2024-11-08T21:30:29-05:00 https://archinect.com/news/article/149967426/zgf-architects-tops-2016-s-architect-50-top-firms-of-the-year Julia Ingalls 2016-09-08T12:35:00-04:00 >2016-09-14T00:44:15-04:00 <img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/lh/lhejtnrnhxdsgbwt.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><p>Beating out <a href="http://archinect.com/som" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">SOM</a> and <a href="http://archinect.com/firms/cover/51099/adrian-smith-gordon-gill-architecture" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture</a>, the Portland-based firm ZGF Architects has taken the number one spot in <a href="http://www.architectmagazine.com/architect-50/2016/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Architect Magazine's annual ranking</a> of the fifty best architectural firms. The ranking, which evaluates firms using the criteria of Business, Sustainability, and Design, listed&nbsp;<a href="http://archinect.com/firms/cover/8363993/william-rawn-associates-architects-inc" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">William Rawn Associates</a> as achieving the highest score in business, while&nbsp;<a href="http://archinect.com/firms/cover/1098/marlon-blackwell-architect" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Marlon Blackwell Architects</a> nabbed the highest design ranking.</p><p><img title="" alt="" src="http://cdn.archinect.net/images/650x/2d/2dmysby6z1w7vygz.jpg"></p><p>ZGF, which had the highest sustainability score, is known chiefly for its healthcare and hospitality buildings, including the&nbsp;Federal Center South Building 1202, which won the&nbsp;AIA COTE 2015 Top Ten Plus Award. Since its founding, the firm has added five additional offices in the U.S. and Canada, all of which follow a design philosophy that "is centered on the premise that design excellence should be reflected in each and every aspect of a building&mdash;its fit with the community, its function and relationship to its users, its building systems, and i...</p>