Gensler Design Exchange

We explore the concept of lifestyle districts and how cities can be designed to be accessible and livable for all on this episode of Gensler's Design Exchange. 

As consumers seek more meaningful connections in a digital world, brands are looking to immersive experiences to better engage audiences. Listen as we explore the growing trend of immersive experiences and how designers can help realize new frontiers. 

As populations swell and housing costs rise, many middle-income families are finding themselves priced out of the market. In this episode of the Gensler Design Exchange podcast, we explore the differences between affordable and attainable housing and provide context on housing burden trends.

Experts weigh the opportunities, myths, and challenges of converting increasingly vacant office buildings into much needed housing.

In this episode, we examine decarbonization in the built environment. We define embodied carbon vs. operating carbon, address net carbon impact, discuss how we approach resilience with our clients, and weigh the impact of carbon in interior design.

In honor of Women's History Month, this episode of the Gensler Design Exchange podcast is celebrating women in the industry, including right here in our own firm. Three women in leadership roles within Gensler share their stories about their career paths.

Contributors of a new AIA resource called the "Architect's Role in Creating Equitable Communities" share how architects can, in their practices, bring about racially just and equitable outcomes for all members of the communities they serve. 

In this episode of the Gensler Design Exchange podcast, we are continuing a conversation around mass timber.

Hear from Change Management experts on what Change Management is, why it's important, and how it can be implemented in the workplace.

Guest host Diana Apalategui and guest Lucy Kitchin explore ideas for private sector intervention in federally owned assets in the District

In this Education-themed episode, Gensler Charlotte Architect Vincent Spencer take over as host in conversation with the Chief Innovation Officer of Guilford County Schools, Dr. Eboni Camille Chillis. Together, Vincent and Dr. Chillis examine the benefits of copying from international education systems, and why American education systems should adopt a “beyond 21st century” mindset when designing schools.

In this episode of the Gensler Design Exchange, host Brandon Larcom sits with industry experts to uncover what mass timber is, where it comes from, and why we should be using a lot more of it.

In this episode of the Gensler Design Exchange Podcast, we're examining how Humana's focus on workplace well-being as part of their return-to-office strategy has strengthened their culture and employee engagement.

In this episode of the Gensler Design Exchange Podcast, we're discussing the importance of infusing hospitality design into workplaces to turn offices into a destination, rather than an obligation.

In this episode of the Gensler Design Exchange podcast, Joe Brancato, Regional Managing Principal for Gensler's Northeast and Latin America regions, and Chairman of the Gensler Board of Directors, sits with Sam Bermudez, a Regional Managing Principal in our Costa Rica office, and Brittany Valle, a Global Account Director in our Charlotte office, to discuss how Art Gensler's life and legacy live on through the firm's people and our work with our clients.

Moderator: Nadia Volchansky, LEED AP, NCIDQ Strategy Lead Gensler   Guest: Cheryl Duvall, CID, FIIDA, LEED AP, NCIDQ Senior Associate, Regional Consulting Practice Area Leader Gensler   Gensler is filled with innovative individuals who have diverse perspectives. This unique nature allows our people to approach projects with entrepreneurial spirits, and helps their clients go further by pushing the boundaries of what design can do.   This episode is the first in a series where we will highlight trailblazers at Gensler who have taken their strengths and talents and invested it in their work to become intrapreneurs. In this episode, Regional Consulting Practice Area Leader Cheryl Duvall joins series host Nadia Volchansky to share her background as an entrepreneur in the architecture and design industry.   01:30    Cheryl's intro, background 03:00    Cheryl starts her first design firm at the age of 25; she examines the initial challenges and eventual success. 05:42    Cheryl's company is acquired by a larger firm. 07:55    Cheryl speaks to her experience as a female entrepreneur in a male-dominated industry.   “When I was a 25-year-old woman designing a major law firm, there were times I felt disrespected. I saw it as an opportunity to prove myself. I knew if I was knowledgeable and not faking it, I would come across as confident. And because I believed in myself, others did too.” – Cheryl Duvall   11:20    The barrier to entry for women in business, then and now. 11:53    Cheryl embarks on starting her second design firm while attending graduate school; her entrepreneurial evolution 14:18    Cheryl arrives at Gensler in 2018. 16:33    Covid's impact on Cheryl's role at Gensler, the growth of the consulting practice   “As designers, we influence and build culture. Culture and innovation strategy services are really what's next. The focus on organizational development and the softer, human-centric services is where our consulting practices are going to see growth.” – Cheryl Duvall   17:41    The innate and learned skills and behaviors Cheryl believes it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. 18:30    The advice Cheryl would give her younger self. 20:05    Cheryl's definition of success in entrepreneurship.   Tune in to hear the full conversation. As always, thanks for listening!

