The world's largest architecture firm recently opened an office in Sydney and plans to expand further into Australia.
Gensler, a global firm that employs 1,468 architects and reportedly earned more than $600 in fee income last year, opened a new office in the nation's capital and that was just the start of its expansion into the land down under, according to Architecture & Design.
The company's new office in Sydney is headed by former Gensler employee, Simon Trude. Trude left the company and founded a local design studio in Sydney called 2d3dcreative before returning to Gensler. He is currently overseeing an office of six employees but there are plans to more than double that number by the end of this year.
The initial focus is going to be on commercial interiors and it intends to grow its consulting in workplace design and performance.
But Sydney is a short-term goal.
Gensler says that it only grows organically and the time must be right in their eyes — they now have plans to open offices in Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane, according to Architecture & Design.
According to the Australian Financial Review the expansion is evidence of the globalizing nature of the design and construction industries. Gensler managing director Dan Winey confirmed that, under the right circumstances, the company was open to relocating talent to new markets and hiring employees from overseas, according to Architecture and Design.
The company's founder is is certainly behind expansion as well.
"I have always believed that Gensler's strength lies in our collective global skill set. We are stronger as a firm when we bring our unique skills, viewpoints and experience to the table. It's been that way from the beginning when we were a single office in San Francisco, through our expansion across the US, and now more than ever as we grow globally," Art Gensler wrote on the company website when reflecting on the Shanghai Tower.
In Sydney, Gensler is already involved with a project to renovate the University of Technology Sydney tower and updates to retail and hospitality spaces. Those projects aren't too flashy for a company the size of Densler but what's likely to come will be more significant.
It reportedly has its sights set on bids for sky scrappers in Barangaroo, according to Architecture & Design. The Shanghai Tower, the tallest building in China and the second tallest building in the world, was a project by Gensler that vaulted the company into that region.
Perhaps a larger project in Barangaroo will do the same.
