Gensler Design Exchange

In this Education-themed episode, Gensler Charlotte Architect Vincent Spencer take over as host in conversation with the Chief Innovation Officer of Guilford County Schools, Dr. Eboni Camille Chillis. Together, Vincent and Dr. Chillis examine the benefits of copying from international education systems, and why American education systems should adopt a "beyond 21st century" mindset when designing schools.

In this episode of the Gensler Design Exchange, host Brandon Larcom sits with industry experts to uncover what mass timber is, where it comes from, and why we should be using a lot more of it.

In this episode of the Gensler Design Exchange Podcast, we're examining how Humana's focus on workplace well-being as part of their return-to-office strategy has strengthened their culture and employee engagement.

In this episode of the Gensler Design Exchange Podcast, we're discussing the importance of infusing hospitality design into workplaces to turn offices into a destination, rather than an obligation.

In this episode of the Gensler Design Exchange podcast, Joe Brancato, Regional Managing Principal for Gensler’s Northeast and Latin America regions, and Chairman of the Gensler Board of Directors, sits with Sam Bermudez, a Regional Managing Principal in our Costa Rica office, and Brittany Valle, a Global Account Director in our Charlotte office, to discuss how Art Gensler's life and legacy live on through the firm’s people and our work with our clients.

Moderator: Nadia Volchansky, LEED AP, NCIDQ

Strategy Lead

Gensler

Guest:

Cheryl Duvall, CID, FIIDA, LEED AP, NCIDQ

Senior Associate, Regional Consulting Practice Area Leader

Gensler

Gensler is filled with innovative individuals who have diverse perspectives. This unique nature allows our people to approach projects with entrepreneurial spirits, and helps their clients go further by pushing the boundaries of what design can do.

This episode is the first in a series where we will highlight trailblazers at Gensler who have taken their strengths and talents and invested it in their work to become intrapreneurs. In this episode, Regional Consulting Practice Area Leader Cheryl Duvall joins series host Nadia Volchansky to share her background as an entrepreneur in the architecture and design industry.

01:30 Cheryl's intro, background

03:00 Cheryl starts her first design firm at the age of 25; she examines the initial challenges and eventual success.

05:42 Cheryl's company is acquired by a larger firm.

07:55 Cheryl speaks to her experience as a female entrepreneur in a male-dominated industry.

"When I was a 25-year-old woman designing a major law firm, there were times I felt disrespected. I saw it as an opportunity to prove myself. I knew if I was knowledgeable and not faking it, I would come across as confident. And because I believed in myself, others did too." – Cheryl Duvall

11:20 The barrier to entry for women in business, then and now.

11:53 Cheryl embarks on starting her second design firm while attending graduate school; her entrepreneurial evolution

14:18 Cheryl arrives at Gensler in 2018.

16:33 Covid's impact on Cheryl's role at Gensler, the growth of the consulting practice

"As designers, we influence and build culture. Culture and innovation strategy services are really what's next. The focus on organizational development and the softer, human-centric services is where our consulting practices are going to see growth." – Cheryl Duvall

17:41 The innate and learned skills and behaviors Cheryl believes it takes to be a successful entrepreneur.

18:30 The advice Cheryl would give her younger self.

20:05 Cheryl's definition of success in entrepreneurship.

Tune in to hear the full conversation. As always, thanks for listening!

Vivian Caravaca, RA, Architect, Gensler

Julie Jackson, CDT, NCARB, RA, Design Manager, Senior Associate, Gensler

Amy Stone, AIA, CDT, LEED Green Associate, NCARB, Design Manager, Gensler

About 17% of all licensed architects today identify as women. And while almost half of the students in architectural programs in the U.S. are women, the number of women who become registered, achieve upper management levels, become partners, and own architectural firms has not increased at the same rate or in the same proportion as their male counterparts.

In this episode of the Gensler Design Exchange podcast, three Gensler employees share their stories of becoming registered architects.

Hailing from Costa Rica, Vivian Caravaca earned her architecture degree from the Universidad de Costa Rica, after sparking interest in design during her high school shop classes. Now an architect in the Gensler Tampa office, Vivian works on a variety of projects across hospitality, workplace, residential, mixed use, and retail.

"I had uncles who worked in the construction industry when I was younger. I sometimes wonder if I would have had architectural career aspirations earlier if I had seen my aunts or other women in the architecture, design, or construction fields." - Vivian Caravaca, Architect, Gensler

Julie Jackson is a design manager in the Gensler Charlotte office. After earning a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art at Wake Forest University, Julie took the leap into architecture and earned her master's degree in Architecture from the University of Texas at Austin. Starting at the Gensler New York office in 2004, Julie has worked on hundreds of projects at various scales over the last 18 years

"I didn't really go into school knowing that there were fewer female architects than male architects, but it wasn't until I looked more into the architects behind the work I was studying, and at the history of architecture itself, that I began to see that there aren't a lot of architects that look like me. Entering this field with a lot of confidence helped me immensely. I reframed what could be seen as a disadvantage into a challenge that I needed to overcome." – Julie Jackson, Design Manager, Senior Associate, Gensler

Amy Stone, an architect in the Gensler Atlanta office, had no original ties to the architecture field. A knack for sketching and sincere reverence for buildings led her to earning a bachelor's and master's in architecture from the Georgia Institute of Technology (with an MBA on the way). Now as a design manager at Gensler, she brings experience with a wide variety of project types including multi-family housing and mixed-use, adaptive reuse, renovations, higher education, interior design, warehouses, affordable housing, and residential design.

"They say, 'you cannot be what you cannot see.' You need to have examples of what's possible, even if it won't be your exact path. Once you see ways woman have been creative around the obstacles and roadblocks around them, it sparks ideas and abilities in you, too." – Amy Stone, Design Manager, Gensler

Throughout this episode, Vivian, Julie, and Amy share challenges and moments of reflection in their pursuits, from a lack of representation, to managing work-life balance. As their careers progressed, areas of opportunity were made clear. Through confidence, determination, and the help of their networks — from their families to organizations like Madame Architect — their winding paths led each of them to Gensler.

Their stories are a testament to the power of perseverance, and an inspiration for women everywhere. Tune in to hear the full conversation. As always, thanks for listening!

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About 2% of all licensed architects identify as Black or African American, and .4% are Black or African American women. While racial diversity in the architecture field is slowly growing, there is a wide gap to fill. In today's episode of the Gensler Design Exchange podcast, two Gensler employees engage in a candid conversation on their varying experiences as Black women in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry and share how they've successfully pursued careers in architecture and design.

In our 9th workplace survey since the start of the pandemic, Gensler's latest U.S. Workplace Survey contains data collected from more than 2,300 U.S. office workers from October to November 2021. This particular survey digs into both employers' and employees' preferences and expectations for the future, and the opportunities for implementing a series of workplace culture, policy, and design changes that encourage employees to return to in-person work. In this episode of the Gensler Design Exchange, Gensler workplace experts share key findings from the survey and their experience helping clients balance business goals with employee desires and embrace purposeful change for a more meaningful future of work.

The pandemic has highlighted the disparity between the future of work and the bulk of existing commercial office and residential building stock. Thousands of square feet are arguably unaligned to the demands and expectations of the evolving market. Successful developments in the future will be those that offer far more than merely a place to work or live. In this episode of the Gensler Design Exchange, design and development experts discuss how buildings can stand out and be more resilient in today's competitive market.