Guests: Vivian Caravaca, RA, Architect, Gensler Julie Jackson, CDT, NCARB, RA, Design Manager, Senior Associate, Gensler Amy Stone, AIA, CDT, LEED Green Associate, NCARB, Design Manager, Gensler   About 17% of all licensed architects today identify as women. And while almost half of the students in architectural programs in the U.S. are women, the number of women who become registered, achieve upper management levels, become partners, and own architectural firms has not increased at the same rate or in the same proportion as their male counterparts.   In this episode of the Gensler Design Exchange podcast, three Gensler employees share their stories of becoming registered architects.   Hailing from Costa Rica, Vivian Caravaca earned her architecture degree from the Universidad de Costa Rica, after sparking interest in design during her high school shop classes. Now an architect in the Gensler Tampa office, Vivian works on a variety of projects across hospitality, workplace, residential, mixed use, and retail.     “I had uncles who worked in the construction industry when I was younger. I sometimes wonder if I would have had architectural career aspirations earlier if I had seen my aunts or other women in the architecture, design, or construction fields.”  - Vivian Caravaca, Architect, Gensler   Julie Jackson is a design manager in the Gensler Charlotte office. After earning a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art at Wake Forest University, Julie took the leap into architecture and earned her master's degree in Architecture from the University of Texas at Austin. Starting at the Gensler New York office in 2004, Julie has worked on hundreds of projects at various scales over the last 18 years   “I didn't really go into school knowing that there were fewer female architects than male architects, but it wasn't until I looked more into the architects behind the work I was studying, and at the history of architecture itself, that I began to see that there aren't a lot of architects that look like me. Entering this field with a lot of confidence helped me immensely. I reframed what could be seen as a disadvantage into a challenge that I needed to overcome.” – Julie Jackson, Design Manager, Senior Associate, Gensler   Amy Stone, an architect in the Gensler Atlanta office, had no original ties to the architecture field. A knack for sketching and sincere reverence for buildings led her to earning a bachelor's and master's in architecture from the Georgia Institute of Technology (with an MBA on the way). Now as a design manager at Gensler, she brings experience with a wide variety of project types including multi-family housing and mixed-use, adaptive reuse, renovations, higher education, interior design, warehouses, affordable housing, and residential design.   “They say, ‘you cannot be what you cannot see.' You need to have examples of what's possible, even if it won't be your exact path. Once you see ways woman have been creative around the obstacles and roadblocks around them, it sparks ideas and abilities in you, too.” – Amy Stone, Design Manager, Gensler   Throughout this episode, Vivian, Julie, and Amy share challenges and moments of reflection in their pursuits, from a lack of representation, to managing work-life balance. As their careers progressed, areas of opportunity were made clear. Through confidence, determination, and the help of their networks — from their families to organizations like Madame Architect — their winding paths led each of them to Gensler.   Their stories are a testament to the power of perseverance, and an inspiration for women everywhere. Tune in to hear the full conversation. As always, thanks for listening!   Subscribe to Gensler Design Exchange on Soundcloud, Apple Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Spotify, Alexa AnyPod, Google Play, Stitcher, and Libsyn — or anywhere you listen to podcasts.

