The gradual phasing out of building bonuses and the slowdown in momentum generated by the PNRR (National Recovery and Resilience Plan) are changing the landscape of Italian design entrepreneurship. After years of sustained and, in some cases, extraordinary growth, the sector is now facing a period of redefinition, in which structural critical issues are clearly emerging, but also new opportunities for development and competitive repositioning.

A decisive contribution to understanding this transition comes from Guamari’s 2025 Rankings Report (presented on 27 November 2025 in Milan), which analyses the 2024 financial statements of the leading Italian architecture and engineering firms.

The document provides a clear picture of a sector undergoing radical change, called upon to compete in a less supportive and more selective environment, in which organisational skills, financial soundness and strategic vision are becoming decisive factors.

The Italian A/E system put to the test in the post-emergency period

The national Architecture and Engineering industry is thus entering a phase of structural transformation, after a three-year period in which two exceptional levers – tax incentives for private construction and the resources of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan for public works – have profoundly changed demand, design priorities and the production capacity of the entire supply chain.

With the simultaneous easing of these “accelerators”, the central question becomes inevitable: how will the design world react when the extraordinary support that has fuelled construction sites, turnover and work portfolios comes to an end? The answer cannot be based on impressions or short-term indicators, but requires a structured analysis of economic data and supply.

Financial statements as a key to understanding

In this context, the 2025 Report on the Italian Architecture, Engineering and Construction Industry, prepared by Guamari, is the most authoritative reference. The study is based on the 2024 financial statements and rankings of the top 200 Italian companies operating in the architecture, engineering and construction sectors, providing an up-to-date snapshot of the industrial health of the sector at the end of 2024.

Although it does not include a strategic indicator such as the order book – which is not present in official financial statements – the Report nevertheless provides a solid basis for assessing companies’ ability to cope with the new market phase. Based on the analysis of this data, Professor Aldo Norsa, former lecturer at the IUAV University of Venice and now scientific director of Guamari, together with Dr. Stefano Vecchiarino, has compiled a ranking of the 200 leading design firms in the Italian AEC industry, outlining trends, imbalances and evolutionary trajectories in a sector that is called upon to rethink its future.