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 Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Canada, IBI Group has since been 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); 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 ArchDaily is a website covering architecture, architectural news, projects, products, events, interviews and competitions, opinion pieces, among others, catering to architects, designers and other interested parties. It is currently based in San ...

as the 13th largest architecture firm in the USA. As of 2022, IBI Group has approximately 3,400 employees and more than 60 offices located across six continents. IBI Group's consulting services business is 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 has been 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 Arcadis NV is a global design, engineering and management consulting company based in the Zuidas, Amsterdam, Netherlands. It currently operates in more than 350 offices in 40 countries. The company is a member of the Next 150 index. Arcadis was ...

History

The IBI Group was founded in Toronto by nine partners to provide professional planning and design services for

urban development Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of peop ...

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. 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. The firm has rebranded itself, stating the IBI stands for "Intelligence, Buildings, and Infrastructure." In September 2022, IBI Group was acquired by

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.

Vancouver office

The

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

office expanded through the 2005 merger of Hancock Bruckner, Eng + Wright; Lawrence Doyle Architects; and Young + Wright Architects.

Grey-Noble & Grey-Noble

In 2005 the

Newmarket, Ontario Newmarket (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population: 87,942) is a town and regional seat of the Regional Municipality of York in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. It is part of Greater Toronto Area, Greater Toron ...

-based architectural firm of Grey-Noble & Grey-Noble was acquired.

Thomas Blurock Architects

In 2006 the

Costa Mesa Costa may refer to: Biology * Rib (Latin: ''costa''), in vertebrate anatomy * Costa (botany), the central strand of a plant leaf or thallus * Costa (coral), a stony rib, part of the skeleton of a coral * Costa (entomology), the leading edge o ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

-based educational project-focused firm of Thomas Blurock Architects was acquired and incorporated.

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 New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

based firm of Gruzen Samton Architects, Planners & Interior Designers was acquired. The firm was founded in 1936 and operates as IBI Group.

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 Bakersfield is a city in and the county seat of Kern County, California, United States. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley, which is located in the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's population as of the ...

San Luis Obispo ; ; ; Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly halfway betwee ...

and

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

, was acquired.

Nightingale Architects

In 2010, Nightingale Architects, with four offices in the United Kingdom, including in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, was acquired for £13.1 million.

Dull Olson Weekes Architects

In 2010, IBI acquired the

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

-based firm of Dull Olson Weekes Architects, a regional specialist in the design of educational facilities with offices in Portland and

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. 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. The firm operates as IBI Group Architects.

Cardinal Hardy Architectes

In 2011, the

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

-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 Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

based landscape architecture firm Carol R. Johnson Associates was acquired.

Bay Architects

In 2011 the

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, Texas-based firm of Bay Architects was acquired.

Taylor Young

In 2012, Taylor Young, a United Kingdom-based architectural and master-planning practice headquartered in

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

and with offices in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

and London, was acquired.

M-E Companies

In 2012, M-E Companies, an

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

-based engineering firm with offices in Westerville,

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

and Canton was acquired.

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.

Major projects

Major projects, ordered by type, are:

Masterplans

*Benxi New City,

Benxi Benxi ( zh, s=本溪, ) is a prefecture-level city located in the east of Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, southeast of the provincial capital of Shenyang. As of the 2020 census, its population was 1,326,018 (1,709,538 in 2010), of ...

, China *

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

- 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 The States of Jersey Police or States Police are a paid Police, police force in the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey. Alongside the unpaid Honorary Police, the States Police make up the 13 official police forces on the island, though the States Police ...

headquarters,

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

* Fire Station 16 and Calgary Fire Department Headquarter, Calgary

Cultural

Parliament of Canada The Parliament of Canada () is the Canadian federalism, federal legislature of Canada. The Monarchy of Canada, Crown, along with two chambers: the Senate of Canada, Senate and the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons, form the Bicameral ...

Visitor Centre Phase 1 (with

Moriyama & Teshima Architects Raymond Junichi Moriyama (October 11, 1929 – September 1, 2023) was a Canadian architect. The private practice in Toronto he co-founded with Ted Teshima, Moriyama & Teshima Architects, was renowned for designing many major buildings across ...

), Ottawa * Boca Raton Center for the Arts and Innovation, Boca Raton

Education

* 41 Cooper Square, New York City *

Diamond Ranch High School Diamond Ranch High School (or DRHS) is a high school that serves students from Diamond Bar and Phillips Ranch, California, United States, and is operated by the Pomona Unified School District (PUSD) in Pomona, Californiapart of the Greater Los An ...

