2008 Giants: They’ve Come A Long Way
The anniversaries just won’t stop. After celebrating 75 years of this magazine throughout 2007, you thought you’d get a rest. But no. January 2008 marks the 30th anniversary of the Interior Design Giants, the firms that generate the revenues that give design cause to call itself an industry. Looks like you’ll have to get out your dancing shoes all over again.
Some things remain the same. (We still wag our fingers at fur-wrapped bathtubs and monogrammed toilet paper.) Others have definitely changed since 1978, when we decided to “invest in building a solid statistical base of organized information for the profession.” Back then—you might want to sit down for this—Gensler was only number 30. There were also just 75 firms worthy of the designation Giant, compared to today’s top 100, second 100, 75 in hospitality, and 40 in health care.
The money has changed, too. For 630,625,729 square feet installed, 2007’s total income was $2,386,469,323, up 15 percent from the previous year and 12 percent more than the Giants had forecast. Over a period of five years, the increase was 63 percent. The average employee brought in $253,927 worth of fees, with a minimum of $76,885 and a maximum of $899,000.
The original Giants, however, were asked to report neither square footage nor fees but the value of installed product: $854,400,000 for all 75 firms, versus $13,722,225,288 for the 75 current Giants that reported the highest F&F dollar values. (Unfortunately, 19 didn’t bother reporting any.) In today’s money, the earliest Giants’ total project value would be $3,025,062,171. Still adjusting for inflation, the early Giants’ average design professional was responsible for $1,329,546 of installation value, whereas today’s is responsible for $1,545,878.
In many ways, comparing the 1978 and 2008 Giants is a lesson in U.S. economic history. Three decades ago, the top firms were most heavily represented in New York, California, Michigan, and Ohio, and they had twice as many projects in Michigan and Ohio as on either coast. Today, the Giants are roughly 50 percent stronger on the coasts, with a presence that’s become almost spectral in what we’ve come to call the rust belt.
Foreign projects are most numerous this time in Latin America followed by Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Canada, the Pacific Rim, and Africa. In 1978, the Middle East led, followed at a distance by a tie between Asia and Canada, then Africa and Europe but nothing south of the Rio Grande. Among the entities that made the Giants list that year were department stores and furniture manufacturers with design departments, hotel and motel in-house designers, and even the General Services Administration and U.S. Navy.
Back then, a respect for nature meant, often as not, selecting green and brown tones for materials that we find ecologically questionable today. Now, environmental responsibility is part of the mission statements of 68 top Giants, up from 45 a year ago. Three firms claim they follow LEED guidelines at all times. Among the Giants’ 10,968 design employees, 4,776 are LEED-accredited.
At least half the products that 27 of today’s firms specify are green, with another six firms specifying 75 percent or more and one firm at 100 percent. The total value of those products is $5,403,637,500, more than double last year’s figure. Government clients are the most receptive to green design, followed by educational, corporate/office, hospitality and—in a shocking fifth place—health care. Tsk-tsk, indeed.
