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Regional Oral History Office University of California The Bancroft Library Berkeley, California Arthur Gensler ART GENSLER: BUILDING A GLOBAL ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN FIRM Interviews conducted by Martin Meeker in 2014 . Copyright © 2015 by The Regents of the University of California ii Since 1954 the Regional Oral History Office has been interviewing leading participants in or well-placed witnesses to major events in the development of Northern California, the West, and the nation. Oral History is a method of collecting historical information through tape-recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well-informed interviewer, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. The tape recording is transcribed, lightly edited for continuity and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewee. The corrected manuscript is bound with photographs and illustrative materials and placed in The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley, and in other research collections for scholarly use. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account, offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is reflective, partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ********************************* All uses of this manuscript are covered by a legal agreement between The Regents of the University of California and Arthur Gensler dated February 5, 2015. The manuscript is thereby made available for research purposes. All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. Excerpts up to 1000 words from this interview may be quoted for publication without seeking permission as long as the use is non-commercial and properly cited. Requests for permission to quote for publication should be addressed to The Bancroft Library, Head of Public Services, Mail Code 6000, University of California, Berkeley, 94720-6000, and should follow instructions available online at http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/ROHO/collections/cite.html It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Arthur Gensler, “Art Gensler: Building a Global Architecture and Design Firm” conducted by Martin Meeker in 2014, Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 2015. iii Arthur Gensler, 2014 iv Arthur Gensler was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1935. He attended Cornell University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in architecture. Upon graduation, he worked for architecture firms in New York and Jamaica. After moving with his wife Drue to California in the early 1960s, Gensler worked for a few architectural firms, including Wurster, Bernardi, and Emmons. While at Wurster, he played a lead role establishing the design standards for the Bay Area Rapid Transit system, then under construction. In 1965, Gensler opened his firm by pioneering architectural interiors for newly constructed office buildings, including the Alcoa Building (1967) and the Bank of America Building (1969), both in San Francisco. His firm grew fairly rapidly with offices opening around the U.S. in the 1970s and 1980s and then overseas in the 1980s and 1990s. By the early 2000s, Gensler’s firm was the largest architecture and design company headquartered in the U.S. In 2015 the firm is expected to complete the Shanghai Tower, currently the second tallest building in the world. This wide-ranging interview covers Gensler’s family background, upbringing, and education; his early jobs as an architect; and the founding and subsequent expansion of his own firm. The interview delves into topics such as the transformation of architectural practice and technologies, the development of green building standards, and the globalization of professional services firms, among dozens of other topics. v Table of Contents — Arthur Gensler Introduction by Gerson Bakar xiii Interview History by Martin Meeker xv Interview 1: January 17, 2014 Audio File 1 1 Birth — Family background and upbringing — Parent’s work — Raised in New York and Connecticut — Impact of the Great Depression of M. Arthur Gensler Sr. — More on father’s work — Lifelong interest in architecture — Winning a soapbox derby, designing the vehicle — On design and visualization — Recollections of leisure activities, World War II, magazines, holidays Audio File 2 17 Father’s nickname: “Slats” — Early interest in architecture and engineering — Working as an adolescent, including work as a caddy and at a soda fountain — Lessons learned — Admission to Cornell for college — Majoring in architecture — Joining a fraternity, playing sports, and college social life — Meeting and befriending Henry Hill at Cornell — Developing an architectural aesthetic — Attending Cornell with Richard Meier — Meeting Drucilla (Drue), dating and courtship — Marriage with Drue while still a student at Cornell — Curriculum in architecture, influential professors — Architecture studio work — Conceptual work on Brasilia — Thesis work on the Innsbruck Olympics site — Birth of first child, David — More on the Innsbruck project, influence of Buckminster Fuller and Felix Candela Interview 2: January 22, 2014 Audio File 3 35 Buckminster Fuller as a “pied piper” — Learning from Fuller — Fuller’s impact on architectural orthodoxy — Generational transition at Cornell’s architecture school: post-Beaux Arts, pre-Corbusier — Thoughts on the Rem Koolhaas building at Cornell — Rise of the “starchitect” and Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead — The tension between vision and practicality in architecture — Thoughts on reasons for success in architecture school — Relationship between planning and architecture at Cornell — The “Dragon Day” incident — Women at Cornell — Graduation in 1958 — Entry into the Army Corps of Engineers, stationed at Fort Belvoir, Virginia — Designing an “under-ice” camp — First visit to California, looking for work with architecture firms — Interest in California contemporary architecture, Second Bay Tradition homes — Later interest in Eichler homes — Return to New York and applying for architecture positions — Work at Shreve, Lamb & Harmon checking “shop drawings” vi Audio File 4 52 More on Shreve, Lamb & Harmon — Accepting a position with Norman & Danborn, a British architecture firm operating in Jamaica — Living and working in Jamaica — Diverse work experiences in Jamaica: getting experience across the range of architectural practice — Two more sons, Rob and Ken, born in Jamaica — The Jamaican political situation — Practicing architecture in a colonial setting — The British system of architecture — Return to New York in the early 1960s, accepting a position with Fred Allert — Designing the Levittown Public Library — Designing a fallout shelter school with Al Segal — Move to California, connecting with Don Wutdke, continuing work with Al Segal — Finding a home in Marin County — Designing a school for disabled children in Cupertino — Leaving Al Segal — Taking a position with Wurster, Bernardi & Emmons — More on designing bomb shelters, thoughts about the Cold War Interview #3: February 28, 2014 Audio File 5 70 Working at Wurster, Bernardi & Emmons — Assignment to develop design standards for the new Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system — Comparison of BART with older rail systems — Designing a clean, efficient, logical transit system — Working with engineers, importance of planning and practicality — Transportation, high speed rail, Embarcadero Freeway, etcetera — Making BART accessible — Working with different architects for different stations — Fare collection, pedestrian traffic flow, tickets, and other issues Audio File 6 88 Influence of futuristic transportation concepts on BART — Crime, homelessness, and terrorism — Problems with historic preservation, fear of change, constancy of change — Unanticipated business opportunities and potential for growth — Architectural education in college versus on the job — Discussions with Wurster about starting a business — Recognizing an opportunity with the Golden Gateway / Alcoa Building development — Starting work in Fall 1965, the firm opens in January 1966 — Hiring Jim Follett as a draftsman — Hiring Hal Edelstein — Role of Don Wudtke — Struggles with the Alcoa Building (1967): its location, crossbeams and obscured windows — Developing the practice of office interiors / interior architecture with the Alcoa Building — Combining design with sales — Schematic design practice — Working with Mike Robbins, corporate real estate broker — Success with the Alcoa Building interiors — Meeting Gerson Bakar — Other early projects for the Gensler firm vii Interview #4: April 29, 2014 Audio File 7 107 Passing the architecture licensing exam — Importance of being a licensed architect — The process of obtaining an architecture license in 45 states — Historical changes in architectural licensing — United States Green Building Council — Apprentice architects — Bachelor’s versus master’s degrees in architecture — Children and grandchildren pursuing architecture — More on designing interiors for the Alcoa Building — Working with Don Wudtke and Mike Robbins — Developing an office interiors business — Differentiating the approach of the Gensler firm to interiors from other firms doing interiors, including Saphier Lerner Schindler and Whisler-Patri — Working with interior office systems, partitions, windows, light fixtures, desks, etcetera