About 2% of all licensed architects identify as Black or African American, and .4% are Black or African American women. While racial diversity in the architecture field is slowly growing, there is a wide gap to fill. In today's episode of the Gensler Design Exchange podcast, two Gensler employees engage in a candid conversation on their varying experiences as Black women in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry and share how they've successfully pursued careers in architecture and design.

In our 9th workplace survey since the start of the pandemic, Gensler's latest U.S. Workplace Survey contains data collected from more than 2,300 U.S. office workers from October to November 2021. This particular survey digs into both employers' and employees' preferences and expectations for the future, and the opportunities for implementing a series of workplace culture, policy, and design changes that encourage employees to return to in-person work. In this episode of the Gensler Design Exchange, Gensler workplace experts share key findings from the survey and their experience helping clients balance business goals with employee desires and embrace purposeful change for a more meaningful future of work. 

The pandemic has highlighted the disparity between the future of work and the bulk of existing commercial office and residential building stock. Thousands of square feet are arguably unaligned to the demands and expectations of the evolving market. Successful developments in the future will be those that offer far more than merely a place to work or live. In this episode of the Gensler Design Exchange, design and development experts discuss how buildings can stand out and be more resilient in today's competitive market.

You may know the popular Aristotle quote "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts." In this episode of the Gensler Design Exchange podcast, a panel of passionate guests explain how this idea permeates a partnership that was formed to empower underserved youth to add color to our world and elevate their voices through the power of design. With a shared belief that our physical surroundings can vastly improve our lives, the Boys & Girls Clubs Metro Atlanta (BGCMA), Project Color Corps (PCC), and Gensler's Atlanta office entered a partnership that is changing the trajectory of Atlanta's youth. Through this conversation, we explore the power of partnerships and programming in strengthening support for our communities.

Like every other industry, AEC (Architecture, Engineering, and Construction) felt the extreme volatility of the past 24 months. Supply chain issues, shipping challenges, skilled labor shortages, and rapidly fluctuating costs have led to both trials and opportunities in leading and executing projects across the built environment. While we don't have a crystal ball, we do have lessons learned that we can share to help set expectations and create transparency in the procurement process as we enter the new year. In this episode of the Gensler Design Exchange podcast, we convene a group of project management and technical experts to discuss their experiences over the past two years and offer their insights and suggestions for advising and guiding teams and clients to make the design and construction process as smooth as possible in 2022.

Since the start of the pandemic, safety, wellness, and sustainability have become just as much of a requirement for passengers at airports as speed and efficiency. As the holiday travel season intensifies into the end of 2021, what can airport travelers expect now and into 2022? In this episode of the Gensler Design Exchange, four Gensler aviation industry experts explore how the pandemic has introduced airport design innovations in health, wellness, technology, and equity.

At Gensler, giving is a year-round affair. Impacting our communities and investing in the education of our youth are critical components of our mission to create equitable and resilient cities. That's why we are committed to creating positive, enduring change through social responsibility and civic engagement in the communities where we live, work, and play. This week on the Gensler Design Exchange podcast, Meredith Flanagan, Gensler's Washington DC office community impact leader, sits down with Theresa Sheils, co-managing director of Gensler DC, to discuss the office's community impact initiatives and reflect on how the Gensler DC (gDC) team has given back over the last year.

As society emerges from a time of uncertainty and isolation, cultural institutions are leading the way because they intuitively understand that their mission-driven work is part of something greater. Rather than taking a passive role as collectors and exhibitors, museums can and should become dynamic places of learning, engagement, and inspiration that showcase the rich items of our past, while expanding their collections for and making themselves more accessible to diverse audiences of the future. This week on the Gensler Design Exchange, Bevin Savage-Yamazaki who leads our Foundations, Associations & Organizations global practice, as well our culture and museums practice in Gensler's New York office, sits down with Rachel Goslins, the director of Smithsonian's historic Arts + Industries Building (AIB), America's first National Museum, to explore the future of the museum experience.  In this episode, we'll be exploring how museums are adapting to changing visitor expectations and an increasingly digital world, and get an exclusive look into the AIB's groundbreaking new museum experience “FUTURES” which opens to the public on Saturday, November 20, 2021.