(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) Ridgeview High School (RVHS) is a public high school located in Redmond, Oregon, United States. Opened in 2012, it is the second high school in the Redmond School District. In athletics the school is a 5A team in the Oregon School Activities As ...

* Sabine Pass K-12 School, Sabine Pass *

San Jacinto College San Jacinto College () is a public community college in the Greater Houston area, with its campuses in Pasadena and Houston, Texas. Established in 1961, San Jacinto College originally consisted of the independent school districts (ISD) of Chan ...

Maritime Center, Houston *

Sandy High School Sandy High School (SHS, formerly known as Sandy Union High) is a public high school in the Northwestern United States, northwest United States, located in Sandy, Oregon, east of Portland, Oregon, Portland. Originally located in a two-story schoolh ...

, Sandy, Oregon *

School of One Teach to One, previously known as School of One (SO1), is a middle school mathematics program of the New York City Department of Education . It began in 2009 and is currently operating in six schools in Manhattan, The Bronx, and Brooklyn. Its in ...

, New York City *

Stuyvesant High School Stuyvesant High School ( ) is a co-ed, State school, public, college-preparatory, Specialized high schools in New York City, specialized high school in Manhattan, New York City. The school, commonly called "Stuy" ( ) by its students, faculty, a ...

, New York City * Trillium Creek Primary School, Portland

Transportation

Evergreen Point Floating Bridge The Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, also known as the 520 Bridge and officially the Governor Albert D. Rosellini Bridge, is a floating bridge that carries Washington State Route 520 across Lake Washington from Seattle to its eastern suburbs ...

Lake Washington Lake Washington () is a large freshwater lake adjacent to the city of Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the largest lake in King County, Washington, King County and the second largest natural lake in the state of Washington (state), Was ...

, Washington *

Pioneer Village station Pioneer Village is a List of Toronto subway stations, subway station on the Line 1 Yonge–University of the Toronto subway. It is located under the intersection of Northwest Gate and Steeles Avenue, at the city boundaries of Toronto and Vaughan, ...

, Toronto *

Victoria Park station (Toronto) Victoria Park is a List of Toronto TTC stations, station on Line 2 Bloor–Danforth of the Toronto subway system. It is located at 777 Victoria Park Avenue, one block north of Danforth Avenue in Scarborough, Toronto, Scarborough. The station can ...

renovation * Line 1, Ottawa - station design * Bloomington GO Station, Richmond Hill, Ontario *

Line 5 Eglinton Line 5 Eglinton, also known as the Eglinton Crosstown LRT or the Crosstown, is a light rail transit line that is under construction in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that will be part of the Toronto subway system. Owned by Metrolinx and operated by t ...

, Toronto

Office

* Ericsson R&D Complex,

Research Triangle Park Research Triangle Park (RTP) is the largest research park in the United States; it occupies in North Carolina and hosts more than 300 companies and 65,000 workers. It is owned and managed by the Research Triangle Foundation, a private non-profi ...

, North Carolina * Boston Landing, New Balance World Headquarters, Boston

Leisure

* Delta Toronto Hotel, Toronto * Oceanside Dolphin Hotel, San Diego

Mixed use

Holt Renfrew Holt, Renfrew & Co., Limited (Trade name, doing business as Holt Renfrew and Colloquialism, colloquially Holt's) is a Economy of Canada, Canadian luxury department store chain founded in 1837 by William S. Henderson. The original William Ashton ...

, 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 The Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) is a 1,677-bed acute hospital located in Govan, in the south-west of Glasgow, Scotland. The hospital is built on the site of the former Southern General Hospital and opened at the end of April 2015 ...

, Glasgow *

Royal Hospital for Children, Glasgow The Royal Hospital for Children is a 256-bed hospital specialising in paediatric healthcare for children and young people up to the age of 16. The hospital is part of the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and is built on the site of the former ...

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 Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

for the 2015 Pan American and

Parapan American Games The Parapan American Games is an international multi-sport event for athletes with physical disabilities held every four years after every Pan American Games. The first Games were held in 1999 in Mexico City, Mexico. The 2003 Parapan American Ga ...

. 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 Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, 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 arrangement A flexible work arrangement (FWA) empowers an employee to choose what time they begin to work, where to work, and when they will stop work. The idea is to help manage work-life balance and benefits of FWA can include reduced employee stress and inc ...

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

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)
{{Authority control 2022 mergers and acquisitions Architecture firms of Canada Companies based in Toronto Architecture firms based in Portland, Oregon Engineering consulting firms of Canada International engineering consulting firms Companies formerly listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange