Jacobs Ranked No. 1 on ENR's Top 500 Design Firms List for Third Consecutive Year

Engineering News-Record has ranked Jacobs No. 1 in its list of Top 500 Design Firms. Widely considered the industry benchmark, the annual list ranks both publicly and privately held U.S. companies, based on revenue for design-specific services performed in the previous year. Jacobs has held a top five position in the Top 500 list since ENR’s rankings began in 2003, and for a third consecutive year, we’re excited to retain the top spot.

“Over the last two years Jacobs has been transformed by strategic acquisitions and divestitures, along with the launch of our new brand – and through it all, we continue to build a strong inclusive culture where people are inspired to innovate new solutions for ourselves and our clients,” said Chair and CEO Steve Demetriou. “ENR’s recognition of Jacobs speaks to our diverse team of visionaries, thinkers and doers that live our values every day and continue challenging today to reinvent tomorrow.”

As highlighted in our 2019 Integrated Annual Report, we aim higher and don’t settle — always looking beyond to raise the bar and deliver with excellence. Examples of ideas turned into bold, intelligent solutions for a more connected, sustainable tomorrow include:

Operational Advancement: It is one thing to dream up new solutions. At Jacobs, we also deliver them.

• As Architect/Engineer of Record for the Denver International Airport Concourse B and C East expansions, Jacobs designed roughly 600,000 square feet of the East side concourse expansions that will make room for 28 new aircraft gates and approximately 137,000 square yards of aircraft-rated pavement. The program also includes an outdoor room, new airlines and concessions spaces as well as “right-sizing” four existing holdrooms. See what passengers can expect.
• The Millennium project, the first expansion of the Arlington National Cemetery in more than 40 years, developed over 27 acres to accommodate an additional 56,000 interments located either above or below ground. Jacobs provided design services for the expansion in a joint venture with Louis Berger (formerly Amman & Whitney).

Cutting-Edge Manufacturing: Rapidly evolving, complex facilities require fast-paced, innovative solutions.

• As main contractor for Bristol-Myers Squibb’s reimagined biologics manufacturing facility in Dublin, we accelerated speed to market for life-saving immuno-oncology medicine, and laid the groundwork for future buildings so development and manufacturing can meet future production and testing needs.

Mission Critical Outcomes: For the first time in history, security and defense threats have no borders.

• To strengthen Jacobs’ cyber readiness capability, the company recently established the Jacobs Cyber Innovation Training Center in Maryland. Designed to meet the unique needs of a rigorous cyber training academy and a modern office environment in one convenient location, the center provides state-of-the-art amenities to DOD military and federal civilian students and an on-site cybersecurity workforce. The secure 30,000-sq-ft facility in a LEED-certified building, has been transformed into half academy, half office space. The classroom design is modeled after scalable learning management environments, with the flexibility to support a variety of course types and complex student exercise scenarios. Among its many features, is a mock security operation center with a full video wall and global connectivity that can handle large-scale military, national security and federal civilian exercises within a team-based setting.

Resilient Environments: Environmental stewardship and climate change are the defining issues of our time.

• When earthquake damage forced the relocation of Christchurch Hospital’s outpatient services into temporary facilities, Jacobs helped deliver new state-of-the art seismically designed facilities that embraced a collaborative, patient-centered care model for patients accessing allied health, general and specialist care outpatient services. We used an integrated design approach to facilitate a patient-centered model of care and set a new benchmark for healthcare facilities in New Zealand, providing architectural and building engineering services for the new 5-story, 10,500-square-meter Christchurch Hospital Outpatients building.
• As a Joint Venture partner, Jacobs is building a $1.77 billion drinking water plant in Houston, Texas—the largest dollar progressive design-build drinking water treatment plant in the United States. When completed, the Northeast Water Purification Plant (NEWPP) will increase the City of Houston’s ability to provide reliable and safe drinking water by 320 million gallons per day; in addition to reducing area subsidence by switching from groundwater sources for drinking water to surface water.

Scientific Discovery: We solve some of the most complex challenges of exploration — both in space and closer to home.

• Designed and built by Jacobs, NASA astronauts successfully deployed and used a wireless high-definition camera system to capture video of target locations and be repositioned easily to help the crew members see and identify potential issues outside the orbiting International Space Station (ISS). The highly portable HD camera system is designed to withstand the extreme space environment outside the ISS by working inside an enclosed housing that protects the camera's sensor. For power, the camera uses a rechargeable battery that can operate for up to ten hours, supporting long-duration space walks.
• As the lead designers of the Cyber and Engineering Academic Center (CEAC) at the United States Military Academy at West Point Military, Jacobs/EwingCole, A Joint Venture, developed an iconic contextual design for the historic campus. This facility will attract and train future generations of Army officers in cyber operations, computer science and engineering.  Following the execution of an extensive planning and charrette process, the team designed the CEAC as a 136,000 square-foot, modern academic facility that will enable and inspire state-of-the-art collaboration across science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines to create innovative solutions and learn the skills needed for leading a modern, technical Army.

Thriving Cities: At the forefront of the urban movement are examples set by great world cities and supported by Jacobs.

• Our team of planners, architects, designers and other specialists are supporting Enfield Council, providing technical design and planning advisory services for the delivery of strategic infrastructure at Meridian Water – a $7.75 billion, 20-year regeneration program in Upper Edmonton, North London. We are proud to help Enfield Council deliver its clear vision and create a truly special new part of London. The project involves building world-class public spaces and community facilities, together with 10,000 new mixed-tenure homes (50% of which are affordable) next to the Lee Valley Regional Park. The area will be linked by a new boulevard, connecting the recently opened train station and a series of mixed-use spaces to shape one cohesive neighborhood and ultimately open opportunities for local people by providing greater access to jobs and other growth opportunities.

The complete list of 2020 ENR Top 500 Design Firms, including the full cover story, is available at ENR.com.