In a new industry report, architecture giant Gensler found that immersive experiential elements across asset types, reimagined and creativity-enhancing workspaces, and data-driven predictive cost intelligence are shaping the future of design in 2026.<\/p>\n
The San Franscisco-based firm each year analyzes survey data and anecdotal insights from industry leaders to identify key drivers of change emerging in the architecture and design world.<\/p>\n
To localize how these trends play out in the Los Angeles market, Kelly Farrell \u2013 co-managing director of Gensler\u2019s downtown Los Angeles office and global leader of the firm\u2019s lifestyle sector \u2013 sat down with the Business Journal. Farrell dove into the expansion of the mixed-use asset type, the design implications of extreme weather events and the role of technology in refining the client experience. <\/p>\n
One theme explored in Gensler\u2019s design report was using technology to drive design intelligence. What does that look like in your day-to-day?
When I started working, we were lettering and doing drawings by hand. Then we all switched to the computer which allowed us to tackle problems in a different way, whether we were pulling from algorithmic computational design or executing on really complex projects (in a fraction of the time).<\/p>\n
And now we\u2019re at another point of inflection right now for how we look at design. The way in which we are able to story tell now is light years apart from where we were five years ago, two years ago, even one year ago, where we have a cinematic universe that we can bring to life in storytelling for our clients. So, renderings that were once (two-dimensional) are actually turning into visual narratives, small movies, collections of stories that can help bring a space to life.<\/p>\n
We also are able to harness the data about space and how those metrics are performing\u2026which is exciting because we can really see the outcomes from design before we\u2019ve built it.<\/p>\n
How does that add to the client experience?
Design professionals now have such an incredible amount of tools at their disposal to help people think in three-dimensional space, to help them see something before it comes to reality. And so, whether you\u2019re out meeting with a community explaining what\u2019s going to go into their neighborhood or you\u2019re trying to model an outcome for your client, we can test those with you now in real time.<\/p>\n
Gensler\u2019s design report asserts: \u201cBoundaries have blurred between culture and commerce, infrastructure and entertainment, making mixed-use, multipurpose districts the most exciting and attractive destinations.\u201d How does this sentiment lend itself to the work your team is doing?
For a long time, mixed-use was a sports-anchored district or an entertainment district. So, whether that\u2019s what we\u2019re doing at Warner Center with Rams Village or bringing L.A. Live to life 10 years ago, it\u2019s really about keeping places active throughout the entirety of the day \u2013 getting to 18 hours, getting people to linger, getting them to build experience. Now, we\u2019re seeing that same mission in other industries. <\/p>\n
We\u2019re working with Mayo Clinic right now on their ($2 billion Bold, Forward, Unbound) master plan\u2026 creating a mixed-use health care campus with everything from medical to education to clinical spaces to research. And it\u2019s all in a hospitality driven environment, so (incorporating) hotels, food and beverage, so that their researchers and the people they bring in are getting that mixed-use experience and staying\u2026<\/p>\n
(As a patient) it also puts your body and mind in the right mindset for the care you need to receive. We\u2019re seeing the concept of experience drive so much of where design is today.<\/p>\n
I see that Gensler is involved in upgrading the Rose Bowl Stadium currently. How do the upcoming 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games shape design choices right now for venues?
Everybody\u2019s getting ready for the Olympics as well as the NBA All-Star game, the Paralympics, the Super Bowl and the World Cup. So guest experience seems to be on the minds of Angelenos everywhere\u2026We\u2019re in the middle of a massive signage upgrade at LAX, working with them to make the language of wayfinding comprehensive. We were also partners with them on creating an experience master plan for LAX, because they realized if you\u2019re coming for (any of the major events happening locally in the next couple of years), there\u2019s a pretty good chance your experience starts at LAX. And so how do you get that guest in the right mindset to feel taken care of and create that concept of being frictionless?<\/p>\n
We\u2019re seeing that same spirit come out into all sorts of sports and entertainment venues. We just broke ground at Long Beach for their amphitheater last week and their mayor, who is fantastic, said, \u2018Everybody remembers their first concert and we\u2019re going to build that memory for people here.\u2019 And I think that\u2019s akin to what we\u2019re doing at the Rose Bowl, to how we\u2019re helping other facilities upgrade so that we\u2019re delivering a world class experience across L.A.<\/p>\n
What innovation are you seeing in the office sector? How do reimagined spaces help alleviate some of the sector\u2019s decline?
