Gensler, Sydney: Dynamic, Entrepreneurial, Social

“Design should be a conversation and one preferably had over a coffee or a glass of wine,” says Gensler Associate Andrew Waddle. There is a café-like feel about the Gensler office. Walking off the street and into the practice’s ground floor office in Sydney’s CBD, you are greeted by a large table with a bar, a coffee machine and a fireplace. 

“We are so visible from the street. We often have people walking past and gazing in and we invite them into the office and tell 

them about what we do,” adds Andrew. The office has an open and inviting culture. There is a buzz and an energy about the practice and there is always music on throughout the day. “We naturally work collaboratively and the space matches that. It allows us to host clients and for suppliers to come in but it also lets us work very easily,” comments Managing Director Tom Owens. “It’s not just about how it looks – it’s also about how it functions and how it supports our culture.”

Having set up in Sydney three and a half years ago, the office is one of the smallest of Gensler’s 44 global offices with around 20 staff. Being this size within a much-larger firm gives the practice some freedom. “When you go into a Gensler office you know, but each office expresses the Gensler brand and the personality of the local team in its own unique way,” says Waddle. “We have the advantage in Sydney of taking the best of what the firm has to offer – its research, its global perspective – and then applying our own local approach to things. The social, café vibe of our studio is a great example of that.”

Photo credits: (header) Our office expresses our creativity © Fiona Susanto. - (footer left to right) We value professional development, like diplomas from Coffee College / We stay healthy together with Gensler’s gFit program / VR and AR have become an everyday part of our design process © Gensler.