THE WORLD’S LARGEST ARCHITECTURE PRACTICES JANUARY 2021 0001_WA2021.indd01_WA2021.indd 1 115/01/20215/01/2021 113:583:58 WORLD ARCHITECTURE TOP 100 JANUARY 2021 3 CONTENTS 16 04 LEADER Elizabeth Hopkirk salutes the resilience and nimbleness of architects who have helped to keep their businesses afloat 07 LIGHT ON THE HORIZON David Blackman asks leaders of some of the world’s top architecture practices how they survived a turbulent year – plus the results of the annual WA100 survey 12 TOP 100 CHART The world’s largest practices in 2020, ranked by the number of architects employed 14 WA100 PROFILES A closer look at all top 100 practices – what they have on site now and what is on their drawing boards 41 REGIONAL TOP 10 Shenzhen Transsion Tower, a landmark headquarters building by Aedas The world’s largest practices in each global region ranked by fee income in 2020 43 MARKET SECTORS TOP 10 The world’s largest practices in each market sector ranked by fee income in 2020 45 SPECIALISMS TOP 10 The world’s largest practices in each specialism ranked by fee income in 2020 49 INDEX Canadian Nuclear Laboratories asked HDR to Lead8 is lead design architect for SkyCity, revitalise its site at Chalk River, Ontario beside Hong Kong international airport A Building Design supplement Building Design Cover images Assemble Media Group, 81 Rivington Street, London 1 Hames Sharley – South Marina, Adelaide, Australia WA100 editor Elizabeth Hopkirk 2 White Arkitekter – Södra Älvsborg Hospital, Borås, Sweden (copyright Felix Gerlach) Production editor Nicolas Andrews 3 WTA Architecture and Design Studio – Hongji Residences, Pasay City, Philippines Sub-editor Kate Ahira 4 HOK – Terminal B, LaGuardia airport,New York, US (copyright Jeff Goldberg / Esto) Contributors David Blackman, Pamela Buxton 5 NBBJ – Rainier Square, Seattle, WA, US Managing director Tom Broughton 6 Link Arkitektur – High school, Førde, Vestland, Norway Group sales director Cameron Marshall 7 Gensler – Citizen M Hotel, Seattle, WA, US Advertising Ryan Williams 0151 665 0704 8 Jaspers-Eyers Architects – City Hall, Etterbeek, Brussels, Belgium Printed by MRC Print Consultancy Ltd 9 Kunwon – Magok MICE complex, Seoul, South Korea Reprographics by CC Media Group 10 AHR – Langarth Garden Village, Truro, Cornwall, UK 11 Aidea – Manila Bay masterplan, Philippines bdonline.co.uk/wa-100 12 Warren and Mahoney – The Landmark, Sydney, Australia 0003_WA2021.indd03_WA2021.indd 1 118/01/20218/01/2021 114:104:10 WORLD ARCHITECTURE TOP 100 JANUARY 2021 7 BRIGHTER LIGHT ON THE HORIZON The world is a different place from this time last year and no one has emerged unscathed, but key players in the WA100 can see signs of better times ahead, reports David Blackman For Keith Griffiths, the final week Work under way on a project in of January last year was nerve- Dubai last March. The market in racking. The chair of Hong Kong- the Middle East has suffered more based Aedas was in Vietnam as the than most during the pandemic country began closing its borders to the outside world in a bid to prevent the coronavirus pandemic being imported from neighbouring China. He was able to get back to Hong Kong, but only after spending the week sourcing masks for the company’s offices around the world. Griffiths, like many other top global architecture executives, has seen a jetset lifestyle acquire a decidedly earthbound flavour in the 12 months since then. Rather than racking up more frequent-flyer points, they have – like the rest of us – spent much of their time working from home instead. This year’s World Architecture 100 survey of the globe’s leading architecture practices lays bare the scale of the pandemic’s impact. It is hard to recall now, but the world economy entered 2020 in relatively good shape, says Phil Harrison, the Georgia-based chief executive of Perkins & Will. “The markets in the first quarter of this year were superb,” Harrison says. “We were very busy and way ahead of ourselves in terms of sales and profits, so thankfully went in quite strong. If we had been more fragile going into the crisis, it would have been more difficult.” Nearly half (48%) of the major global practices surveyed for the WA100 predict that the global construction economy will » SHUTTERSTOCK 007_WA2021.indd007_WA2021.indd 7 113/01/20213/01/2021 116:456:45 What are your feelings about the health of the global KEY construction economy over the next 12 months? l Strong growth l Growth These responses have been tracked over the past five years l Stagnation l Decline 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 l Strong decline 80 70 60 48% of survey respondents expect the l Growth 50 global construction economy to stagnate this year 40 l 30 Stagnation 20 10 l Decline 56% believe there