Global architecture firm Gensler has opened an office in Sydney and announced ambitions to expand its activity across the country.
The world’s largest architecture company, as ranked in the 2014 World Architecture 100, Gensler employs 1,468 architects and reportedly took more than US$600 million in fees income last year.
The Sydney office is being headed up by the founder of local design studio 2d3dcreative, Simon Trude, a former employee in Gensler’s New York office.
The Sydney office currently employs six people, but is poised to expand to 15 in 2014. The firm's initial focus is on commercial interiors, with ambitions to grow its consulting in workplace design and performance.
The private company, which says it only grows organically, is also looking at opening offices in Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane in line with growth.
The Australian Financial Review noted that the move highlights a globalising nature of the design and construction industry, with Gensler managing director Dan Winey confirming that where it makes sense, they would send work to cheaper locations, bring staff from overseas and team up with local firms on projects … “building our capability locally at the same time”.
The AFR reports Gensler also has its sights on larger projects including the skyscrapers in Barangaroo.
Gensler used the massive Shanghai Tower project win, a super-tall 632-meter tower now under construction, as a launching pad into the region and is using a similar approach to grow its presence in Australia. Image © Gensler.
The company website about section explains:
"As architects, designers, planners and consultants, we partner with our clients on some 3,000 projects every year. These projects can be as small as a wine label or as large as a new urban district. With more than 4,000 professionals networked across 46 locations, we serve our clients as trusted advisors, combining localized expertise with global perspective wherever new opportunities arise".