See the 2nd 100 Giants for 2008 here
See all the Giants rankings here
| Work installed | ||||||
| 2008 rank | Firm headquarters; web site; founded | I.D. Fees (millions) | Value (millions) | Sq. ft. (millions) | I.D. staff | 2007 rank |
| 01 | Gensler San Francisco; gensler.com; 1966 | $261.000 | $4,600.00 | 62.00 | 992 | 1 |
| 02 | HOK St. Louis; hok.com; 1964 | $117.958 | $3,382.78 | 43.37 | 341 | 2 |
| 03 | Callison Seattle; callison.com; 1975 | $72.000 | $1,799.00 | 17.25 | 125 | 4 |
| 04 | Perkins + Will Chicago; perkinswill.com; 1935 | $69.146 | $1,897.13 | 19.60 | 247 | 3 |
| 05 | Nelson Philadelphia; nelsononline.com; 1977 | $68.000 | $1,260.00 | 17.50 | 462 | 5 |
| 06 | Jacobs Pasadena, California; jacobs.com; 1947 | $62.789 | $1,020.00 | 12.00 | 200 | 12 |
| 07 | HDR Omaha; hdrinc.com; 1917 | $62.700 | $1,800.00 | 18.60 | 256 | 6 |
| 08 | HBA/Hirsch Bedner Associates Los Angeles; hbadesign.com; 1964 | $54.581 | $3,220.28 | 30.67 | 415 | 10 |
| 09 | IA Interior Architects San Francisco; interiorarchitects.com; 1984 | $53.380 | $979.00 | 25.00 | 285 | 7 |
| 10 | Leo A Daly Omaha; leodaly.com; 1915 | $51.500 | $1,600.00 | 13.10 | 166 | 8 |
| 11 | Wilson Associates Dallas; wilsonassoc.com; 1975 | $48.000 | $1,000.00 | NR | 313 | 15 |
| 12 | Skidmore, Owings & Merrill New York; som.com; 1936 | $46.000 | NR | NR | 152 | 11 |
| 13 | PageSoutherlandPage Houston; pspaec.com; 1898 | $45.100 | $563.75 | 8.68 | 175 | 13 |
| 14 | SmithGroup Minneapolis; smithgroup.com; 1853 | $42.650 | $576.13 | 5.59 | 193 | 16 |
| 15 | Cannon Design New York; cannondesign.com; 1945 | $41.650 | NR | 6.00 | 152 | 14 |
| 16 | Perkins Eastman New York; perkinseastman.com; 1981 | $40.000 | $666.60 | 3.80 | 172 | 17 |
| 17 | Pavlik Design Team Fort Lauderdale, Florida; pavlikdesign.com; 1969 | $37.089 | NR | 22.50 | 117 | 20 |
| 18 | NBBJ Seattle; nbbj.com; 1943 | $33.481 | NR | NR | 205 | 19 |
| 19 | Burt Hill Washington, D.C.; burthill.com; 1936 | $33.082 | NR | NR | 294 | 21 |
| 20 | KlingStubbins Philadelphia; klingstubbins.us; 1946 | $32.320 | $690.00 | 9.20 | 125 | 27 |
| 21 | DMJM Rottet/DMJM H&N Los Angeles; dmjmrottet.com; 1994 | $30.921 | $526.16 | 5.55 | 102 | 22 |
| 22 | TPG Architecture New York; tpgarchitecture.com; 1979 | $30.127 | $1,075.00 | 9.00 | 208 | 18 |
| 23 | Cubellis Boston; cubellis.com; 1986 | $29.400 | $686.00 | 9.80 | 65 | 35 |
| 24 | Rockwell Group New York; rockwellgroup.com; 1984 | $28.376 | $120.32 | 0.96 | 47 | 23 |
| 25 | Mancini Duffy New York; manciniduffy.com; 1986 | $28.200 | $625.00 | 12.00 | 162 | 31 |
| 26 | Flad & Associates Madison, Wisconsin; flad.com; 1927 | $27.000 | $760.00 | 8.00 | 86 | 25 |
| 27 | FRCH Design Worldwide Cincinnati; frch.com; 1968 | $26.349 | $450.00 | NR | 151 | 26 |
| 28 | ANSHEN + ALLEN San Francisco; anshen.com; 1940 | $25.850 | $617.80 | 2.02 | 100 | 29 |
| 29 | Creative Design Consultants Costa Mesa, California; cdcdesigns.com; 1981 | $24.000 | NR | 1.00 | 72 | 28 |
