Shive-Hattery

Shive-Hattery is an integrated architecture and engineering firm founded in 1895 and headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with offices across the Midwest. The practice combines architecture with structural, civil, mechanical and electrical engineering plus interior design and surveying, which lets it carry federal and institutional projects without outside consultants on the core disciplines. Its work spans higher education, healthcare, government, industrial and transportation buildings. Shive-Hattery designed the new U.S. Federal Courthouse in Flagstaff, Arizona, a $70 million, 50,777-square-foot, three-story building meeting GSA Level III security requirements and targeting LEED Silver and net zero energy performance, with cases expected to begin as soon as March 2027.

Seventeen studios carry the Shive-Hattery name, spread out from Cedar Rapids across Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Arizona, Texas and Washington. The firm frames the arrangement as large-firm reach with local expertise, and it explains how a practice rooted in eastern Iowa ends up designing a courthouse in Arizona or a bike trail in Eldridge.

Beyond the core architecture and engineering disciplines, the service list runs deeper than most integrated firms: land surveying, landscape architecture, environmental services, building envelope consulting, district energy systems, water and wastewater, water resources, traffic and transportation, building information modeling, 3D visualization and branded environments. That last one, signage and wayfinding treated as an extension of the architecture, is the kind of in-house capability that keeps an owner from hiring a separate graphics consultant.

Sector coverage has widened accordingly. Alongside the higher education, healthcare and government work, Shive-Hattery lists data centers, life sciences, food and beverage plants, manufacturing, renewable energy, gaming and hospitality, libraries, multifamily housing and sports facilities.

Recent projects give a sense of the range: the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum renovation, a practice facility for the Chicago Sky, the UI Health Specialty Care Building in Chicago, the Athene Pedestrian Bridge at Raccoon River Park, the City of Eldridge bike trail, and the Replay student housing development.

Where the firm sits in the industry

Shive-Hattery reports ranking #28 among BD+C’s Giants 400 engineering-architecture firms, #174 on Architectural Record’s list of top architectural firms, and #232 on ENR’s Top 500 Design Firms. Headcount is roughly 650. The firm also cites support for more than 200 non-profit organizations.

One note for anyone checking the numbers: the About page describes 16 offices in nine states, while the locations directory lists 17 studios including Houston. Either way, the Cedar Rapids studio remains the home office at 222 Third Avenue SE.