ENR Mountain States has selected its Design Firms of the Year for 2024. They are JLG Architects in North Dakota and Utah firm VCBO for the Intermountain area. Design Firms of the Year are chosen by a vote of ENR editors from across the country based on factors that include regional revenues, new initiatives, current projects, community and industry contributions and other considerations.

Profile stories on both firms will appear in the May 27 print issue of ENR Mountain States, which will also feature our annual ranking of the region's Top Design Firms. Congratulations to these two winning design firms!

VCBO, Utah

VCBO, with offices in Salt Lake City and St. George, Utah, reported $50 million in revenue for 2023, a firm record and a nearly 100% increase from 2022. As VCBO celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2023, the firm embarked on a journey to reimagine its brand while positioning itself for the next 50 years—the result centers around the theme of "creating spaces for people to thrive.”

VCBO’s 2023 projects included the Intermountain Health Primary Children’s Hospital Larry H. and Gail Miller Family Campus with Page Southerland Page, and the University of Utah West Village Family and Graduate Housing. Meanwhile, construction of Salt Lake City’s new North Capitol Building is underway, along with the University of Utah Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine, the Utah Valley University Scott M. Smith Engineering and Technology Building, and the L.S. Skaggs Integrated Wellness Center at Westminster University, to name just a few. 

 VCBO representatives serve in leadership positions and volunteer for a variety of AEC industry organizations throughout Utah, including the American Institute of Architects, Women in Architecture and the National Organization of Minority Architects.


JLG Architects, North Dakota 

JLG Architects grew by approximately 20% in the past year to $52 million and has more than doubled its revenue over the past three years. The firm’s Mountain States offices, which are scattered across the Dakotas, have taken action to address climate change, ensuring all its projects start with net zero as a goal and only adjust as an intentional response to client or other parameters. The firm is also committed to designing workplaces with neurodiversity in mind, creating intentional, thoughtful spaces such as quiet zones, flexible workstations, sensory rooms, collaboration hubs, training arenas, outdoor retreats, social hubs, personal nooks and wellness sanctuaries.

A few of JLG’s current projects include the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, Medora, N.D.; a “smart farm” located at the Wheatland, N.D., Grand Farm Innovation Campus; Augustana University’s Midco Arena, Sioux Falls, S.D.; and a 25-year master plan for Altru Health System in Grand Forks, N.D.

Last year JLG employees also pledged more than 1,650 volunteer hours to organizations working to make their communities better places to live.