10 Top Architecture Firms in the World; 2025 Review
While chatting with a young architecture student yesterday, I casually asked him which top architecture firms he admired most and followed for inspiration. His hesitation and lack of familiarity with prominent firms caught me off guard. It reminded me of how, as a student, discovering trailblazing architects and their work profoundly shaped my own perspective.
Inspired by this interaction, I felt compelled to create a resource—a guide highlighting some of the world’s top architecture firms. This article aims to ignite curiosity, offering a glimpse into the creative minds and iconic works that define contemporary and historical architecture. For students and enthusiasts alike, it’s a starting point to explore and draw inspiration from the architects shaping our built environment.
Top Architecture Firms in the World
Here, we listed top architecture firms in the world consisting of Perkins Eastman, Gensler, HKS Inc. , AECOM, HDR, Sweco, Nihon Sekei, Aedas, Foster + Partners, and Perkins + Will. Let’s discover more about these top architecture firms in the world.
1. Perkins Eastman
Location: USA
Employee: 832
Fee Income: 270 – 279m
Perkins Eastman, headquartered in New York, is one of the top architecture firms with 1,000 employees across 17 offices. Founded in 1981, it remains under the leadership of its founders, Bradford Perkins and Mary-Jean Eastman. The firm embraces a “philosophy of convergence,” integrating diverse practices, disciplines, and perspectives to deliver holistic and practical solutions.
In both 2018 and 2019, Perkins Eastman was recognized with 17 major architectural awards, honoring projects such as the mixed-use District Wharf in Washington, D.C., the School of Nursing and Science at Rutgers University in New Jersey, and renovation work at New York’s Tenement Museum.
With eight offices across the United States, the firm also maintains a global presence in Canada, Ecuador, the UAE, China, and India.
2. Gensler
Location: USA
Employee: 3,069
Fee Income: 1bn-1.5bn
Gensler is a globally recognized architecture and design firm, operating in 48 cities across the world with a workforce of over 6,000 employees. In 2018, the firm reported a turnover of $1.2 billion.
Founded in 1965, Gensler is headquartered in San Francisco, though some of its most iconic projects, such as the Shanghai Tower in China and Incheon National Airport in South Korea, are located outside the United States.
This is one of the top architecture firms is dedicated to shaping the urban environment, emphasizing that “cities are the sum of their parts.” Gensler claims expertise in a wide range of sectors, including airports, hotels, schools, offices, health and wellness centers, sports venues, and entertainment destinations. Additionally, it runs several civic engagement programs aimed at addressing homelessness, enhancing community well-being, and mentoring the next generation of architects.
3. HKS, Inc.
Location: USA
Employee: 707
Fee Income: 170m-179m
HKS is one of the top architecture firms that prioritizes research as a core element of its practice, supported by a dedicated “lab” within its Dallas headquarters. Established in 1939, the firm has completed landmark projects such as 311 South Wacker Drive in Chicago, the Atlantic Paradise Island resort in the Bahamas, and numerous stadiums across the United States. Over its history, HKS has contributed to projects with a combined value of nearly $70 billion.
The firm employs 1,400 professionals across 24 offices, predominantly in the United States, with additional locations in Mexico City, London, Dubai, Tokyo, Shanghai, Singapore, and New Delhi. Beyond architecture, HKS provides a broad range of services, including interior design, structural engineering, and branded experiences, among others.
4. AECOM
Location: USA
Employee: 1,236
Fee Income: 380m-389m
Aecom is a global leader in architecture, design, and a wide range of other disciplines, including engineering, archaeology, and risk management. Recognized as one of Fortune magazine’s Most Admired Companies for six consecutive years, Aecom reported an impressive revenue of $20.2 billion in the 2019 fiscal year.
Although established in 1990, the company builds on the legacies of predecessor firms with histories spanning over a century. Aecom’s portfolio features high-profile projects such as major international airports (JFK, LAX, Sydney, Abu Dhabi, and Hong Kong), Singapore’s Marina Bay, and the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Headquartered in Los Angeles, Aecom operates globally with a workforce of 87,000 spread across offices in cities like London, Abu Dhabi, Singapore, Hong Kong, Brisbane, and Gurugram in northern India.