| 30 | RMJM Hillier Princeton, New Jersey; rmjmhillier.com; 1966 | $23.450 | $340.00 | 6.50 | 305 | 30 |
| 31 | Harley Ellis Devereaux Southfield, Michigan; harleyellisdevereaux.com; 1908 | $21.600 | $144.00 | 3.60 | 103 | – |
| 32 | Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart & Associates Atlanta; srssa.com; 1979 | $21.024 | NR | NR | 58 | 47 |
| 33 | Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects Portland, Oregon; zgf.com; 1968 | $20.400 | $750.00 | 3.75 | 85 | 32 |
| 34 | RTKL Associates Baltimore; rtkl.com; 1946 | $19.700 | $325.00 | 8.00 | 124 | 33 |
| 35 | HKS Dallas; hksinc.com; 1939 | $19.580 | $455.00 | 6.50 | 95 | 36 |
| 36 | Ted Moudis Associates New York; tedmoudis.com; 1990 | $19.500 | $195.00 | 4.45 | 108 | 37 |
| 37 | EwingCole Philadelphia; ewingcole.com; 1961 | $19.000 | $650.00 | 3.00 | 151 | – |
| 38 | VOA Associates Chicago; voa.com; 1969 | $19.000 | $274.01 | 4.20 | 98 | 41 |
| 39 | STUDIOS Architecture Washington, D.C.; studiosarch.com; 1985 | $18.900 | $1,155.00 | 4.20 | 142 | 45 |
| 40 | Daroff Design + DDI Architects Philadelphia; daroffdesign.com; 1973 | $18.715 | $175.00 | 3.00 | 62 | 34 |
| 41 | HLW New York; hlw.com; 1885 | $18.240 | $675.00 | NR | 56 | 24 |
| 42 | HFS Concepts 4 Long Beach, California; thehfsgroup.com; 1977 | $18.050 | $320.00 | NR | 89 | 46 |
| 43 | Little Charlotte, North Carolina; littleonline.com; 1964 | $16.500 | $350.00 | 11.00 | 58 | 43 |
| 44 | Swanke Hayden Connell Architects New York; shca.com; 1906 | $16.140 | NR | 3.60 | 99 | 49 |
| 45 | Ware Malcomb Irvine, California; waremalcomb.com; 1972 | $16.000 | $280.00 | 5.00 | 55 | 61 |
| 46 | CUH2A Princeton, New Jersey; cuh2a.com; 1964 | $15.800 | $845.00 | 2.20 | 146 | 38 |
| 47 | Peter Marino Architect New York ; petermarinoarchitect.com; 1978 | $15.500 | $450.00 | 0.60 | 105 | 40 |
| 48 | Marc-Michaels Interior Design Winter Park, Florida; marc-michaels.com; 1985 | $14.620 | $245.00 | NR | 53 | 39 |
| 49 | ASD Atlanta; asdnet.com; 1963 | $14.500 | NR | NR | 87 | 44 |
| 50 | DBI Architects Washington, D.C.; dbia.com; 1973 | $13.600 | $215.00 | 3.10 | 60 | 52 |
| 51 | BBG-BBGM New York; bbg-bbgm.com; 1984 | $13.500 | NR | NR | 70 | 50 |
| 52 | Lawrence Group St. Louis; thelawrencegroup.com; 1983 | $13.165 | $274.00 | 3.76 | 99 | 70 |
| 53 | DiLeonardo International Warwick, Rhode Island; dileonardo.com; 1971 | $13.100 | NR | NR | 80 | 53 |
| 54 | Tricarico Architecture and Design Wayne, New Jersey; tricarico.com; 1987 | $13.000 | $170.00 | 5.20 | 83 | 58 |
| 55 | Ballinger Philadelphia; ballinger-ae.com; 1878 | $12.900 | $30.15 | 1.49 | 23 | – |
| 56 | Vocon Cleveland; vocon.com; 1987 | $12.690 | $215.00 | 3.00 | 49 | 107 |
| 57 | LS3P Associates Charleston, South Carolina; ls3p.com; 1963 | $12.600 | $672.00 | 12.60 | 56 | 68 |
| 58 | TVS Interiors Atlanta; tvsinteriors.com; 1996 | $12.560 | NR | NR | 74 | 55 |
| 59 | Karlsberger Columbus, Ohio; karlsberger.com; 1928 | $12.502 | $763.40 | 2.80 | 19 | 48 |
| 60 | CBT Architects Boston; cbtarchitects.com; 1967 | $12.040 | $390.00 | 4.00 | 60 | 57 |
