Davis Langdon’s business in the United States was founded in 1974 by Peter Adamson in San Francisco, specifically to provide a comprehensive construction cost management service to architects and owners. Peter was trained as a quantity surveyor in the United Kingdom and was one of the first to build a consulting business in the USA focused on managing construction costs. Most early clients were architects in the San Francisco Bay Area who retained the firm to provide design stage cost planning services; in the early years the firm also provided claims consulting and project management services.

The firm expanded into Los Angeles in 1987, and in the early 1990s opened offices in both Sacramento and Seattle.  In 1999, the firm joined Davis Langdon & Seah International, and operated in the USA as Davis Langdon Adamson; later this was abbreviated to our current branding of Davis Langdon. Now as part of the international group, the firm spans Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australasia, and Africa as well as the USA. This international coverage and resource base enables all Davis Langdon firms to provide clients with unique global reach, linked to local delivery.

In 2002 we expanded our operations to the east coast by opening an office in New York City and now we operate throughout the US, with additional office locations in Philadelphia, Boston, Honolulu, and most recently Washington, DC, providing a broad range of consulting services to the property and construction industry.

In October 2010 Davis Langdon joined AECOM Technology Corporation (NYSE: ACM), a leading provider of professional technical and management support services for government and commercial clients around the world. 

As a result, Davis Langdon and its clients are able to benefit from a wealth of opportunities brought about by the global scale and wider capabilities, expertise and experience that AECOM provides.  As a combined firm, we have an increased ability to deliver large complex programs and offer integrated services as a ‘whole solution’ if that is what would result in the best outcome for the project.  We also have access to greater investment capabilities and an even broader range of technologies, people and best practices.  This further boosts our ability to deliver services that have a greater impact on the challenges faced by our clients today and in the future.