Millard Arthur Gensler Jr. (July 12, 1935 – May 10, 2021) was an American architect and entrepreneur. He was best known for founding Gensler, the world's largest architecture firm. The firm's most prominent works include the terminals at the

San Francisco International Airport San Francisco International Airport is an international airport in an unincorporated area of San Mateo County, south of Downtown San Francisco. It has flights to points throughout North America and is a major gateway to Europe, the Middle E ...

and Shanghai Tower, the second-tallest building in the world.

Early life and education

Millard Arthur Gensler Jr. was born in 1935 in the New York City borough of

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. Gensler's father was Millard Arthur Gensler, Sr., a.k.a. "Slats", an architectural sales representative who sold ceiling tiles. His mother, Gertrude Gensler, worked as a switchboard operator for the telephone company. He attended high school in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

, after the family moved there, and earned his B.Arch. degree in 1958 from

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

, where he played soccer and tennis.

Career

In 1962, Gensler moved to San Francisco, where in 1965 he and his wife, Drue Gensler, along with James Follet, founded M. Arthur Gensler Jr. & Associates Inc., now known as Gensler. the firm had 5,000 employees in 50 cities around the world. It covers 28 aspects of design under separate specializations and is decentralized, with no headquarters; it retains a hub in San Francisco. Gensler himself personally designed only one building for a client, the original Apple Store, at

Steve Jobs Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American entrepreneur, industrial designer, media proprietor, and investor. He was the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Apple; the chairman and majority shareholder of Pixar; a ...

's insistence. While Gensler stepped down as the firm's chairman in 2010, he continued to work as an adviser. Gensler published his first book, ''Art's Principles'', in 2015.

Philanthropy

In January 2021, Art Gensler made a $10 million gift to Cornell University's

College of Architecture, Art, and Planning The College of Architecture, Art, and Planning (AAP) at Cornell University is one of the world's most highly regarded and prestigious schools of architecture and has the only department in the Ivy League that offers the Bachelor of Architecture de ...

as an endowment for the college's New York City satellite program, which Gensler co-created in 2006 with the then dean of the college, Mohsen Mostafavi. As a result of the gift, AAP NYC will be renamed to the Gensler Family AAP NYC Center.

Personal life

In 1957, Gensler married Drue Cortell; they have four sons, David, Douglas, Robert, and Kenneth. David Gensler was a co-CEO at Gensler; Douglas C. Gensler is an architect and co-managing director for Gensler's office in Boston. Gensler died at his home on May 10, 2021.

Awards

The

Design Futures Council The Design Futures Council is an interdisciplinary network of design, product, and construction leaders exploring global trends, challenges, and opportunities to advance innovation and shape the future of the industry and environment. Members inclu ...

awarded Gensler its Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gensler, Art 20th-century American architects Cornell University College of Architecture, Art, and Planning alumni 1935 births 2021 deaths 21st-century American architects People from Brooklyn Architects from New York City