Gensler Design Exchange

By connecting organizations' rich histories, employee's personal beliefs, and aspirations for continued meaningful action, brands can foster belonging and community based on shared values. Organizations that invest in spaces that go beyond four walls and function to express shared values and celebrate who they are and, more importantly, what they believe in, will ultimately strengthen their cultur...

To celebrate this month and the contributions of our Hispanic and Latinx colleagues, we invited three architects, designers, and employees from across Gensler offices and a variety of backgrounds on the Gensler Design Exchange for this special episode. Lisette Ortiz, Gensler's Southeast Region Photography and Awards Manager with Cuban-Colombian roots, sits down with Vivian Caravaca, a [Tica] Costa...

At Gensler, we have already shared comprehensive recommendations for space guidelines, proprietary tools, and consulting services for what's needed to successfully return to the office now, in the near term, and in the long term with our clients. But even as workplace experts, we are learning daily and adapting our business practices to reflect updated CDC recommendations, evolving employee expect...

Next week marks the start of Hispanic Heritage Month, which is a month long celebration honoring the culture and contributions of Hispanic and Latino Americans. To kick off the month, we're re-sharing an episode that aired just under a year ago where Cuban-born Gensler D.C. Design Director Nestor Santa-Cruz explains how his work process has changed through the pandemic and offers insights on how t...

Gensler's Southeast Women's Leadership Forum was born as an organic, uplifting digital meeting ground for people to share insights on our current world, professional experiences, and hopes for the future. The Forum hosts a series of conversations with emerging leaders and those in leadership roles who share their personal career journeys and experiences, while addressing topics relevant to develop...

As campuses reopen, possibly in-person for the first time since March of 2020, colleges across the country continue to face challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic. But higher education is resilient and evolving — administrators, instructors, and students alike are rethinking its value proposition and what new directions it might take in the future. The experience of students and educators while lea...

As people's relationships with their cities shift, we believe it's critical that developers, urban designers, and clients shape planning strategies and key re-entry decisions based on valuable research data and analyzed trends. In today's episode, Mark Erdly, Cities + Urban Design Practice Area Leader for Gensler's Southeast region speaks with Sofia Song, Gensler's Global Cities Lead, to discuss f...

With the Olympics kicking off on July 23, we're talking with athletes to discuss how a lifestyle of health and wellbeing can help build up endurance in both the body and mind — positively impacting your workplace productivity and problem-solving abilities in the office. Guests include Errick McAdams, DC-based personal training expert; Madeleine Crippen, Gensler SE Marketing Director and Olympic sw...

In June 2021, the YWCA South Florida celebrated 100 years of social impact, standing at the forefront of some of the most critical social movements in history and addressing the need for civil, social, and economic justice in its community. Ushering in its next century of social impact, the YWCA South Florida looks to drive empowerment through design. On today's episode of the Gensler Design Excha...

An exclusive interview between Jordan Goldstein , Principal and Gensler's Global Director of Design, and our dear client Tim Grisius , Global M&A and Real Estate Officer at Marriott International. Together they discuss Grisius's career; the evolution of Marriott from a root beer stand to the largest hospitality company in the world; the path to recovery for the hospitality industry; Marriott's inn...

In a new era of mobility, connectivity is a critical component to a resilient, inclusive, and vibrant region. The Capital Region of Baltimore, MD, Washington, D.C., and Richmond, V.A.  has an immense opportunity to spur regional economic competitiveness and collaboration, build the nation's most inclusive economy, and increase access to affordable housing for millions of residents by focusing on a...

In today's episode, Carolyn Sponza , Principal & Studio Director at Gensler, speaks with Leona Agouridis , Executive Director of the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District (BID), and Cheryl Wing-Zi Wong , a New York-based artist, to explore the connections between art and architecture, current demands for space activation, and how we might reimagine our streets and the public realm to stewa...

In the second episode of our "Looking Up" series with Armstrong World Industries , a dear client of ours and an innovative global company that provides ceiling and wall solutions for commercial buildings and residential spaces, Katie Mesia , Southeast Region Design Resilience Leader and Gensler Executive Climate Council member, moderates a conversation between Gregory Plavcan , Sustainability Cons...

