Four Trends for Architects and Engineers to Look Out for in 2025

Architecture and engineering (A&E) firms have faced significant changes and challenges in recent years. Projects and the industry have become increasingly complex, with more regulations and technical demands. Meanwhile, costs are rising faster than billable rates, putting a huge pressure on financial stability.

Despite this, firms have embraced development and growth opportunities, enabling them to overcome these industry challenges. They are leveraging AI and technology to enhance productivity, business growth and decision-making. Effective data management and robust cybersecurity measures are empowering firms to become more data-driven and mitigate risks confidently. And a continued focus on growth means that attracting talent and reskilling employees are key priorities, with technology enabling remote work and access to a global talent pool.

To delve into these trends and developments in more detail, we brought together an expert panel to explore the current state of the built environment industry and identify the key themes that will shape 2025 and beyond.

Our panel host, Bret Tushaus, VP of Product Management at Deltek, was joined by:

• Sabrina Klor – Group Chief Operating Officer, Broadway Malyan
• Henrik Garver – Managing Director, Danish Association of Consulting Engineers
• David Rockhill – Partner, McKinsey & Company

Watch the full discussion: Built Environment Trends Unwrapped: 2025 Predictions. Or read on to learn about the four key trends you need to be aware of as we enter 2025.

1. AI Is Continuing to Advance - Trust, Data and Demonstrating Value are Key

We generally see A&E firms looking at AI in three different ways:

• To streamline day-to-day operational activities
• To optimize core value-add activities such as design tasks and drafting
• To create new revenue streams that go beyond traditional design

But for AI to add meaningful value to your firm, it must be built on a solid foundation of data and trusted by leadership and employees.

"AI requires trust; businesses will not use this technology if they can't trust it," Sabrina explained. "Businesses must ensure that their data is secure and accurate. So, this starts with the basics: protecting the data within the organization and feeding AI systems with reliable information."

"Data is incredibly valuable, and it only works if it's managed strategically," she added. "So, we first need to recognize its importance and build a consistent approach to collecting, storing and using it."

Beyond ensuring you have the right data to extract meaningful value from your AI use cases, a rise in automation may also require rethinking how you price projects.

"The bottom line is, if we have agents and automation that are driven by technology, it's going to take us fewer hours to get certain tasks done," Bret explained. "But the value of what firms are delivering still remains at the same level. So, if everything's based on billable hours, that's going to be a challenge from a business model perspective. The value-based pricing versus billable hours-based pricing problem is definitely rearing its head as technology evolves."

2. Climate Change and Sustainability Are Still Rising on Client Agendas

As sustainability considerations have become a more prominent part of construction projects, environmental impact and carbon reduction are topics that need to be considered much earlier in a project's development. It's no longer an add-on; it's something you do from the start.

"The really big thing about the decarbonization debate is that you start to look at projects differently from the beginning," explained Henrik. "If we go back just five years, you might want to add sustainability to a project once you were halfway through or almost finished with the design. Now, you start with that dialogue. You ask, how do we deliver a more sustainable project? Is it going to be a greenfield project, or can we transform an existing building? It's a game-changer in the way we think about the project."

Along with making sustainability an early consideration in your design process, technological advancements can also help you adapt designs to minimize their environmental impact.

"There's a ton of very cool simulation software out there," David shared. "In one specific example, you can now get a plugin for rendering software that allows you to see thermal efficiency or embodied carbon in the same view. So, when you make a design change, you can almost instantly see the effect. It shortcuts the decision-making and iterative design processes, and gets you to a more sustainable building."

3. A More Holistic Approach to Cybersecurity Is Crucial

Cybersecurity is at the top of many businesses' agendas, and as threats become even more advanced, its importance will continue to grow. Making sure your data is secure begins with helping your people to understand risks and adopt good security habits.

"Train employees on best practices and have a clear incident response plan in place. For example, regularly test your systems and make sure backups are secure. Those things sound simple, but they're not always done." advised Sabrina. "Use tools like multifactor identification and keep systems up to date. And adopt the zero-trust approach where every access request is verified."

If something does go wrong, it's important to contain the issue as quickly as possible. Bring in experts early and communicate transparently with them to get the issue fixed.

4. Talent Shortages Are Still an Issue, but Upskilling Could Help

Although technological advancements create more opportunities to automate some of the most time-consuming and mundane tasks in architecture and engineering, that hasn't solved the industry's talent shortage.

"New technology does help us become more efficient. So, in one sense, it does address part of the staff shortage challenge," explained Henrik. "But it doesn't really change the fact that staff shortage is still a major difficulty for the industry."

Attracting and retaining talent is still a top priority for many firms. So, how can you ensure that you are recruiting the talent that will make the biggest difference to your firm?

"It's important that we talk about the very cool work that we're doing in a compelling way and be open to bringing in people who maybe aren't just the traditional graduate engineer or graduate architect," suggested David.

Beyond recruitment, making the most of the talent you already have should also be a huge consideration.

"I think we can get hung up sometimes on attracting new talent into the industry," David shared. "I think there's also a big piece around re-skilling our existing talent."

"Continuous learning is absolutely critical," agreed Sabrina. "I think staying ahead means constant upskilling and being open to hiring talent with specialized knowledge that might not be from our industry. I think those two things coupled are essential."

What Should Built Environment Firms Prioritize in 2025

After reflecting on the past year, our expert panel looked ahead to the future. We asked them: What's the one technology investment that firms should prioritize now? Here are their answers:

"Whichever one unlocks the most value in your business. Too often, I've had people fixate on technology rather than business and bottom-line improvement."

– David Rockhill, Partner, McKinsey & Company

"Look at investing in Cybersecurity. If you don't have your Cybersecurity in order, you won't be profitable because you can't operate."

– Henrik Garver, Managing Director, Danish Association of Consulting Engineers

"Equip teams to upskill themselves to use new technology. We have all of these people in our businesses who can't use the technology that's available. So, I think the investment must be on teaching them how to use it appropriately."

– Sabrina Klor, Group Chief Operating Officer, Broadway Malyan

Unlock Deep Insight from the Full Discussion

The panel shared more details on each of these trends during the webinar discussion. So be sure to watch the full on-demand recording for more insight as you plan your year.