Clayco is a full-service, turnkey real estate, architecture, engineering, design-build and construction firm that delivers clients across North America the highest quality solutions on time, on budget and above and beyond expectations.

Develop. Design. Build. It’s not just the steps in the design-build process that set us apart. It’s how we overlap each step to make every project better. Founded in 1984, every project we’ve built has been fully integrated and we have revolutionized the design-build process every step of the way. Our building processes deliver solutions of the highest standard, and clients have trusted Clayco to handle their most complex construction projects for over 35 years.

Clayco has dramatically set new standards for collaborative design, construction quality and craftsmanship, efficient project management, cost containment and jobsite safety. With over $5.8+ billion in revenue for 2023 and more than 3,500 employees across the country, we are one of the nation’s largest privately-owned real estate, architecture, engineering, design-build and construction firms. Our people specialize in the “art and science of building,” providing fast-track, efficient solutions in North America for commercial, institutional, industrial and residential building projects. Year after year, we are ranked by Engineering News Record as a top design-builder and contractor.


At CLAYCO, it’s been our culture from the very beginning to do more than build. To CREATE. To INNOVATE. And to do it with a holistic, intelligent balance of ART AND SCIENCE that’s unmatched anywhere.

In the process of creating and innovation, we tear down obstacles, old methods and outdated thinking, and we replace them with NEW IDEAS and TRANSFORMATIONAL SOLUTIONS.

We see our work through the EYES OF THE PEOPLE who will use them every day. Through their eyes, we see places of HEALING, NOURISHMENT, PROGRESS, TECHNOLOGY, SCIENCE, RESEARCH, INDUSTRY and ENTERTAINMENT.

The results? POWERFUL STRUCTURES with impacts that reach far BEYOND THESE WALLS.

Because it’s not about the walls we plan and the buildings we put up. It’s about the PEOPLE and their PURPOSE within them every day.

Without them, our walls have no purpose. And with them, our purpose has no limits. We build for a CURE… for a SCIENTIFIC BREAKTHROUGH… for a family that’s SAFE and HEALTHY… for a CLEANER WORLD… for a BETTER FUTURE.

That’s the ART AND SCIENCE OF BUILDING.
That’s CLAYCO.

A History of Building Innovation

We are dedicated to the art and science of building in a constantly evolving way. We seek out new technologies, new methods, new ways to execute high quality, mission critical projects. We’ve been innovating since our inception in 1984, from being one of the first to utilize a full-room computer server to the data-collecting project site drones we utilize today.

An Unlikely Story

Clayco was formed July 23, 1984 by Bob Clark, then just 25 years old. In the first year, the company completed $1.2 million in revenue and then dramatically grew to 191 employees and $8 million in revenue through mostly industrial, process, and design-build work in the St. Louis metro area. The company grew over 40% per year in nine of the first 16 years.

Integrated Services Expansion

1997-1998 were large growth years for Clayco. The firm consolidates all its practices into Clayco Construction Company, Inc., including our newly formed full-service real estate services. Lamar Johnson Collaborative is created as well, expanding the Clayco services even further.

Taking the Lead

In 2005, Clayco officially designates our full service contracting concrete subcontracting company, Concrete Strategies. Throughout the mid-2000s, we continue to grow in spades and expand into LEED-certified buildings, with the Novus Headquarters being the first Platinum building in the portfolio.

An Established Force

We rallied behind the mantra “Beyond These Walls” in 2011, making it our mission to understand the needs of the people who will use the buildings we develop, design and construct. We moved our headquarters to the Chicago loop in 2013 to better serve our clients and further diversify the talent base. Today the company employs over 3,000 team members across the nation and over $5.2 billion in annual revenue.


Building Solutions

Clayco provides turnkey, full-service building solutions through our real estate services capabilities and our fully integrated subsidiaries Lamar Johnson Collaborative, an award-winning architecture and design firm; Concrete Strategies, a leading edge, full-service, design–build, concrete contractor; and Ventana, a building enclosure company that designs, supplies and installs high–performing curtainwall façade systems.

Develop

Site Selection, Development, Financing, Asset Management

Design

Urban Design & Planning, Architecture, Interior Design, Landscape

Commercial, Industrial, Food & Beverage, Life Sciences

Build

Design-Build, CM@Risk, 
Self-Perform, Culture of Safety

AFFILIATE COMPANIES


The Art of Design Collaboration

Forum Studio (Clayco’s original architecture practice, created in 1999) merged with technology firm Bates in 2018, creating BatesForum. In June 2019, Clayco combined the design practices Lamar Johnson Collaborative and BatesForum to create an integrated practice staffed by more than 240 professionals. The integration with Clayco’s full-service approach to project delivery allows the entity, the Lamar Johnson Collaborative, to provide clients a full complement of services and remove inefficiency and risk from the design and development process, bolstered by BatesForum’s strong expertise in design-build, technology and healthcare.


Any Project Anywhere

At Clayco, our integrated, full-service team brings diverse yet focused expertise across a multitude of industries and design-build disciplines. Our innovative approach enables us to build any project anywhere, and we’ve executed more than 600 iconic and complex projects across the country, 276,500,000 square feet of new construction, and 118,500,000 square feet of renovation.

Your business deserves a dedicated team that understands the intricacies and fundamentals of your organization and how to link to creative building solutions. We understand that need and deliver innovative, creative building solutions that result in great facilities, safety records, virtual tools and results. That’s what Clayco delivers time and time again.