Through the power of design and a focus on the human experience, we can transform our workplaces, buildings, and ground planes into hubs for connection and engagement that extend beyond walls into the surrounding city and community. There are environmental, social, and economic benefits to creating multi-use environments that are connected to the community with shared public spaces — something that people value now more than ever because of the pandemic. In today's episode of the Gensler Design Exchange, Chad Parker, Principal and Managing Director of Gensler Raleigh, sits down with Shawn Seaman, President of Hoffman & Associates, to discuss the power of design and what it means to lead great development, empower our communities, and rise together.

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 culture and bring their brand to life. In today's episode, we're re-broadcasting a panel discussion that Gensler hosted in partnership with AIGA for this year's DC Design Week. The panel convenes diverse voices across history-rich organizations like WMATA, Armstrong World Industries, and US Army War College, to discuss the increasingly important role brand plays in building culture, storytelling, and getting people back to shared spaces.

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 Rican architect in Gensler's Tampa office, Christian Hernandez, a Cuban technical designer in Gensler's Miami office, and Dani Marquez, a Venezuelan designer in Gensler's Atlanta office, to discuss their career journeys, what it means to be Hispanic in our industry, their role in making our communities more resilient & equitable, and the impact that diversity in design and architecture can have on the human experience.

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 expectations, and new research findings. In this episode of the Gensler Design Exchange, Francisco Gonzalez, Principal and Gensler D.C. Office Director, sits down with Kate Kirkpatrick, Principal and Gensler D.C. Consulting Studio Director, to gather practical recommendations and honest perspectives on the challenges and opportunities in returning to our offices, and discuss how people, place, and technology might come together in an optimized workplace ecosystem.

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 to stay plugged in to find design inspiration in a hybrid world. With more than 21 years of corporate interiors experience, Nestor is noted for his award-winning designs, which have been published in Interior Design, Contract Design, Elle Décor, Architectural Record, and The Washington Post. Nestor has earned a reputation as a trendsetter whose designs appeal to a diverse and international audience. With his innate architectural style sensibility and expansive knowledge of design history, Nestor serves a wide variety of law, financial, government, association, hospitality, and residential clients to design projects of all scales.

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 developing leadership skills. In honor of Women's Equality Day, we're re-publishing an episode from earlier this year where we share our favorite moments, key takeaways, and specific calls to action from these enlightening dialogues that will help emerging professionals navigate their unique path to leadership.

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 learning and teaching during the pandemic holds critical considerations for what the future of higher education might look like. In this episode, we explore how we might incorporate the best of virtual learning into physical spaces and blending learning programs in the future.

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 findings from the Gensler Research Institute's City Pulse Surveys. Then, Mark speaks with local experts Kevin Songer, Gensler Atlanta Co-Managing Director, Brad Brogdon, Gensler Charlotte Design Manager, and Leith Oatman, Gensler Tampa Workplace Practice Area Leader to discuss how the findings from our research have implications on workplace, mobility, retail, culture, and entertainment for rising cities in the Southeast and beyond.

