Business conditions continued to improve at architecture firms in September, with the AIA’s Architecture Billings Index (ABI) score rising to 54.3. (Any score above 50 indicates billings growth). Despite uncertainty in the general economy related to the federal government shutdown, firm billings have been accelerating every month since the beginning of the summer. Inquiries into new work continue to rise, despite having dipped slightly from their most recent high earlier this year, and the value of new design contracts increased in September as well.