Trends for 2012
Top trends for 2012 are all centered on new technology and creative solutions to economic issues:
- Tight lending practices, lack of credit and dried up public funding sources have stalled many projects. But A/E/P and environmental firms have found a way to get around these challenges – public-private partnerships (PPPs or P3s).
According to the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) 2011 Construction Hiring and Business Outlook, “With 70 percent of construction firms reporting they expect an increase over the average of 5.2 PPP projects they worked on this year, it seems clear that PPPs will be increasingly popular. While any number of reasons could be driving this perception, the most obvious is that the public sector will need to rely increasingly on PPPs as their budgets remain constrained for the foreseeable future.” Additionally, the Federal Highway Administration is encouraging the consideration of P3s for the development of transportation improvements.
- While the funding debate continues in Washington, the nation’s aging highways and bridges will certainly remain a focus of attention during 2012.
- Building information modeling technology and integrated project delivery methods are predicted to see further growth during 2012.
- No doubt partly due technological advances and the economic sluggishness, American A/E firms are increasingly looking outside national borders in 2012.
- Also, the growing sustainability movement is no longer seen as just a fad – it’s the required standard in most new projects and also leading to a growing trend of renovations and retrofits. Sustainability is a solution to many economic challenges and rising energy costs – things expressed as main concerns for most professionals in the design and construction industry.