Construction + Economy

On the heels of a more than 2-point gain in February, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) was up again in March. As a leading economic indicator of construction activity, the ABI reflects the approximate 9- to 12-month lag time between architecture billings and construction spending. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the March ABI [...]

Architect Magazine measures architecture firms of all sizes according to their profitability, commitment to sustainability, and caliber of design, and ranks them in the latest issue here.

The economic environment facing electrical equipment manufacturers continued to show strong improvement in April, according to respondents to NEMA’s latest business confidence survey. While the Electroindustry Business Confidence Index (EBCI) for current North American conditions was unchanged in April at 71.7, it matched its highest monthly level since May 2004. Readings above 50 are typically [...]

As a former magazine guy (editor and later publisher of Architectural Lighting Magazine from 1995-2001), this is really depressing … In July 2009, Reed Elsevier announced that the RBI-US controlled circulation magazines and certain other print titles, representing approximately 45% of the revenues of RBI-US, were to be divested. Since then, a number of titles [...]

Reed’s construction economist Jim Haughey looks at the economic data and speculates that hotel construction is near the bottom for this building cycle after a 64% collapse since mid-2008. But a real recovery may not begin until 2012. See his column here.

From the film The Lake House.

In response to growing conversation around architecture’s role in achieving project business goals and an economy that demands it, aReturnOnDesign.com has launched. The website will play host to a community interested in how architecture and design can and should contribute to the effectiveness of a project, the good of the community in which it is [...]

Construction employment expanded in 26 states and the District of Columbia between February and March 2010, yet only Arkansas and North Dakota have more construction workers than they did a year ago according to a new analysis of federal employment figures by the Associated General Contractors of America. The new figures, while offering room for [...]

Work is proceeding briskly to complete the reflecting pools at the site of the World Trade Center attacks in time for September 11, 2011, the tenth anniversary of the attacks. But planners still have to figure out how to provide access to the memorial while construction continues on the larger site… The Wall Street Journal [...]