 work-on-the-boards
Business Conditions at Architecture Firms
Making Progress, But Still Short of Recovering
U.S. architecture firms reported progress toward an eventual recovery in October,
as the AIA’s Architecture Billings Index moved up three points to 46.1.
This reading is the strongest since the serious problems in the financial sector
emerged in late summer 2008 and points to further improvement in our index in
the months ahead. Inquiries for new project activity remained strong. Firms report
that business conditions in all regions of the country are roughly comparable,
while those that specialize in the institutional sector have reported the sharpest
gains of the sector-specific billing indexes in recent months. 
home design
trends
Neighborhood and Community Design Moves Toward Accessibility,
Simplicity
The continued weakness in the residential market is changing how
communities and neighborhoods are being designed. There is greater
emphasis at present on integrating homes with activities such as
public transportation and commercial and recreational uses. This
in turn has generated greater density in developments, with infill
locations viewed as popular according to results from the AIA Home
Design Trends Survey for the third quarter of 2009. |
