IBI Group Inc. is a Canadian-based architecture, engineering, planning, and technology firm operating from over 60 offices in 12 countries across the world.
Founded in 1974 in Toronto, Canada, IBI Group was ranked as one of the largest architecture or architecture/engineering firms in the world: in 2011 it ranked 4th or 6th (depending on the methodology used);BC Business, BC Architects Without Borders. January 4, 2011. Retrieved 2016-09-15 in 2016 it was ranked as the 8th largest architecture firm (with 836 fee-earning architects) by BD Online;WA100-2016 the big list. Retrieved 2016-09-16 and in 2016 its United States operations were ranked by ArchDaily as the 13th largest architecture firm in the USA.These are the Top 300 Architecture Firms in the US, Archdaily, August 2, 2016. Retrieved 2016-09-15
As of 2022, IBI Group had approximately 3,400 employees and more than 60 offices located across six continents. IBI Group's consulting services business were concentrated in three practice areas: Intelligence, Buildings and Infrastructure. By integrating productivity tools, processes and technology innovations developed through IBI's Intelligence practice, the company was able to drive incremental growth in its traditional Buildings and Infrastructures practices, while generating more efficient results for IBI clients.
On September 27, 2022, it was acquired by Arcadis.
History The IBI Group was founded in Toronto by nine partners to provide professional planning and design services for urban development and transportation projects.
The firm merged with Robbie/Young + Wright Architects to become Robbie Young + Wright / IBI Group Architects, with noted Toronto architect Rod Robbie as chairman emeritus.National Capital Heavy Construction Association. Retrieved 2016-09-15 In 2004 the firm became a publicly owned entity through the formation of the IBI Income Fund. In 2010 the Fund was converted to a corporation, IBI Group Inc.IBI Group history . Retrieved 2016-09-15
The firm's name was derived from the last initials of its two founding principals, Neal Irwin and Phil Beinhaker.IBI Group founder to be honored by TAC, IBI Group. July 22, 2014. Retrieved 2016-09-16 The firm has rebranded itself, stating the IBI stands for "Intelligence, Buildings, and Infrastructure."Yonge+St.Clair, IBI Group talks architecture. September 1, 2016. Retrieved 2016-09-16
In September 2022, IBI Group was acquired by Arcadis.Acadis to acquire architecture and engineering firm IBI Group New Civil Engineer July 20, 2022
Major acquisitions Since 2000 the firm has expanded through mergers and acquisitions of consulting firms in multiple locations. Some have been folded into the IBI Group brand and others have maintained a distinct identity. The major acquisitions below are listed in chronological order.
Cumming Cockburn In 2004, IBI Group acquired the Ontario architecture and consulting firm Cumming Cockburn, as well as its subsidiaries CCL Consultants and Marshall Cumming & Associates.IBI Group Company Backgrounder IBI Group p. 11.
Vancouver office The Vancouver office expanded through the 2005 merger of Hancock Bruckner, Eng + Wright; Lawrence Doyle Architects; and Young + Wright Architects.Architectural Institute of British Columbia. Retrieved 2016-09-15
Grey-Noble & Grey-Noble In 2005 the Newmarket, Ontario-based architectural firm of Grey-Noble & Grey-Noble was acquired.Bloomberg, Company Overview of Grey-Noble & Grey-Noble, Architects. Retrieved 2016-09-15
Thomas Blurock Architects In 2006 the Costa Mesa, California-based educational project-focused firm of Thomas Blurock Architects was acquired and incorporated.PCAD - Blurock, Thomas, Architects, Incorporated (Practice). Retrieved 2017-07-19Bloomberg snapshot. Retrieved 2017-07-19
Page+Steele In 2008 the Toronto-based firm of Page+Steele, Architects was acquired and operates as Page+Steele/IBI Group.
Gruzen Samton Architects In 2009 the New York City based firm of Gruzen Samton Architects, Planners & Interior Designers was acquired. The firm was founded in 1936 as Kelly & Gruzen and operates as IBI Group.Bloomberg company overview. Retrieved 2016-10-13The Real Deal, TRD topics. Retrieved 2016-10-13
Group Architects In 2009 the small Toronto-based firm of Group Architects was acquired. IBI relocated and redistributed its team to a new location and the company and presence dissolved entirely through the following years.
BFGC Architects Planners In 2009, BFGC Architects Planners, with offices in Bakersfield, San Luis Obispo and San Jose, California, was acquired.
Nightingale Architects In 2010, Nightingale Architects, with four offices in the United Kingdom, including in London and Cardiff, was acquired for £13.1 million.
Dull Olson Weekes Architects In 2010, IBI acquired the Portland, Oregon-based firm of Dull Olson Weekes Architects, a regional specialist in the design of educational facilities with offices in Portland and Seattle, Washington. It has received multiple awards for its work, including the CEFPI/A4LE James D. MacConnell Award for excellence in design and planning, in 2009 for the Rosa Parks School and Community Campus at New Columbia, in 2014 for Trillium Creek Primary School, and in 2020 as a finalist for Mary Lyon Elementary School.CEFPI MacConnell 2009 winner, DesignShare. October 19, 2009. Retrieved 2016-09-16A4LE MacConnell Award archives 2014. Retrieved 2016-09-16A4LE MacConnell Award archives 2020 Retrieved 2021-12-06 The firm operates as IBI Group Architects.