We're re-broadcasting a panel discussion hosted by DCA Live  last week. In this conversation, Christian Amolsch , Client Relationship Leader and Senior Associate, and Kim Sullivan , Principal in Gensler's Washington D.C. office, speak with industry experts David Crew , Head of Real Estate at Hogan Lovells, Susan Berson , DC Office Managing Partner at Mintz, Brian Sprague , COO at Akin Gump, and Ma...

Through the chaos of the past year, the Women's Leadership Forum became an organic, uplifting digital meeting ground for people — both men and women — to share insights on our current world, our professional experiences, and our predictions for what's to come. Though we've never opened up these conversations to the public before, today, we're sharing some of our favorite moments from these enlight...

It's Women's History Month! In today's conversation on the Gensler Design Exchange podcast, Gensler Atlanta Principal & Co-Managing Director Tory Winn sits down with Meredith Leapley , CEO & Founder of Leapley Construction, to discuss how their teams are successfully navigating these challenging "lockdown life" times under their leadership. Winn and Leapley also share personal anecdotes from their...

As American cities shut down to slow the spread of COVID, car traffic across the country dropped by an average of 70% at one point. All those quiet roads opened the door for municipalities to tap into the Safe Streets (or Slow Streets) ethos and rethink how their many miles of pavement could be redesigned for additional or new uses. While these efforts are well-intentioned, they fail to address on...

Today's Black History Month feature is a rebroadcast of our episode "Embracing Multiculturalism" with Michael Marshall, Design Director & Principal of Michael Marshall Design, whose highly-acclaimed work has won countless industry awards and is featured in the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture. Kicking off the episode is a special Q&A with Gensler's Dom Sanchez and Gail Ma...

This month we are celebrating Black History Month on the podcast with a new episode each week in February. This week, hear Gensler Baltimore Co-Managing Director Vaki Mawema deliver a keynote address at AIAS GR20 Conference, discussing the power of leadership and the unique significance of this moment in our history to make an impact on the architecture industry - and to create a better world for...

As architects and designers meticulously work to transform our workplaces, retail, restaurants, schools, and virtually all places where humans connect in a post-COVID world, each space element has taken on a new sense of purpose and intentionality. Ceilings are certainly no exception. Today, we're kicking off a three-part series we'll be hosting with Armstrong that digs into how our organizations...

Since the spring of 2020, the Gensler Research Institute has been conducting surveys of workers across the globe to understand worker's needs and make informative real estate and design decisions on the future of the workplace. In these surveys, many workers expressed evolving expectations for the future of work and the physical workplace. In today's episode, we're re-broadcasting our Regional Con...

From Philadelphia down to Miami, we'll take you (virtually) to visit each of our eight offices to hear stories about how our people reached out to their communities — both locally and regionally — to listen and take action to provide resources, time, expertise, and more that helped organizations, neighborhoods, and individuals in need.  SHOW NOTES: bit.ly/genslerpod

Public space has always been an integral part of human life. It supports the widest diversity of experiences and offers some of the best experiences overall, according to Gensler's Experience Index research. From your local park, to the sidewalks on city streets, to the terraces and gardens provided by restaurants or retail centers, these spaces define our collective urban (and suburban) experienc...

Gensler's firmwide senior living leader Tama Duffy Day interviews industry experts on essential principles to consider as we look at the current moment as a unique opportunity for change. Stephanie Firestone is a Senior Strategic Policy Advisor for Health & Age-Friendly Communities at AARP International ; Dr. Bill Thomas is a geriatrician, industry trailblazer, and Independence Officer at Lifesprk...

In a world of 7.6 billion people and counting, there's bound to be repetition somewhere, right? In today's post-modern age, it's hard to ignore the omnipresence of content and product surrounding us. A simple scroll through social media might unveil a common pattern of rehashed content. But even in our increasingly oversaturated world, there are breaks in this repetition — our champions of innovat...