It might sound like hyperbole, but not so long ago Neenah, Wis.-based Miron Construction Co. built the greenest school on earth.

Until recently, HDR inc. was perhaps the best-known design firm no one knew was operating in Chicago.

It was during a design charette in 2005 that project executives with Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects and KJWW Engineering Consultants, designers of the University of Illinois Business Instructional Building, first broached the subject of constructing the facility in accordance with LEED standards.

It was billed as a year of recovery, but 2011 proved anything but for the construction industry in the Midwest and elsewhere.

One of the Midwest's mightiest construction firms is on the move.

Summer may be high season for construction, but contractors in the Midwest have lowered their sights this year due to the lingering effects of recession in the region.

Although the past few years have been crushing for many enterprises working in and around the construction industry, some firms have managed to stand tall by reinventing and reinvigorating themselves, even as the recession continued to bear down on sector after sector.

The Midwest region’s Top 80 Designers reached $1.7 billion in regional billings in 2009, according to data compiled by Midwest Construction.

Flad Architects of Madison, Wis., has climbed one spot, to finish fourth, in Midwest Construction’s 2010 listing of top design firms, ranked by revenue, with $52.0 million in regional earnings. Last year, Flad ranked fifth, with $56.6 million. In addition, the architectural and engineering firm stands 163rd on Engineering News-Record’s 2010 national ranking of top design firms, up from 170th in 2009; and ranks 37th on ENR’s 2010 list of top green design firms, up from 48th last year. ENR and Midwest Construction are both published by McGraw-Hill Co. Flad’s secret to success is “creating environments that enhance the user’s

More than $1.1 billion worth of construction is under way on federal government buildings in the Midwest. The figure includes regularly scheduled projects as well as renovations funded by the federal Recovery Act. Photo Courtesy Of GSA Returning to its original location, a half-ton panel of granite is moved precisely into place by workers at Chicago’s Federal Plaza. Photo Courtesy Of GSA After installing a new waterproofing underlayment, workers prepare to replace 950-lb. granite pavers as part of a total restoration of Chicago’s Federal Plaza. Through July, the General Services Administration had obligated more than $981 million for 120 stimulus