M. Arthur Gensler Jr., the founder of Gensler, has passed away at the age of 85. He was a talented architect who turned his humble San Francisco practice into the largest architecture firm in the world with 50 locations across Asia, Europe, Australia, the Middle East, and the Americas. Gensler founded the practice in 1965 and has worked on several remarkable projects along with running one of the most successful architecture firms for the past 65 years.
According to the SF Chronicle, Gensler was battling lung disease for the last 18 months and passed away in his sleep. Gensler's son David shared with Sam Whiting of the SF Chronicle, "he had a real passion for San Francisco and the Bay Area. My dad was a regular guy, respectful and friendly and never pompous. He loved serving clients through the power of design."
Born in New York, Gensler studied at Cornell University and received his B.Arch in 1958. In a conversation with Gensler Principal Maddy Burke-Vigeland, he attributed architecture critic Henry Hill for encouraging him to move out to California. "When I graduated, I spent six months in the ROTC, and then I took a military flight out to California. Henry was a wonderful mentor to me. He couldn't hire me, but he helped me make connections and launch my career. I'll never forget his influence. I'm forever grateful to him," shared Gensler.
Beyond the countless projects and extensive design portfolio Art Gensler was committed to fostering a "one-firm firm" culture. In an Instagram post shared by the firm, they expressed, "his gift to the firm was not a vision for what it could be, but rather an ethos that allowed it to grow and prosper against all odds. That ethos was distinguished by a belief in collaboration, support of design education and career advancement, respect for individuals, dedication to clients, and endorsement of sustainable design [...] Art embodied core values of mutual trust, respect, empathy, and team spirit and nurtured a collaborative culture that continues today."
18 Comments
Another giant passes. He is one of the rarest in the profession: a titan of industry who built a business of unprecedented scope and scale upon opportunities where others deigned to tread.
i have a great deal of respect for what he did and while i never worked there, i think we all benefit from having a firm spread values of decency and collaborative efforts.
it should be noted his wife cofounded the firm and worked with him. i don't doubt the collaboration was an essential part of the firm culture even though the full story is unknown to me.
Met Art once when he was visiting our office (one of 50+ globally) and he chose to push the bar cart through the office on a Friday afternoon serving everyone beers and snacks.
Gensler is also the only firm I've ever been at where I was paid for every hour I worked and provided with the kind of benefits you would expect a professional services firm to offer.
"Art's Principles" has a whiff of self-help or business guru to it, but reading it illustrated for me not just how dismally most architects run their businesses, but how that impacts their ability to design good projects.
I was given "Art's Principles" a while ago, and while I haven't read it, I've determined to go find it and crack it open.
The obituaries going around reminded me of that book. I might snag a copy.
Might do likewise.
RIP Art.
I wonder if any of Archinect's "Intelligentsia" will bag onto Art as the epitome of corporate architecutre
Nah, just you, albeit passive-aggressively.
I am usually aggressive-aggressive, but was referring to people that were bagging on the deah of the Eli Broad. Good try though.
Did you click through to the same Eli Broad article I did? Aside from x-lax (who I don't read) there's only two other comments. One of them is you. Not like you to set yourself up for a fake-dunk or anything though, is it?
I think architects are a little more sympathetic to their own in death.
Sneaky, I was referring to Orhan's post, go and read it. Dont come back.
Orhan is more than one person? Or were you just confused?
Uh Huh
sameold, aren't you a Gensler angel now? You have the most damning comments about the big G than anyone else on this forum as I recall.
+, my comment about Eli Broad wasn't really mean to him per se, but true on his company's problematic impact on architecture and suburban development. Since when you guys became selectively blind on things you usually complain about?
it pains me everytime to see a giant go. I followed Gensler with great enthusiasm for Architecture is the mother of all arts, he was the father. RIP Art!
I had the great pleasure of knowing Art through collaborative pursuits, greatly admire him and will cherish his memory. Down to earth, courageous, and respectful to all, including an aspiring young architect that he encouraged and treated as someone whose voice should be heard. I learned so much from him about leadership and how humility complements greatness.
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