is potential for market 0 l Strong growth growth in the Pacific Rim this year, more l Strong decline than anywhere else What are your feelings about the health of the construction economy in the following areas over the next 12 months? Africa Australasia North America South and Western Central and Middle East Central Asia Pacific Rim Central America Europe Eastern Europe including India including China » be “stagnant” during 2021. The says: “The go-to for governments over the next 12 months. proportion of those anticipating in any recession is to spend on According to Griffiths, the decline (28%) outweighs those (24%) infrastructure, social or transport, Chinese market has seen a huge who are reckoning on growth. By because it’s easy to do and they know release of infrastructure projects. contrast, 55% of respondents to how to do it.” He says: “The Chinese market is last year’s survey were anticipating And while Harrison predicts going to be very busy because the growth in 2020. that stagnation will last until the government has kick-started the “The global construction market covid-19 situation is resolved, he economy with a massive number of cannot count on snapping back into reckons the prospects are brighter infrastructure-related projects.” expansion mode soon,” says David if and when that happens. “Once As an example, he points to Bao’an Thom, president of IBI Group. “It that is solved, there is quite a lot of international airport in Shenzhen, [covid-19] is not going to go away pent-up demand from capital in the which is tripling in size from one even with a miracle vaccine.” market looking for places to invest.” terminal to three, together with I’M NOT NEGATIVE Doug Wignall, president of HDR, In addition, while the pandemic a new high-speed rail connection. ABOUT EUROPE IN 2021. believes that the pandemic will has affected the whole world, The situation is likely to be similar IT WILL HAVE BEEN continue to have a “residual effect” construction markets have for China’s neighbours in South-east THROUGH 18 MONTHS on the economy over the next year. responded differently depending Asia, which are generally reckoned OF LOCKDOWN WHEN “Stagnation would be a good way to on how effectively the disease has to have coped with the pandemic NOBODY HAS SPENT ANY describe the best-case scenario, with been handled. The virus may have better than any other part of MONEY. PEOPLE WILL BE decline in other areas,” he says. originated in China but optimism the world. COMING OUT TO PLAY The good news for architects, about growth prospects is much Griffiths says: “All of those KEITH GRIFFITHS, AEDAS though, is that governments are greater for East Asia than for the countries are like a dam with a including construction in their rest of the world, the survey reveals. massive amount of pent-up work. post-pandemic stimulus packages. More than half (56%) of respondents Once South-east Asia gets a vaccine This has already been the case in predicted that the Pacific Rim in the second half of the year, it will Canada, where Thom is based. He region will experience growth be extremely vibrant as the brakes 0007_WA2021.indd07_WA2021.indd 8 113/01/20213/01/2021 116:456:45 WORLD ARCHITECTURE TOP 100 JANUARY 2021 9 What impact do you think the pandemic will have on work prospects in the following regions in the coming year? 6 Central and 15 Eastern Europe Western 20 51 33 North Europe 34 61 44% expect prospects to 57 23 19 America Middle East improve in the Pacific 53 28 Rim (including China), 27 44 more than anywhere 29 else in the world 13 17 73% predict a decline in work prospects 7 46 in Central and South America, more 20 54 33 37 13 than anywhere else in the world 73 Africa Central Asia (including India) 51 36 Australasia KEY l Improvement l No change l Decline come off and development restarts.” when you look at the opportunities opportunity to rethink a facility in Harrison says his company’s in the market now to purchase good a fundamental way, they did that Asian business grew strongly in the buildings, they are fantastic. Where by putting the project on hold. If second half of last year. By contrast, investment occurs, you can expect permissions were already issued, confidence is much more muted some redevelopment to go on. those projects have generally about the traditional heartlands “I’m not negative about Europe continued.” of the developed world, in Western in the second half of 2021. It will Wignall says: “We had multiple Europe and North America. While have been through 18 months of projects – including in the health the US economy has reopened more lockdown when nobody has spent sector – that went on hold, but none rapidly than Europe’s, the biggest any money so, by June [2021], people were cancelled.