Town Square Initiative: Washington, D.C.

Image © Gensler

If we mapped each local project completed by Gensler, D.C., in the office’s 30-year history—from law firms and commercial office buildings to institutional developments and master plans—the constellation of work would stretch across most of the city. But rarely as designers are we given the opportunity to interrogate the lines between our projects, the commonality of the urban realm that binds our work together.

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Cities and Water: Friends or Foes?

Image © Gensler

When cities are confronted by sudden deluges, our immediate response is to get rid of the offending water fast. In the past year alone, New York, Fukushima, Bangkok, Jakarta, Manila, and dozens of Chinese cities all faced widespread devastation at the hands of flooding. In times of extreme weather events, storm water is the enemy. It can cause damage and kill in its ferocity.

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The Town Square Initiative

In Las Vegas, the team developed a strategy to transform the streetscape of the city's (in)famous strip into an ad hoc town square. Image © Gensler

By 2050, nearly 70 percent of the world’s population—some 6.29 billion people—will live in cities, according to data from the United Nations. The pressure to create urban centres that facilitate healthy human social interaction is greater than ever. And it will grow ever more.

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On U.S. Airports, Infrastructural Legacy, and How to Make Things Better

A ticketing desk at San Francisco International Airport’s Terminal 2. The terminal was given a complete overhaul and upgrade by Gensler two years ago. Image © Gensler.

When it comes to rating airports, Skytrax — whose 2013 list of the world’s 100 best airports revealed the general mediocrity of U.S. facilities — is but one industry ranking. Another, perhaps more highly prized one is the Airports Council International’s Airport Service Quality (ASQ) index.

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When It Comes to Airports, the U.S. Is No Superpower

Terminal 2 at Changi Airport Singapore — the No. 1 airport in Skytrax’s 2013 list of the 100 best in the world — was given a full refresh and upgrade by Gensler and its Singapore partner, RSP Architects Planners & Engineers. Image © Gensler

I was struck by the surprise that no U.S. airport cracked the top 25 in Skytrax’s 2013 list of the top 100 airports worldwide, a point mentioned by President Obama yesterday. Americans shouldn’t be so shocked. While major airports in many countries are an extension of national sovereignty or at a minimum an important point of entry internationally, in the U.S. they are neither.

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