IN MEMORIAM
Celebrating the Life, Contributions and Achievements of Architectural Icon and Groundbreaking Interiors Proponent, Arthur Gensler, Inaugural IFI PRIZE Recipient (2020)
In 2020, IFI was privileged to award Mr. Gensler with the inaugural IFI Global Awards Program (IFI GAP) PRIZE in recognition of his indelible contributions to our discipline. As its first recipient, he established the highest benchmark for practice and the profession for this, the top honor for Interior Architecture/Design at the world level. We celebrate his life and are appreciative of his leadership and the impactful legacy he has made to the built environment. On behalf of the world community of IFI, we share our condolences with Mr. Gensler’s family, the Gensler firm, his friends and colleagues.
On this occasion, we share the following public announcement from Diane Hoskins & Andy Cohen, Co-CEOs, Gensler
We come to you today with heavy hearts to share with you the passing of Art Gensler. Art was an industry icon and entrepreneur with the vision that we not only design spaces, but that we do so with the understanding of how they have the power to shape the way we experience the world and who we become within it.
In 1965, with his wife Drue and James Follett, Art founded the firm that he led until the Board introduced the Co-CEO leadership structure in 2005. He is credited with making interior design a new area of architectural practice, raising it to a new level of professionalism. Art led the firm to break new ground as early proponents of interior spaces that reflect and reinforce a company’s brand and unique culture. His “inside-out” approach to architecture, examining the user journey in a building, laid the seeds for the human experience framework our firm still embraces to this day.
In his later years with the firm, Art’s leadership helped Gensler blossom into a full-service practice. He helped craft the blueprint for the firm’s interdisciplinary approach seen through the creation of practice areas. These decisions helped the firm earn clients’ trust and paved the way for Gensler’s expansion abroad.
Art’s lasting legacy is a global brand that only he could have created. He mentored his colleagues to put clients first, fostering a dynamic that can be seen in the firm’s decades-long relationships with clients. He championed the adaptive, proactive, and client-focused approach that treated service as a privilege and clients as partners. His philosophy of working alongside our clients to provide solutions for their most pressing challenges was part of this trademark style for yielding the most value for clients. His spirit and people-focused values will always be the pillars of Gensler.
Art passed away peacefully today, May 10, at his home in Mill Valley, California. He was 85 years old.
Art was predeceased by his wife of nearly 60 years, Drucilla (Drue) Cortell Gensler. He is survived by his four sons and their families: David and his children (Aaron, Thisbe, Dunia, and Pales) with Alisoun; Robert and his wife Gillian; Douglas and his children (Cortie, Cailin, and Mamie) with Kinzie; and Kenneth and his children (Morgan, Jake, and Sam) with Jennifer and grandchild (and Art’s great-grandchild) Charlotte.
The International Federation of Interior Architects/Designers (IFI) is the global voice and authority for professional Interior Architects/Designers. As the singular Federation of Associations, IFI acts as a global forum for the exchange and development of professional practice, knowledge and experience, along with education, research and design advocacy worldwide. IFI connects the international community to further the impact, influence and application of the design of interiors, promote social responsibility, and raise the global status of the profession. An international not-for-profit, founded in 1963, IFI expands the international network of professional Interior Architects/Designers.
IFI believes in the power of Design as a vehicle for human betterment and productive improvement. IFI recognizes that all people are equal across the world and that well-designed environments help to uplift humanity and civil society. It promotes equal rights and access to Interior Architecture/ Design practice, research and education to be granted equally to all who wish to pursue it. This is regardless of race, gender, creed, sexual orientation, cultural heritage and socio-economic background, and not-withstanding disparities brought forth across different regional contexts. That good and quality Design requires to foundationally take into consideration these and other such evolving factors as technological innovation, globalization, economic and political instability and social inequality, as well as holistic consideration of the environmental/sustainable factors.