Nonresidential construction spending projected to increase through 2023

WASHINGTON – Jan. 26, 2022 – According to a new report from the American Institute of Architects, the nonresidential building sector is expected to see a healthy rebound through next year after failing to recover with the broader economy last year.

The AIA’s Consensus Construction Forecast panel—comprising leading economic forecasters—expects spending on nonresidential building construction to increase by 5.4 percent in 2022, and accelerate to an additional 6.1 percent increase in 2023. With a five percent decline in construction spending on buildings last year, only retail and other commercial, industrial, and health care facilities managed spending increases. This year, only the hotel, religious, and public safety sectors are expected to continue to decline. By 2023, all the major commercial, industrial, and institutional categories are projected to see at least reasonably healthy gains.

Architecture firms end 2021 on a strong note

Firms report concerns over recruiting staff to meet workload demands.

WASHINGTON – Jan. 19, 2021 – As architecture firms ended 2021 on a high note with strong business conditions, staff recruitment is becoming a growing concern among firms.  

December’s Architectural Billings Index (ABI) score of 52.0 was an increase from 51.0 in November (any score over 50 indicates billings growth). Despite a variety of concerns related to the omicron variant, labor shortages, and rising prices as well as limited availability of construction materials, firms continued to report a robust supply of work in the pipeline. Inquiries into new work and the value of new design contracts both remained strong, and backlogs, at an average of 6.5 months, remained near their highest levels since the AIA began tracking this metric in 2010.

“Since demand for design projects has been healthy over the last year, recruiting architectural staff to keep up with project workloads has been a growing concern for firms,” said AIA Chief Economist, Kermit Baker, Hon. AIA, PhD. “Architecture is one of the few industries where payrolls have already surpassed their pre-pandemic high, so meeting future staffing needs is a challenge that most firms will need to confront.

Democracy in Design Act, climate, and equity top AIA 2022 policy priorities

Congress is back in session, and multiple AIA policy priorities are on the agenda.

After a setback in December, negotiations continue on the Build Back Better Act (BBBA) (H.R. 5376). Billed as the most significant climate bill in U.S. history, the legislation includes critical support to incentivize the state/ local adoption of the latest building codes and stretch codes. It also provides robust investment in affordable housing, addressing both the supply and the energy efficiency of existing units. AIA members have sent more than 5,000 letters to Congress in support of architecture priorities in BBBA and an earlier infrastructure bill, the “Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act,” which was signed into law just before Thanksgiving.

As AIA continues its campaign in support of BBBA’s climate and equity investments, here’s a summary of other top policy priorities for 2022.