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 swimmer; and Brandon Larcom, Gensler's Global Director of Product Development and former National Figure Skating champion and fitness product inventor. SHOW NOTES: bit.ly/genslerpod

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 Exchange podcast, Gensler Miami Senior Associate, Co-Studio Director & Client Relationship Leader Jorge Bernal sits down with Gensler Miami Principal & Co-Managing Director Diana Farmer-Gonzalez, YWCA South Florida President & CEO Kerry-Ann Royes, and Kaufman Rossin Director of Risk Advisory Services Glenn Davis. SHOW NOTES: bit.ly/genslerpod

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 innovative, new Gensler-designed headquarters; and much more. SHOW NOTES: bit.ly/genslerpod

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 key transportation asset: the extensive regional rail network. Currently, the region’s commuter rail systems’ lines and operators are segmented by political boundaries, causing simple commutes to nearby destinations to be needlessly cumbersome and inefficient. Gensler, alongside regional interest groups like the Greater Washington Partnership, have sought to re-imagine this system as a unified, connected whole through The Capital Region Rail Vision. Today’s guests have all been involved in the development of the Rail Vision, so we brought them together to discuss how we can work collaboratively to bring it to fruition and grow a stronger, more equitable and well-connected region.

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 steward more equitable and sustainable districts.

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 Consulting Leader at Gensler, Helen Sahi, Director of Sustainability at Armstrong, Mark Hershey, Senior Vice President of Sustainability at Armstrong, about how our two organizations are charting the course toward a more sustainable, resilient future — for ourselves and for our clients. SHOW NOTES: bit.ly/genslerpod

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 Maurice Bellan, DC Office Managing Partner at Baker Mckenzie, to discuss how design trends that have accelerated in the last year will have a lasting impact on the world’s leading law firms, their workforces, and their design partners for many years to come. SHOW NOTES: bit.ly/genslerpod

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 enlightening dialogues. SHOW NOTES: bit.ly/genslerpod

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 professional pasts and offer advice for budding leaders hoping to grow their careers in the industry. SHOW NOTES: bit.ly/genslerpod

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 one basic question: Safe for whom? So far, many Safe Streets initiatives are unfolding in well-capitalized and majority-white areas that feature restaurants, shops, parks, and other cultural and leisure activities. Too often, communities of color have not been part of the equation. Architects and designers have an opportunity to change that dynamic by understanding the flow of resources, enabling more inclusive engagement and participation, and capturing measurements for success.

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 Malone, speaking on the importance of community to create action toward more inclusive future. SHOW NOTES: bit.ly/genslerpod

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 all through the power of design. SHOW NOTES: bit.ly/genslerpod

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 are reimagining buildings, spaces, and products to enhance health and wellbeing in our return to the office and shared spaces In our first episode of this series, Janet Pogue McLaurin, a Principal and Global Workplace Research Leader who has been at Gensler for more than 38 years, moderates a conversation between Vic Grizzle, CEO of Armstrong World Industries, and Don Ghent, a Principal and Design Realization Leader at Gensler, about how ceilings are an important part of the holistic approach to design we must take as we reimagine shared spaces in the future.

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 Consulting Practice Area Leader Cheryl Duvall’s interview on the Business Learning Institute’s Future-Proof podcast with host Bill Sheridan, of the Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants (MACPA), where Bill and Cheryl discuss key findings from Gensler’s 2020 Workplace Surveys. As we look to the future, our data helps us explore how employers and their workplaces can best support their employees in a post-pandemic future.

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) experiences. And after months of isolation from much of the outside world through the lockdown spurred by coronavirus, public space has been at the center of our social lives as a “safe” place to connect with others while social distancing. Now more than ever, these spaces are poised to become the lifeblood of our neighborhoods and cities. Today's guests will discuss how we might design cities that work for everyone and facilitate both organized and spontaneous connections between diverse people.

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; and Esther Greenhouse is a built environment strategist, environmental gerontologist, and a Strategic Director at the TC Age Friendly Center for Excellence. These three guests are collaborators on AARP International’s important Equity by Design webinar series dedicated to exploring different aspects of the active aging conversation. SHOW NOTES: bit.ly/genslerpod

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 innovation who advance ‘originality’ in the design of our products, spaces, and experiences. In today’s episode, we discuss this very idea. How do we protect innovation as an industry and promote diverse thinking and creativity in an age where we’re constantly inundated with information?