| 61 | Roger Ferris + Partners Westport, Connecticut; ferrisarch.com; 1986 | $12.000 | $200.00 | 0.70 | 38 | – |
| 62 | BAMO San Francisco; bamo.com; 1991 | $11.200 | NR | NR | 58 | 89 |
| 63 | TRO Jung/Brannen Boston; trojungbrannen.com; 2006 | $10.940 | $700.00 | 2.60 | 34 | 51 |
| 64 | Gresham, Smith and Partners Nashville; gspnet.com; 1967 | $10.711 | $1,303.63 | 8.18 | 107 | 59 |
| 65 | RMW Architecture & Interiors San Francisco; rmw.com; 1970 | $10.696 | $294.77 | 2.84 | 60 | 56 |
| 66 | Gettys Chicago; gettys.com; 1988 | $10.200 | NR | NR | 74 | 85 |
| 67 | A/R Environetics Group New York; aregroupinc.com; 1946 | $10.000 | $75.00 | 1.80 | 50 | 42 |
| 68 | ForrestPerkins Washington, D.C.; forrestperkins.com; 1998 | $9.675 | $200.00 | NR | 64 | – |
| 69 | Switzer Group New York; theswitzergroup.com; 1975 | $9.600 | $200.00 | 4.00 | 39 | 60 |
| 70 | Huntsman Architectural Group San Francisco; huntsmanag.com; 1981 | $9.429 | $450.00 | 0.75 | 66 | 71 |
| 71 | Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects New York; gwathmey-siegel.com; 1968 | $9.250 | $125.00 | 0.40 | 51 | 66 |
| 72 | Shepley Bulfinch Richardson & Abbott Boston; sbra.com; 1874 | $9.158 | $200.00 | 0.95 | 14 | – |
| 73 | Slifer Designs Edwards, Colorado; sliferdesigns.com; 1984 | $9.150 | NR | NR | 42 | 63 |
| 74 | Bilkey Llinas Design Palm Beach Gardens, Florida; bilkeyllinas.com; 1989 | $9.100 | NR | NR | 58 | 98 |
| 75 | Francis Cauffman Philadelphia; franciscauffman.com; 1954 | $9.000 | $180.00 | 5.00 | 40 | 69 |
| 76 | Cooper Carry Atlanta; coopercarry.com; 1960 | $9.000 | $175.80 | 1.83 | 46 | – |
| 77 | JRS Architect Mineola, New York; jrsarchitect.com; 1988 | $9.000 | $90.00 | 0.35 | 45 | 95 |
| 78 | Loebl Schlossman & Hackl Chicago; lshdesign.com; 1925 | $8.990 | $124.00 | 1.20 | 10 | 80 |
| 79 | TSC Design Associates New York; tscdesign.com; 1995 | $8.976 | $105.00 | 3.10 | 49 | – |
| 80 | Staffelbach Design Associates Dallas; staffelbach.com; 1966 | $8.900 | $190.00 | 1.80 | 55 | 72 |
| 81 | JPC Architects Bellevue, Washington; jpcarchitects.com; 1986 | $8.736 | $600.00 | 8.00 | 47 | – |
| 82 | Duncan & Miller Design Dallas; duncanmillerdesign.com; 1989 | $8.700 | $425.00 | 3.00 | 112 | 83 |
| 83 | Planning Design Research Corporation Houston; pdrcorp.com; 1977 | $8.669 | $300.00 | 3.75 | 43 | 62 |
| 84 | Stonehill & Taylor Architects AND planners New York; stonehilltaylor.com; 1963 | $8.624 | $200.00 | 3.00 | 43 | – |
| 85 | Environments Group Chicago; envgroup.com; 1991 | $8.600 | $250.00 | 3.00 | 61 | 76 |
| 86 | BraytonHughes Design Studios San Francisco; bhdstudios.com; 1989 | $8.457 | NR | NR | 43 | 73 |
| 87 | DES Architects + Engineers Redwood City, California; des-ae.com; 1973 | $8.400 | NR | NR | 12 | 108 |
| 88 | Kasian Vancouver, British Columbia; kasian.com; 1985 | $8.319 | $41.04 | 8.21 | 60 | 101 |
| 89 | Chambers Baltimore; chambersusa.com; 1899 | $8.300 | $93.00 | 2.33 | 13 | 88 |
