The Habits of High-Performance Firms
Explore lessons from frequent winners of the AIA COTE Top Ten Awards, including firm traits on design innovation, sustainability, decarbonization, energy modeling, staff demographics, and more.
High-performance design firm traits
For over 20 years, the AIA COTE Top Ten Awards have recognized architecture firms that have completed projects that employ the latest innovations in sustainable design to create the highest performance buildings. Studying these firms reveals several common traits related to their specialization, size, location, staff, and age. These findings support the idea that there is a connection between great, sustainable projects and overall firm excellence.
Of the 130 architecture firms that have received at least one COTE Top Ten Award, 29 have done so more than once and 17 have three or more times. Of those receiving more than three COTE Top Ten Awards, 59 percent have also been recognized as AIA Firm Award recipients, the AIA’s highest award given to architecture firms.
According to the report these high-performance firms have the following traits:
- Unanimous signing of the AIA 2030 Commitment
- Significantly high project performance for energy, water, and other metrics
- Energy modeling, daylighting modeling, and post-occupancy evaluations as standard practice
- Geographic concentration (47 percent on the West Coast)
- Medium size (average staff number of 75)
- A high percentage of women in staff (46 percent) and leadership positions (34 percent)
- Low staff turnover (under 10 percent)
- A high percentage of staff with LEED accreditation (48 percent)
The Committee on the Environment (COTE) works to advance, disseminate, and advocate design practices that integrate built and natural systems and enhance both the design quality and environmental performance of the built environment.
Firms expect modestly higher revenue growth in 2025
