Art Gensler, made by Titan and interior design The Hall of Fame member passed away on May 10 at his home in Mill Valley, California, at the age of 85. During his 65-year career as an architect and entrepreneur, he transformed what started as a three-person practice in San Francisco into the world’s largest design firm. Launching offices worldwide, he and Gensler have forever changed the profession by raising the bar for interior design practice and inviting clients to collaborate.
Since opening its doors in 1965, Gensler has built a reputation for excellence that stems from a “One Company” culture, which values ”we” over “I,” underlining the importance of teamwork. This spirit has won and directed countless projects across the globe, from early adopters like The Gap and expansion to office headquarters – including TikTok’s and the Motion Picture Association – airports, showrooms, and hospitality environments, to the Shanghai Tower recognized as the second tallest. building in the world. All of them have led to widespread admiration for art and practice.
“As editors, my team and I have followed Art’s accomplishments since almost day one, and we continue to highlight and award outstanding Gensler projects around the world,” he shares. interior design Editor in Chief Cindy Allen, recalling the 2009 Hall of Fame company induction party. “We feel very fortunate to have recorded his history and the history of the company in the pages of our magazine, and we hope we have contributed some means that will allow his legacy to live on forever.”
A dedicated teacher and educator, Art strongly supports design education and emerging talent. To this day, the company’s entrepreneurial structure enables employees at every stage of their careers to thrive by fostering connections that allow ideas and innovations to flow freely – ensuring that no one feels undervalued despite the company’s size. Herein lies the heart of the art heritage.
Born in 1935 in Brooklyn, M. Arthur Gensler received his BA in Architecture from Cornell University’s School of Architecture, Arts and Planning in 1958. Around that time, he met and married his wife Drushela known as Drew. Soon, the couple moved to San Francisco, where in 1965 they co-founded M. Arthur Gensler Jr. & Company with James Follett, paving the way for Gensler’s beginnings. Working in a one-room office, Art turned his attention to the importance of space planning and interiors, establishing interior design as a new class of architectural practice and shaping the future of his work.
His life-spanning career has included countless awards, including joining the interior design Hall of Fame in 1985, the year the award was launched, Cornell Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 1995, Design Futures Council Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016, and Ernst & Young LLP’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He was named a Fellow of both the AIA and IIDA, and a Professional Member of the RIBA. In 2000, Gensler was awarded the AIA Architectural Firm of the Year Award, the institute’s highest honor.
Eager to give back to his community, Art has served as a trustee for the Buck Institute on Aging, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the California College of Art. He and his family gave $10 million to his university to maintain the AAP program in New York City. wrote principles of artAnd His 2015 book that gave entrepreneurs the business insights he wished he had when he started.
In 2010, Arte resigned as chairman of the company’s board of directors, putting the co-CEO model in place that still exists today, led by Andy Cohen and Diane Hoskins. “We will forever honor art’s leadership and legacy as industry leaders,” Cohen says. “We’ve learned, through examples, that putting our clients’ success at the heart of what we do allows us to overcome the greatest challenges and seize the greatest opportunities around the world.” Hoskins adds that she joined Gensler largely because of the art, because “his vision and values were so compelling: a deep commitment to human experience as well as belief in people, the power of design as a tool to drive business performance and growth, and a can-do attitude.” Each of these tenants today lives through Gensler’s culture and into the larger A&D community that has had the opportunity to learn and work with the art.
Drew had removed the art and survived his life, his four sons, and their families.
A full retrospective of Art Gensler will appear in the July print issue of interior design magazine. In lieu of flowers, donations can be directed to various scholarships for California College of the Arts students through the Gensler Family Foundation Scholarship via CCA . site.