| 90 | Baskervill Richmond, Virginia; baskervill.com; 1897 | $8.279 | $119.00 | 3.28 | 21 | 87 |
| 91 | WWCOT Los Angeles; wwcot.com; 1949 | $8.150 | $216.50 | 3.60 | 20 | 86 |
| 92 | Margulies & Associates Boston; margulies.com; 1988 | $7.650 | $100.00 | 1.20 | 36 | – |
| 93 | Milo Kleinberg Design Associates New York; mkda.com; 1959 | $7.600 | $100.00 | 0.95 | 30 | 106 |
| 94 | Elkus/Manfredi Architects Boston; elkus-manfredi.com; 1988 | $7.600 | $36.75 | 1.05 | 33 | 97 |
| 95 | ADD Cambridge, Massachusetts; addinc.com; 1971 | $7.593 | $220.00 | 2.20 | 52 | 109 |
| 96 | Sasaki Associates Watertown, Massachusetts; sasaki.com; 1953 | $7.500 | $350.00 | 1.80 | 30 | 84 |
| 97 | Bergmeyer Boston; bergmeyer.com; 1973 | $7.500 | $120.00 | 0.76 | 61 | 82 |
| 98 | WHR Architects Houston; whrarchitects.com; 1983 | $7.492 | NR | 1.01 | 18 | – |
| 99 | JGA Southfield, Michigan; jga.com; 1971 | $7.400 | $71.00 | 0.50 | 35 | 100 |
| 100 | Group Goetz Architects Washington, D.C.; gga.com; 1978 | $7.400 | NR | NR | NR | 64 |
Top 10 in Corporate Office Design
| Firm | I.D. Fees | Rank |
| Gensler | $114,840,000 | 1 |
| HOK | $70,774,950 | 2 |
| Nelson | $65,008,000 | 5 |
| IA Interior Architects | $52,312,400 | 9 |
| Skidmore, Owings & Merrill | $32,660,000 | 12 |
| Perkins + Will | $27,658,400 | 4 |
| KlingStubbins | $26,502,400 | 20 |
| Mancini Duffy | $24,054,600 | 25 |
| TPG Architecture | $20,335,725 | 22 |
| DMJM Rottet/DMJM H&N | $17,006,678 | 21 |
Top 10 in Hospitality Design
| HBA/Hirsch Bedner Associates | $54,581,000 | 8 |
| Wilson Associates | $47,040,000 | 11 |
| Gensler | $33,930,000 | 1 |
| HOK | $21,468,402 | 2 |
| Rockwell group | $21,282,000 | 24 |
| HFS Concepts 4 | $17,689,000 | 42 |
| Leo A Daly | $15,450,000 | 10 |
| DiLeonardo International | $13,100,000 | 53 |
| Daroff Design + DDI Architects | $11,229,000 | 40 |
| Gettys | $9,996,000 | 66 |
Top 10 in Government/Institutional Design
| Jacobs | $32,022,263 | 6 |
| Gensler | $13,050,000 | 1 |
| HOK | $9,106,377 | 2 |
| HDR | $6,897,000 | 7 |
| Perkins + Will | $6,223,140 | 4 |
| DMJM Rottet | $6,184,246 | 21 |
| Leo A Daly | $6,180,000 | 10 |
| Group Goetz Architects | $5,105,655 | 100 |
| Skidmore, Owings & Merrill | $5,060,000 | 12 |
| STUDIOS Architecture | $4,725,000 | 39 |
Top 10 in Healthcare/Assisted Living Design
| Firm | I.D. Fees | Rank |
| HDR | $42,636,000 | 7 |
| Perkins + Will | $26,966,940 | 4 |
| ANSHEN + ALLEN | $23,265,000 | 28 |
| Perkins Eastman | $22,400,000 | 16 |
| Cannon Design | $20,825,000 | 15 |
| PageSoutherlandPage | $18,942,000 | 13 |
| NBBJ | $17,075,310 | 18 |
| SmithGroup | $11,515,500 | 14 |
| Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects | $10,200,000 | 33 |
| Karlsberger | $9,501,520 | 59 |
New to the Top 100
| Firm | 2008 Rank |
| Harley Ellis Devereaux | 31 |
| EwingCole | 37 |
| Ballinger | 55 |
| Roger Ferris + Partners | 61 |
| ForrestPerkins | 68 |
| Shepley Bulfinch Richardson & Abbott | 72 |
| Cooper Carry | 76 |
| TSC Design Associates | 79 |
| JPC Architects | 81 |
