Dive Brief:

• The American Institutes of Architects' Architectural Billing Index for August was 53.8 nationally, with numbers above 50 indicating growth from the previous month.
• Commercial and industrial firms reported the most growth, residential was over 50 but slowing, and institutional posted its 13th month of of ongoing, but modest, growth.
• Work in all regions were growing, ranging from 51.9 in the South to 54.8 in the West.

Dive Insight:

Apparently, clients are moving ahead with design work, but it is unclear how much of that will turn into construction activity in the coming 12 to 18 months. The index is an indicator of what will likely happen, but the overall uncertainty of the economic recovery inevitably has some effect on whether architects' clients pull the trigger on building what they had designed.