Gensler is the largest and most profitable architecture firm in the world. With that power and influence one would imagine they might practice what they preach "to create a better world through the power of design". Instead, they profit from what can probably best be described as labor exploitation, scheduling projects and setting expectations for project deliverables that cannot be realistically accomplished without gross levels of excessive, unpaid overtime. This problem is endemic to the industry, and we have large, influential firms like Gensler to thank for the precipitous devaluation of architects’ skills and labor. The amount of free work given out to clients is a race to the bottom that has impacted the entire profession. In a perversely Darwinistic cycle, only those with a high tolerance for this exploitation survive in the company, and thus perpetuate the problem. When the pandemic hit, we watched as employees of all levels were laid off en masse, most never mentioned again (a week later they assured us we would still be receiving our summer bonus). Their workloads were transferred-- without any additional compensation-- to the remaining employees who were expected to carry these burdens and show their passion and gratitude. It was truly bizarre and upsetting.
Below-average salaries and low bar for design quality aside, Gensler is an okay place to work if you have no particular values regarding design. Their shallow patina of progressivism and caring about cities pays lip service to the rest of the profession. Their research initiatives, diversity initiatives and relationship to academia are self-serving and shallow. Their true motives, and what keeps them at the top of so many “biggest & best” lists, is profit for their top people and for their clients. They have no morals, and all you need to do is look at their client list to see that. One of their highest paying individual clients -- a particularly problematic religious organization -- tells you just about everything you need to know about their vetting process when it comes to wealthy prospective clients. If you believe architecture and the built environment should benefit cities and the people who live in them, you will likely be incredibly disappointed with Gensler. If you believe architecture is an engine for profit and primarily serves to increase the wealth of landowners, you will find good company here.
If you’re exhausted from architecture school, wondering if all of this was worth it, desperate to make a dent in your student loans and find a stable job, Gensler might seem appealing, but I would caution against it unless you have 5-10 years worth of patience, a high tolerance for office politics and a spouse who makes more money than you. Their salaries are barely a living wage, and the bonus is considered part of your salary, but taxed higher, so don’t be fooled by that “perk”. If you’re talented technically, good at rendering and complex spatial problem solving, I would stay away as well. You will be quickly pigeon-holed as a “visualization” person and moved to a new project every couple weeks to fulfill this need. The bulk of the work done at Gensler is not good Architecture, if you stay for a couple years you might come out with one or two portfolio pieces, the rest will be time wasted on recursive, mindless exercises, exhausting and endless design option iterations (done for no extra cost to the client) and projects that were so cheap for the client that they don’t think twice about scrapping the plans entirely after 6 months of studies. Their professional development program is a joke. The only way to move up here is to prove you’re one of them, play along with the Sisyphean absurdity of the Gensler business model, and smile as you shut off your computer at 3 am. Do this for 5 years and you might get promoted to Associate, assuming there aren’t more layoffs.
