HDR Architecture

If being “only” the fourth-biggest US practice rankles, HDR Architecture can take comfort from the fact that it tops three of our market sector charts this year.

It is the world leader in criminal justice, healthcare and government buildings, with a combined fee income of $271 million. This is partly because of judicious acquisitions in recent years and partly because many of its projects combine at least two of these sectors.

For example, one of the markets the 45-office practice hopes to expand into this year is what it coyly calls “correctional healthcare” — that is, medical care for prisoners in both jails and hospitals. The other is “translational health sciences”, where treatments and cures are fast-tracked from initial research.

It already has a foot in both camps. This year it will complete the Stateville Correctional Centre’s medical and long-term care facility in Illinois and the Easter Bush translational science research centre in Scotland for the Roslin Institute.

It will also finish sister schemes for telecom company TRA in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, as well as the $747 million Fort Belvoir Community Hospital for wounded soldiers and a four-storey headquarters for Alexandria Police, both in Virginia. Company president Merle Bachman said the business’s employee-owned structure was responsible for the firm’s success as each member of staff felt accountable to his or her clients.