NBBJ

Business is strong for NBBJ, according to partner Scott Wyatt. However, “As always, it is cyclical. Our strategy for weathering cycles is to diversify across markets and building types, and geographically.” Gross fees have risen from $135 million to $145 million. While both construction volume and fee volume have shown growth, the nationwide staff count is only slightly up this year to 800 from 780 last year. There have not been any mergers or acquisitions.

NBBJ's markets include health care, corporate and commercial, sports and entertainment, life sciences, airports, retail and education. In addition to architecture, NBBJ has specialized areas of practice in planning, landscape architecture, interior design, product design and lighting.

The firm has projects in nearly every part of the globe, with six offices in the United States and three more in Oslo, Taipei and Tokyo.

Markets vary in different locations, according to Wyatt. Western Europe is still strong, parts of eastern Europe growing and the Middle East is good. East Asia is coming back from long recession, and South America is mixed, he said. North America is strong, but slowing in some building types. Current expanding markets include health care, sports and airports. Life sciences will keep growing down the road, said Wyatt. But corporate and commercial markets will cool down some. In the meantime, both of those markets are still strong.

Recent and current local projects include 505 Union Station, Seattle's new courthouse and police headquarters called the Justice Center, the U.S. Courthouse, University of Washington Bothell/Cascadia Community College, Swedish Medical Center Southeast tower addition, UW Medical Center Cancer Care Alliance, UW Medical Center ambulatory surgery treatment pavilion, Teledesic in Bellevue, and the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport south terminal expansion. W

orldwide, recent projects also include Reebok world headquarters in Canton, Mass.; Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati; Telenor Headquarters, Oslo: Maslak Development, Istanbul; and Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, Anchorage. One of NBBJ’s present goals, according to Wyatt, is to build and maintain a global brand. Other demands of reaching a global market include staying ahead of monetary exchange rates and recruiting top-level staff to meet the demand. Technology will drive much of the business and practice of the future, according to Wyatt.

“New integrated delivery systems are underway, drawing on the broad professional diversity under one roof at NBBJ and offering uniquely insightful, innovative and complete perspectives at the start of new projects,” he said. “In turn, this will revolutionize the design, documentation, financing, entitlement and construction processes.”