 8712 NAICS Codes: 54131, 54132 Page Length: 10-12 Last Quarterly Update: 11/10/2008 View Sample Industry Profile |
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The US architecture industry includes about 17,000 firms, with combined annual revenue of $20 billion. The industry is highly fragmented: only about a hundred firms, like Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum (HOK); DMJM; and Gensler, have annual revenue over $100 million. The typical architecture firm has 10 employees and annual revenue of $1 million.
COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
Demand for architects' services depends heavily on the volume of residential and commercial construction. Because most costs are fixed, profitability depends on a constant inflow of work. Architectural firms are often small because there are few economies of scale in the industry: architectural design can be done as well, and for the same cost, by a small or large company.
PRODUCTS, OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY
Architects prepare detailed plans that can be used by construction companies to build or modify various types of structures. Most architectural work has both an aesthetic and an engineering component. About 60 percent of typical firm billings are for basic architect design work; the rest comes from planning and pre-design work, expanded design, and construction phase services. For many projects, the architect's responsibility (and the work contract) extends from the initial design work through to the end of construction, a process that may span several years. On most projects, architects work closely with engineering and construction companies. A typical small firm has three licensed partners, four professional design assistants, and three administrative staff.
The broad categories of buildings that architects ...
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