2024-05-08T21:43:05-04:00 https://archinect.com/news/article/132488419/increasing-demand-for-education-healthcare-and-government-buildings-bolsters-architectural-billings-index Julia Ingalls 2015-07-22T13:33:00-04:00 >2015-07-25T18:39:45-04:00 <img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/oc/ocs2qp7hjah8ibt8.png?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><p>According to the <a href="http://www.aia.org/press/releases/AIAB106918" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">AIA</a>, while the demand for multi-family housing has slowed, many other design sectors, especially those related to institutional facilities, have prompted a significant increase in the <a href="http://archinect.com/news/tag/107273/architecture-billings-index" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">architectural billings index</a>, from 51.9 in May to 55.7 in June. To provide perspective, the meaning of these figures is based on a median of 50.</p><p><img title="" alt="" src="http://cdn.archinect.net/images/514x/b2/b2zf8jvgwtf4uhg2.jpg"></p><p>A figure below 50 indicates a decline in average billings, while a figure above is a sign of expansion. The rapid uptick is echoed in the new projects inquiry index, which has currently rocketed to 63.4, up from 61.1 in May. Regionally, the Midwest is currently the hottest place for growth, with an average of 57.2, while the Northeast is trending gently upward with an ABI of 50.4.&nbsp;</p>