The State of Architecture in Our State

South Dakota Summer 2022

It’s July and we are in the throws of construction in South Dakota. I can’t help but notice the cranes and in-progress buildings as I drive through Sioux Falls and the surrounding communities. Construction is booming on the eastside of the state, and I’m sure it’s no different in the west. 2022 appeared generous to the construction industry and that means busy architecture firms too. The Office of the State Engineer (OSE) has been busy this year as well. This month, we will take a look at just a few of the significant projects happening on campuses across the state. By the way, if you have a recommendation for an OSE project we should consider, comment below!

Nationwide Progress

The AIA has a great resource that measures billing in the industry which gives us a pretty clear picture of how things are going. Check out May’s ABI here: ABI May 2022: Business conditions at architecture firms remain strong despite economic headwinds – AIA. South Dakota seems to be keeping pace with national trends. Institutional work appears to be a prominent portion of the billings and will continue in the months to come.

Local Progress

Sioux Falls.Business reported record permits in June:

“A few more large building projects were issued permits in June, pushing Sioux Falls’ year-to-date total to $868.5 million. That’s ahead of $492.2 million for the same time last year. In 2020, it was $286 million.”

City building activity keeps up surge in June – SiouxFalls.Business

I imagine the rest of the state is seeing similar development. This is great news for the industry and the profession. Our state is fortunate to have an accredited architecture program at SDSU. The hefty workload enables firms to hire grads and interns from this program and retain talent in our state. While it easy to keep our heads down when things get busy at the office, we need to make a serious effort towards educating grads and interns so that we can delegate tasks and spread the workload.

In Summary

With the talk of recession looming, it appears not to hinder development so far. I hope that continues to be the case. Either way, it will be fun to reflect on some great OSE projects and look forward to projects on the boards too. Check back next week for a featured project! I’m curious if you’re experiencing the construction boom where you are too. Comment below!

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