5. HDR
Location: USA
Employee: 1,404
Fee Income: 500m-599m
HDR, founded in 1917, is a long-established, employee-owned firm with a global workforce of over 10,000 people. Headquartered in Omaha, it operates more than 225 offices across the United States, Europe, Asia, and Australia, generating an annual revenue of $2.2 billion.
A pioneer in sustainability, HDR became the first architectural and engineering firm to join the U.S. Green Building Council in 1994. This commitment has earned the firm numerous accolades, including awards for sustainability and the prestigious Grand Conceptor Award for engineering excellence.
HDR’s diverse portfolio often emphasizes environmental intervention. Notable projects include the Hoover Dam Bypass on the Arizona-Nevada border and the Life, Earth, and Environmental Sciences Building at the University of Sydney.
6. Sweco
Location: Sweden
Employee: 1,297
Fee Income: 170m-179m
Founded in 1958, Sweco is a European firm that adheres to its distinctive Sweco model, built on four key principles: client focus, attracting and retaining the best employees, internal efficiency, and a decentralized organizational structure.
The firm operates across eight business areas, covering 13 countries in Northern Europe. Its recent high-profile projects include work on the UK’s largest Antarctic science research hub, a net-zero office building redevelopment near London Bridge, and the new Aarhus Stadium in Denmark.
7. Nihon Sekkei
Location: Japan
Employee: 575
Fee Income: 150m-159m
Nihon Sekkei, founded in 1967 in Sapporo and Nagoya, has grown into a prominent architectural firm with additional offices in Shanghai and Hanoi. Employing nearly 1,000 professionals, the firm generates an estimated annual turnover of $180 million.
Guided by its philosophy of “Think ++,” Nihon Sekkei emphasizes the co-creation of future values with clients and the public, integrating these ideas into the built environment.
The firm’s impact is evident across urban Japan, particularly in its skyscrapers. Notable projects include Itoman City Hall in Okinawa, Mitsui Memorial Hospital in Tokyo, and international works such as the Shanghai Pudong Library.
8. Aedas
Location: Hong Kong
Employee: 684
Fee Income: 220m-229m
Aedas, founded in 2002 through the merger of firms from Hong Kong, Australia, and the UK, has rapidly grown into a global architectural practice. The company employs 1,400 staff across 12 offices, with eight in Asia, two in the Middle East, and one each in Europe and the United States.
Reflecting its ethos that “a diverse world is a more interesting world,” Aedas’s directors come from a variety of cultural backgrounds. The firm offers services beyond architecture, including interior and urban design.
Despite its relatively young history, Aedas has completed over 100 projects and received significant recognition. At the 2020 International Design Awards, it earned nine honors, including accolades for the Mongolia National History Museum and the Zhengzhou Cultural District in China.
9. Foster + Partners
Location: UK
Employee: 483
Fee Income: 310m-319m
Founded by Norman Foster in 1967, Foster + Partners is a globally acclaimed studio known for its commitment to sustainable architecture, urbanism, engineering, and design. The firm operates through a network of international offices and places significant emphasis on individual involvement across all aspects of its work.
Foster + Partners is structured around six architectural studios, with partners who are shareholders taking full responsibility for their projects. To maintain the highest design standards, the practice relies on its Design Board, which rigorously reviews each project at every stage of its development, ensuring alignment with the firm’s core design principles.
10. Perkins + Will
Location: USA
Employee: 2500
Fee Income: 595m-615m
Perkins and Will, founded in 1935 by Lawrence B. Perkins and Philip Will, Jr., is a global interdisciplinary design practice with architecture at its core. Recognized as a North American leader in the field, the firm is celebrated for its exceptional design and extensive expertise. Its philosophy emphasizes design excellence that serves broader societal goals, with a strong focus on prioritizing people in every aspect of its work.
Headquartered in Chicago, Perkins and Will is renowned for its innovative, people-centric approach to projects. The firm also offers a distinctive digital museum experience, allowing visitors to explore its rich design legacy through archived sketches, plans, and photographs.
Resources: aaup | archdaily | archisoup | architizer