Cardinal Hardy Architectes In 2011, the Quebec-based firm of Cardinal Hardy merged with Beinhaker Architecte (within the IBI Group), and became known as Cardinal Hardy Beinhaker Architecte. Groupe Cardinal Hardy merged into the IBI Group. Three years later, in late 2014, it was sold to Montreal-based architecture group Lemay.
Carol R. Johnson Associates In 2011 the Boston based landscape architecture firm Carol R. Johnson Associates was acquired. "CRJA announces strategic alliance with IBI Group", New England Facilities Development News, High Profile. July 15, 2011. Retrieved 2016-09-15
Bay Architects In 2011 the Houston, Texas-based firm of Bay Architects was acquired.Bloomberg, Company Overview of Bay-IBI Group Architects, Inc.. Retrieved 2015-09-15
Taylor Young In 2012, Taylor Young, a United Kingdom-based architectural and master-planning practice headquartered in Cheshire and with offices in Liverpool and London, was acquired.
M-E Companies In 2012, M-E Companies, an Ohio-based engineering firm with offices in Westerville, Cincinnati and Canton was acquired.M-E Companies acquired by IBI Group of Canada, Columbus Business First, December 13, 2012. Retrieved 2019-10-08
Aspyr IBI acquired the British Columbia-based Aspyr Engineering on September 3, 2019.
Cole Engineering Group
IBI acquired the Cole Engineering Group on December 1, 2020.IBI Group Announces Asset Acquisition of Cole Engineering Group Ltd IBI Group
Major projects Major projects, ordered by type, are:IBI Group projects . Retrieved 2016-09-16IBI Group Texas projects. Retrieved 2016-09-16
Masterplans Benxi New City, Benxi, China 2012 Summer Olympics - Travel demand management program, London CaféTO, Toronto Al Bandar Development Master Plan, Muscat Bhubaneswar Smart City Strategy and Implementation, Bhubaneswar
Government States of Jersey Police headquarters, Jersey Fire Station 16 and Calgary Fire Department Headquarter, Calgary
Cultural Parliament of Canada Visitor Centre Phase 1 (with Moriyama & Teshima Architects), Ottawa Boca Raton Center for the Arts and Innovation, Boca Raton
Education 41 Cooper Square, New York City Diamond Ranch High School (executive architect), Pomona, California École secondaire catholique Père-Philippe-Lamarche, Toronto, Ontario Franklin High School renovation Heschel School - Ronald P. Stanton Campus, New York City Rosa Parks School and Community Campus at New Columbia Ridgeview High School (Redmond, Oregon) Sabine Pass K-12 School, Sabine Pass San Jacinto College Maritime Center, Houston Sandy High School, Sandy, Oregon School of One, New York City Stuyvesant High School, New York City Trillium Creek Primary School, Portland
Transportation Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, Lake Washington, Washington Pioneer Village station, Toronto Victoria Park station (Toronto) renovation Line 1, Ottawa - station design Bloomington GO Station, Richmond Hill, Ontario Line 5 Eglinton, Toronto
Office Ericsson R&D Complex, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina Boston Landing, New Balance World Headquarters, Boston
Leisure Delta Toronto Hotel, Toronto Oceanside Dolphin Hotel, San Diego
Mixed use Holt Renfrew, Calgary, Vancouver and Mississauga Parq Vancouver, Vancouver
Residential 88 Scott Street, Toronto Atlantis The Royal, Dubai
Healthcare BC Cancer Research Centre, Vancouver (with Henriquez Partners Architects) Optegra Eye Hospital, London Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow Royal Hospital for Children, Glasgow
Products HotSpot IBI Group acquired HotSpot in June 2022 for $5.74 million. Founded in 2013, HotSpot allows users to pay for municipal parking from their phones, or pay for and receive real-time updates about bus services, as well as order and pay for taxis.
CurbIQ CurbIQ is IBI Group's curbside management tool intended to allow municipalities and mobility companies to manage curbside operations by digitizing their regulation. It was created as a result of IBI Group's Curbside Management Strategy created for the City of Toronto for the 2015 Pan American and Parapan American Games.
CurbIQ consists of four modules: Curb Viewer - map-based visualization tool allows municipalities to visualise their existing curbside regulations. Curb Manager - simplified GIS platform for municipalities to efficiently manage their curbside by adding, removing, or modifying curbside regulations. Curb Analyzer - quantifies the designations of curb spaces to provide city planners with trends on their usage Curb Rules API - to allow transportation network companies, such as ridesharing applications, and commercial vehicle dispatches, to add information about curbside regulations to their own applications.
CurbIQ was used to launch a SENATOR pilot project in Dublin, Ireland that aimed to create a new logistics system to improve the city's transportation network in 2022.
Nspace Nspace is a desk and conference room booking and visitor management application intended to support flexible work arrangements.
Acquisition by Arcadis IBI Group announced on July 18, 2022, that it has entered into an agreement with the Dutch design, engineering and management consulting company Arcadis to "acquire all issued and outstanding shares" for $19.50 per share, a thirty percent premium on the day's closing price. The approximately $873 million acquisition was finalised in September 2022 after a shareholder vote.
References
External links IBI Group corporate structure (see page 7)