I would say we\u2019re marrying a few key things. One is comfort in the way that you want to work \u2013 the idea that you don\u2019t have just one format to work in during the day, but there are different ways for you to collaborate, connect, really get your work done, whether that\u2019s common spaces or different formats for meetings\u2026 <\/p>\n
The other thing is integrating technology in the way people are going to be working but also really using workplace as a catalyst for culture. After all of us went home (during the pandemic), we found the biggest thing people were missing was the culture. They\u2019re missing that opportunity to learn, grow and connect. So, we\u2019re really focused on designing workplaces that let those things thrive and that\u2019s going to continue.<\/p>\n
What role is adaptive reuse playing in the L.A. real estate scene? What does this look like from a design and architecture perspective?
Adaptive reuse is set to change in L.A. We just got a new adaptive reuse ordinance, which now means your building only has to be 15 years old to play\u2026 and so we think that\u2019s a very awesome step for L.A. because the ability to transform office into housing is huge. <\/p>\n
What we were able to do at Pali High in the Sears building in Santa Monica was an adaptive reuse. We took an old office building that had been refreshed to be a creative office building but sat vacant and turned it into a school. That ability to be more fungible with use going is going to be excellent, especially for downtown L.A\u2026<\/p>\n
The great thing about converting spaces is you can deliver an outcome that\u2019s unexpected. When we look at some of the office space that we can convert to housing, there are often better views, better window lines, just things that we wouldn\u2019t do in a ground up (residential) build. And so, the ability for us to take those spaces and make them into something new is pretty powerful. It also helps to get streets activated again.<\/p>\n
How does the state of climate change and the aftermath of last year\u2019s wildfires play into design choices moving forward?
We\u2019re building for a future with a lot more weather events. I think we\u2019re all cognizant that we have to be thinking about extremes a lot more often. That means looking at material choices to make buildings more resilient whether it\u2019s to fire or water or the increase in temperature that we\u2019re all feeling\u2026 We\u2019re really focused on planning for those events, rather than being disappointed afterwards. <\/p>\n
We were lucky enough to be asked to contribute to the Urban Land Institute\u2019s rebuilding report for Palisades and Altadena. And a lot of that was recommendations, like using fire resistant materials at the base, in addition to clearing brush \u2013 all of it starts to work together. We\u2019re also having buildings that are self-shading now. So yes, we want that view, we want that great light, but we also want that building to do work, to shade itself, so that we\u2019re not so dependent on heavy amounts of air conditioning and other energy sources. We need more integrated solutions to where the building recognizes that the time of day is different\u2026so it adjusts and filters that light accordingly.<\/p>\n
Any design principals you\u2019re seeing in other markets that you think L.A. could benefit from exploring?
The policy alignments that we\u2019re seeing in New York City is a great example. I love their \u2018City of Yes\u2019 program. They set up tax incentives and policy incentives and zoning incentives that really allowed adaptive reuse and conversion of office to residential to take off. I think L.A. would benefit from the same thing, and I know we\u2019re working on it\u2026 (New York) is producing housing at the levels that we truly need. And these are sustainable housing options, not just small units, but the real spectrum of housing so it would be great for L.A. to be in similar in a similar space.<\/p>\n
Another thing is as we look to activate L.A. with all the events that we have, it\u2019s also the soft programming that goes along with the big spaces. So that means bringing all of our current districts to life for the games, for the All-Star game, for the World Cup, etc. \u2026 so that the experience isn\u2019t just for the person who has the ticket to the game, but it\u2019s really for the community at large.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In a new industry report, architecture giant Gensler found that immersive experiential elements across asset types, reimagined and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":160055,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[37390,48,52,51,47,50,49],"class_list":{"0":"post-160054","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-gensler","9":"tag-la","10":"tag-la-headlines","11":"tag-la-news","12":"tag-los-angeles","13":"tag-los-angeles-headlines","14":"tag-los-angeles-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160054","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160054"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160054\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/160055"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=160054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=160054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}