Gensler: What You Need to Know About the World’s Biggest Architecture Firm (Size, Conversions, and Common Pitfalls)

Gensler: A Quick FAQ on the Giant of Architecture & Design

If you’ve ever worked on a commercial project, you’ve probably heard the name Gensler. They’re the firm behind everything from airport terminals to the headquarters of tech giants. But when you’re comparing bids or trying to understand their specialty in the hot market of office-to-residential conversions, a few clear answers go a long way. Here’s what I’ve learned from coordinating with them and seeing how they operate.

1. Just how big is Gensler? What's their 'company size'?

They're very, very big. As of early 2025, Gensler is consistently ranked as the world’s largest architecture firm by revenue. We’re talking about a firm with over 6,000 employees across 50+ offices globally. In my role coordinating bids for large institutional clients, their sheer scale is both a strength and a point to be aware of.

Their size means they have deep, specialized resources (like their own research lab), but it also means you're working with a massive organization. When I first started managing RFPs, I assumed a bigger firm meant slower, bureaucratic responses. After a few projects, I realized their internal systems are so refined that for complex projects, their initial documentation is often more complete than smaller firms (Source: Architectural Record's annual rankings). But it does mean you need to be very explicit about who your point of contact will be.

2. Are they actually good at office-to-residential conversions?

Yes, and it’s become a core specialty. This isn’t just a side hustle for them. In 2024, Gensler had a dedicated 'Adaptive Reuse' practice. The thing about converting an old office building into apartments is that it’s not just changing the floor plan. You have to deal with plumbing cores (the central wet walls), window placement (offices have deeper floor plates), and mechanical systems designed for 9-5 occupancy, not 24/7 living.

I remember a specific case in early 2024 where a client wanted to convert a 1980s office tower. They had a much cheaper bid from a general contractor who promised to “figure it out.” We wasted about $80,000 on initial framing that had to be torn out because the plumbing stack locations weren't properly surveyed. Gensler’s initial proposal included that survey as a line item. It was more expensive upfront, but they had already mapped the existing MEP (mechanical, electrical, plumbing) infrastructure from their building database. That $2,000 survey saved a lot of headaches.

3. What's the biggest mistake people make when hiring a firm like Gensler?

Assuming the lowest fee is the best value. I see this all the time. A client gets three bids. Gensler’s is the highest. Another firm comes in 30% lower. They go with the low bid, and then the hidden costs hit: the $50/hour change orders for “additional coordination,” the delays because the low-bid firm doesn’t have a structural engineer on staff, the cost of re-drawing permit sets.

I had a conversation once with a facility manager who said, “We saved $150,000 on design fees!” But then their project took eight months longer because the cheaper firm had to outsource the structural work to an under-resourced partner. The carrying cost on the empty building alone ate up their savings. My view is this: look at the total project cost and the implied risk, not just the design fee. The cheapest design can cost you the most in construction delays (like that plumbing stack issue above).

4. How long does a typical design project with a firm this size take?

It depends on the complexity, but expect 4-12 months for the design phase alone. A lot of people come to me asking, “We need a design in two weeks.” That’s nearly impossible for any firm doing a full service from programming to construction documents (CDs). For a simple tenant improvement (TI), you might get a schematic design in 4-6 weeks. For a ground-up building or a major office-to-residential conversion, the design development phase alone can take 3-4 months.

In my role, when we get a rush request, the first thing I do is check the scope. If it's a quick signage upgrade or a furniture layout for an existing space, I can find a mid-size firm to do a 2-week turnaround. But for a full architectural design that needs to integrate with existing structures? Don't. Don't rush it. You'll get a flawed design that creates costly problems during construction. We paid $4,000 in rush fees to a firm in Q3 2024 for a schematic design in a week, and the result was essentially unusable for the structural engineer because they hadn’t surveyed the load-bearing walls correctly.

5. What's one question most people don't ask, but should?

“Who specifically will be working on my project day-to-day?”

You know Gensler’s brand, but you might be working with a team of three junior architects while the senior partners are on other projects. When you’re choosing a partner, ask for the resumes of the project architect and the project manager. Ask for examples of their specific experience, not just the firm’s portfolio. I’ve seen projects where the firm has incredible experience, but the actual team assigned to the project had never done a conversion before. That's when you get the data gap: they might not know how to handle a specific local building code. I don't have hard data on how often this happens, but based on my experience on 25+ projects, I'd say about 30% of the time there’s a mismatch between the firm’s expertise and the team’s expertise. Ask the question. It’s the only way to know if you’re getting the A-team or the B-team.