Gensler co-CEO Andy Cohen at his home office.
Andy Cohen co-leads Gensler, a global giant in the architecture world with 6,000 employees across 18 countries and 24 practice areas, with Diane Hoskins. Though design work has been impacted, the coronavirus pandemic has been a busy time for him: Beyond checking in with 67,000 clients in 10 weeks, his team has been crafting open-source guides to get back to the office safely, and Cohen has been active on the webinar circuit.
Cohen is a biking enthusiast and father to two young entrepreneurs. Though he has loved the extra time with his wife that not commuting into Los Angeles has brought him, he said he is ready to get back to the office, because that’s where the magic happens.
Bisnow: Describe your work-from-home life and what you are doing in your spare time.
Cohen: Because we are a global design firm, I have consistently worked virtually my entire career, especially when I became co-CEO 15 years ago with my partner, Diane Hoskins. As I am in LA and Diane in D.C., we are in constant communication with each other and key Gensler leaders from around the globe. So, even before the pandemic I was having video calls or traveling 50% of the time. Now, it has increased to 150% of the time as we work from home with 12- to 14-hour days starting early in the morning with video calls with clients and Gensler leaders in Europe and the Middle East and ending in the evening with Asia and India.
And, because we pride ourselves on our trusted client relationships, I spend a lot of time strategizing with great clients from around the globe, which again has always been virtual. I also have had many opportunities over the past several months to do keynote or panel discussions on redefining the future of cities and the impacts of the pandemic. It’s been interesting how much bigger the audience can be for these now that we can host them with a click of a button.
Personally, another positive result of this situation is how much time I save by not commuting on the LA freeways or traveling. This has given me more time to be with my wife, Portia, and spend quality time together when I’m not working. We both really enjoy cooking at home in the evenings and biking in the early morning and weekends. My passion is biking. It’s great exercise and also a chance to get outside for fresh air and clear my head. I also check in with both our children, Brandin and McKenzi, regularly. We are all very close, and I’m able to help them right now as they are both young entrepreneurs with thriving businesses that have been impacted by the pandemic.
Bisnow: What is your company’s return-to-the-workplace plan?
Cohen: As leaders of the design industry, and office building and workplace design, we have formulated detailed and integrated workplace strategies for our clients and for our ourselves, starting with when to go back, and the key executive decisions plus gated standards in every country, state and city. Then, we move to who should be in the first phase of going back to the office — ensuring that people with children or elderly parents can stay safely working from home. Then, we decide where they will be sitting and working in offices that allow for government standards of physical distancing to weave in with the social needs people crave. We have redesigned our Gensler entry/lobbies, front desks, open work plan, amenities and conference rooms, quickly in our offices. Because we never design our space for single purpose, they are highly adaptable spaces. Then, finally, we move to how the office will have ongoing protocols for cleaning, density, visitors and deliveries.
Design is a highly collaborative and iterative industry. We thrive on client interaction, real-time feedback and internal critique. While possible in the remote world, it’s so much easier and more fulfilling to design in person. And, we know that success in design and architecture is often directly associated with mentorship and emulation. Our young and rising star designers crave the natural learning moments that happen as they see a sketch or concept as they walk by someone’s desk or on their way to get a cup of coffee. Being curious is in our DNA as designers and there’s only so much clicking through web catalogs that will fulfill that innate inquisitiveness.
Gensler has thousands of people in 18 countries around the globe. That’s a big responsibility. We have offices in Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong, so we learned in January about the protocols in working from home, and then the key programs around returning to the workplace from them. We have applied those lessons learned in China to our guidelines in the U.S. and around the globe and are laser-focused on the health, safety and well-being of our people.
We have formulated a going back to office guideline with specific protocols by the location of the office, plus our unique culture. We are using these same protocols for our clients around the world. We have also published open-source content, as well as doing strategic webinars, client panels, keynotes and blogs on critical industry thought leadership in the post-pandemic world — focused on the future of cities and specific industries significantly impacted by the pandemic. The future of hospitality, retail, aviation, live entertainment and sports, education and, of course, [the] workplace are just a few of our areas of expertise and where we are playing a global role in how we get back to these core experiences as people.
Bisnow: What will reopening businesses and workplaces look like for you personally?
Cohen: I love being with and motivating and inspiring people. Co-leading our firm throughout these very challenging and unprecedented times, I know that I can lead from anywhere. So, the answer is yes, I will go back as soon as it is safe. Being present and having interactive, human and visceral experiences are what we are all about — creating well-designed places and spaces that enhance the human experience.
Every day, Gensler is impacting millions of people’s lives, how they live, work and play. Design has a profound impact on making a difference and creating a better world. We thrive when we are close to and in direct contact with our clients and partners. Those parts of being a designer is in my DNA — to be curious and see instant as well as far-future solutions based on human behavior. I know I will be paying even more attention to how people are using space and how design can make it better. This cannot happen working from home. Innovation happens when people come together with a variety of points of view and we can make magic together. Working from home just doesn’t provide that magic!
And, I miss our large firm meetings with my partners from around the world and hearing their great innovation and client stories. I so look forward to meeting face-to-face again. We are taking on the world’s greatest opportunities and challenges and I look forward to getting back to doing that in person.
Bisnow: How will you manage the homefront as stay-at-home restrictions ease and businesses reopen?
Cohen: My homefront situation didn’t change too much during this time. My children are older and my wife and I have been in our regular schedules, for the most part. I am in awe of our staff that has young children and other dependents at home. To be invited into their homes and seeing their lives has been a refreshing reality check on the people who make our business possible.
The tenacity and pure determination of our people to deliver design for our clients is truly incredible. And, to be welcomed into our client’s homes, too. I still do a lot of direct client work. Designers end up building very close relationships with clients that you feel as if you’re part of their extended family. This pandemic has expanded on these relationships in ways that would never be possible otherwise. And, it’s something I never take for granted.
Bisnow: What is the state of your business at the moment?
Cohen: Our business is directly tied to our client’s businesses. We have seen projects slow down or go on hold, while we are hyper-focused on helping our clients get to the other side of this global pandemic. Our firm has been in business for 55 years, I have been with the firm 40 years, and we have a very strong vision and firm culture that is always dedicated in service to the collective human experience now and in the future.
We came out of other major global shocks and recessions like 9/11 and the 2008-9 global recession stronger than any other design firm because of our focus on our vision of “Creating a Better World Through the Power of Design.” We have the breadth, scale and diversity of practice to excel beyond challenging times. Our firm is built for this moment with the most talented entrepreneurial team in the world.
We have engaged with over 67,000 clients in the past 10 weeks. And, as such are developing robust “Back to” guides — publicly available — to help cities, communities and clients in a variety of sectors reopen. We focused first on Back to the Office and, in the coming weeks, we are releasing Back to School — after all, we can’t talk about going back to the office without the kids being back in school, and education has been one of the slower industries to adopt new methods. Again, the silver lining in this crisis is schools and educators are expediting needed changes that have been on the back burner for decades.