DLR Group the #1 design firm in the U.S.

THANK YOU for making DLR Group the #1 design firm in the U.S.

ARCHITECT magazine, the official publication of the American Institute of Architects, recognized DLR Group as the #1 firm in the United States in its September issue.

“This honor is really the outcome of the faith that clients place in our integrated design process and in DLR Group design professionals every day,” said Managing Principal Griff Davenport, AIA. “Thank you to every client across the country that has entrusted us to deliver their dreams and visions.”

The annual ARCHITECT 50 list is compiled by weighting three key components of practice: design excellence/pro bono, sustainability, and business.

“ARCHITECT’s scoring is a direct reflection of our promise to elevate the human experience through design,” said Managing Principal Jon Pettit, AIA. “This recognition validates the effort of our employee-owners to transform DLR Group into a recognized design firm.”

DLR Group has ranked in the top 10 of U.S. firms each year since the ARCHITECT 50 debuted in 2009.

The ARCHITECT 50

They are the powerful and the philanthropic, the talented and the profitable. Our fourth annual ranking of U.S. architecture firms answers the question: Who had the best year?

By

Eric Wills

Practice makes perfect. Let’s be clear: Ranking architecture firms is equal parts art and science. We refine our methodology every year. But the goal of the Architect 50 remains the same: to reward accomplishment according to the broadest possible criteria.

The list is designed to celebrate practices of all kinds—practices that are as adept with building technology as they are in business, that can win design awards and also give back to their communities. Indeed, for the first time, this year we included pro bono work and water modeling in the survey. Given the impact that the economy, natural disasters, and drought are having around the country, how firms stack up in those categories seems especially relevant.

The overall winner? A big hand for DLR Group, which drew raves in 2011 for its Joplin Interim High School in tornado-ravaged Missouri.

Other firms that excelled: RBB Architects topped the business category; Westlake Reed Leskosky ranked first in sustainability; and perennial list-maker Skidmore, Owings & Merrill led the design/pro bono category. Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, meanwhile, was the biggest mover, finishing 5th after missing the top 50 last year. And Frank Harmon Architect showed that firms with only a handful of employees can compete with big multinationals.

We hope this year’s list will inspire energetic debates. Dig into the numbers. And don’t be afraid to tell us what you think.

http://www.architectmagazine.com/business/the-architect-501.aspx