WASHINGTON, D.C.—The results are in: Architect magazine has chosen its top 100 U.S. architecture firms. The rankings are based on three criteria: profitability, defined as revenue per employee, based on 2008 gross revenue; sustainability, accounting for factors like a firm's green policies; and design quality, which is based on awards from 2008.

The number-one pick is Boston's William Rawn Associates, known for designing buildings on the campuses of many elite U.S. universities and liberal arts colleges. In second place is Chicago-based Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, which specializes in high-end commercial buildings, and the third runner up is HOK, the largest U.S.-based architecture-engineering firm and known as a leader in sustainable design.

Read more (and get the full list) at archdaily.com.