Architecture Firm Billings Continue to Contract Heading into 2026

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The AIA/Deltek Architecture Billings Index dropped to 43.8 in January, down from 47.1 in December, signaling a greater number of firms experienced a decline in billings compared to the previous month. In January, inquiries for new projects dropped for the  first time since April 2025, alongside a decline in newly signed design contracts, as client uncertainty persisted and new projects tended to be smaller in scale. Billings decreased across the country, except in the South, where they held steady. Firms in the Midwest, which saw growth in late 2025, are now experiencing declines again. Business conditions remained challenging across all … Read more

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Spending on Nonresidential Building Construction Continues to Slow

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Spending on nonresidential construction is projected to increase only 1.7% this year and grow very modestly to just 2% next year, according to The American Institute of Architects mid-year Consensus Construction Forecast. The outlook by the AIA Consensus Construction Forecast estimates the commercial sector outlook is about on par with the broader industry, with a projected 1.5% increase this year rising to 3.9% in 2026. Spending on the construction of manufacturing facilities – the industry bright spot in recent years – is expected to decline 2% this year with an additional declined of 2.6% next year. Institutional facilities are expected … Read more

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AIA Trust Launches New Climate Risk Factsheet

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The American Institute of Architects, in collaboration with AIA Trust, has launched a new resource for architects facing increasing climate-related design and liability challenges. The Climate Risk Factsheet, available exclusively to AIA members, provides site-specific, climate projections for hazards such as wildfire, flooding, windstorm and extreme heat — allowing architects to better inform resilient design strategies and document their professional standard of care. Developed and in conjunction with a leading insurance and risk adviser the concise two-page PDF uses geographic coordinates to generate a forward-looking risk profile, including easy-to-understand hazard scores and time-based projections. This tool helps architects communicate long-term risks … Read more

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AIA/Deltek Releases Latest Architecture Billings Index

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Business conditions remain soft at architecture firms in June with the AIA/Deltek Architecture Billings Index reporting a score of 46.4. Any score below 50 indicates that billings decline, although somewhat fewer firms reported a decline in billings in June than in May. Indicators of future work remained generally soft as well: Only slightly more than half of the responding firms reported an increase in inquiries into new work. Firms reported a third consecutive month of decline in value of newly signed design contracts. While many firms still have a healthy backlog of projects in the pipeline, 6.4 months on average, this is the smallest that backlogs have been … Read more

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AIA/Deltek Release Latest Architecture Billings Index

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Architecture firm billings remained soft entering into 2024, with an AIA/Deltek Architecture Billings Index score of 46.2 in January. Any score below 50 indicates decreasing business conditions. “This now marks the lengthiest period of declining billings since 2010, although it is reassuring that the pace of this decline is less rapid and the broader economy showed improvement in January,” said Kermit Baker, Ph.D., AIA Chief Economist. “Firms are seeing growth with inquiries into new projects and value of newly signed design contracts is holding steady, showing potential signs of interest from clients in new projects.” Business conditions remained weak at … Read more

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