| Stonehill & Taylor Architects and planners | 84 |
| Margulies & Associates | 92 |
| WHR Architects | 98 |
10 Fastest Growing (by % change)
| Firm | 2006 I.D. FEES | 2007 I.D. Fees | % Change | Rank |
| Vocon | $5,600,000 | $12,690,000 | 126.6 | 56 |
| Cubellis | $17,600,000 | $29,400,000 | 67.0 | 23 |
| Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart & associates | $12,681,937 | $21,024,387 | 65.8 | 32 |
| Ware Malcomb | $9,724,192 | $16,000,000 | 64.5 | 45 |
| BAMO | $7,200,000 | $11,200,000 | 55.6 | 62 |
| DES Architects + Engineers | $5,500,000 | $8,400,000 | 52.7 | 87 |
| Lawrence Group | $8,738,406 | $13,165,000 | 50.7 | 52 |
| Jacobs | $42,466,660 | $62,788,750 | 47.9 | 6 |
| Bilkey Llinas Design | $6,180,000 | $9,100,000 | 47.2 | 74 |
| JRS Architect | $6,250,000 | $9,000,000 | 44.0 | 77 |
Top 10 in Cultural Design
| Firm | I.D. Fees | Rank |
| Gensler | $15,660,000 | 1 |
| HKS | $4,895,000 | 35 |
| EwingCole | $4,750,000 | 37 |
| HLW | $2,736,000 | 41 |
| SmithGroup | $2,132,500 | 14 |
| Rockwell Group | $1,986,320 | 24 |
| Pavlik Design Team | $1,854,471 | 17 |
| DES Architects + Engineers | $1,680,000 | 87 |
| HDR | $1,254,000 | 7 |
| Roger Ferris + Partners | $1,200,000 | 61 |
Firms with at least 75% foreign projects
| Firm | % | Rank |
| Bilkey Llinas Design | 99 | 74 |
| HFS Concepts 4 | 97 | 42 |
| HBA/Hirsch Bedner Associates | 88 | 8 |
| Wilson Associates | 75 | 11 |
Top 10 in Educational Design
| Firm | I.D. Fees | Rank |
| Cannon Design | $14,577,500 | 15 |
| Burt Hill | $11,247,880 | 19 |
| Gensler | $7,830,000 | 1 |
| PageSoutherlandPage | $6,765,000 | 13 |
| Flad & Associates | $6,750,000 | 26 |
| SmithGroup | $5,544,500 | 14 |
| Perkins + Will | $5,531,680 | 4 |
| DMJM ROTTET/ DMJM H&N | $5,256,609 | 21 |
| Leo A Daly | $4,635,000 | 10 |
| Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects | $3,876,000 | 33 |
Top 10 in Residential Design
| Creative Design Consultants | $18,000,000 | 29 |
| Marc-Michaels Interior Design | $14,620,000 | 48 |
| Slifer Designs | $7,869,000 | 73 |
| Callison | $7,200,000 | 3 |
| Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects | $6,382,500 | 71 |
| Peter Marino Architect | $6,355,000 | 47 |
| BAMO | $5,152,000 | 62 |
| Lawrence Group | $4,081,150 | 52 |
| Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart | $3,994,634 | 32 |
| ADD | $3,340,825 | 95 |
Top 10 in Retail Design
| Firm | I.D. Fees | Rank |
| Callison | $43,200,000 | 3 |
| Gensler | $41,760,000 | 1 |
| Pavlik Design Team | $31,155,113 | 17 |
| FRCH Design Worldwide | $16,072,877 | 27 |
| Tricarico Architecture and Design | $12,090,000 | 54 |
| Cubellis | $11,760,000 | 23 |
| Little | $7,590,000 | 43 |
| JGA | $7,400,000 | 99 |
| Jacobs | $6,906,763 | 6 |
| Peter Marino Architect | $6,665,000 | 47 |
Fee Scales
| Title | Annual salary (median) | Hourly rate (median) |
| Principal/Partner | $142,434 | $225 |
| Project Manager | $95,000 | $155 |
| Designer | $65,000 | $110 |
| Other I.D. Staff | $48,000 | $85 |
