Future-Fitting Cities: Inside Gensler’s 2026 Design Forecast With Jordan Goldstein and Elisabeth Brink
In this episode of I Hear Design, Gensler’s co-CEO’s Jordan Goldstein and Elisabeth Brink sit down with host Robert Nieminen to explore the firm’s 2026 Design Forecast and what it means for the future of the built environment. They discuss how the “6 in ’26” meta trends emerged from research across 33 practice areas and 57 offices, and why design agility and creativity are now strategic imperatives in an era of volatility and rapid technological change.
Jordan and Elisabeth share how clients are redefining real estate value around experience and data using metrics like dwell time, emotional response, and behavioral patterns to shape workplaces, campuses, and mixed-use districts. They dive into predictive cost intelligence, digital twins, and AI as a creative partner, illustrating how these tools are helping owners minimize risk in projects, optimize conversions like office-to-residential, and even imagine buildings designed to adapt over centuries rather than decades.
The conversation also covers “future fitting” existing assets, the mash-up of uses transforming cities, and why climate resilience and carbon performance have become critical business issues rather than purely sustainability aspirations. Finally, they talk about the skills emerging designers will need, such as data literacy, curiosity, and comfort with AI, and how firms of any size can start applying the insights from the report today.
Listeners will come away with a clearer view of where architecture and design are headed next, as well as some concrete ideas for turning complexity into opportunity in their own practices.
Meet Our Guests
Jordan Goldstein, Co-CEO, Gensler
He oversees both the long-term vision and day-to-day operations of the global practice known for its bold creativity, incisive research, and meaningful positive impact. Jordan has been with the firm since 1996 and serves on the Board of Directors. Throughout his three-decade career, Jordan has been a champion of design’s power to shape the human experience. He has provided visionary design leadership to top brands like Marriott International, Under Armour, the Motion Picture Association, and CoStar for their global headquarters. He has worked with professional sports teams to transform their venues and practice facilities into world-class entertainment destinations. And with projects like Beijing’s twin 725-foot CP Towers, as well as the 60-story Magnolias Ratchadamri and the Waldorf Astoria Tower in Bangkok, Jordan has played an important role in defining the skylines of global cities with smart, sustainable architectural solutions. Jordan earned his Master of Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania and his Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Maryland, where he later served as the Kea Professor.
Elizabeth Brink, Co-CEO, Gensler
She oversees both the long-term vision and day-to-day operations of the global practice known for its bold creativity, incisive research, and meaningful positive impact. Elizabeth has been with the firm for more than 20 years, serving as the Co-Managing Principal of the Southwest Region since 2021 and a member of the Board of Directors. With over two decades of experience as a design strategist, Elizabeth is a sought-after expert on issues related to workplace transformation and experience design, providing an integrated and human-centered perspective on space and placemaking. She has partnered with some of the world’s most forward-thinking companies—including Microsoft, Netflix, Sony, Hyundai Motor Group, City National Bank, UCLA and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center—to create and implement high-performance spaces that leverage both changing technologies and shifting employee and user expectations. Her multidisciplinary background in architecture, communications, user research, and business strategy enables her to bring a holistic and rigorous analytical approach to every project, for every client. Deep engagement with the community ensures that Elizabeth’s work is always informed by a profound understanding of local needs and aspirations. She is a member of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Governors, the Women’s Presidents Organization, and formerly served on the Board of the Mayor’s Fund Los Angeles and the Board of Directors of the Westside Neighborhood School. Elizabeth holds a Bachelor of Arts from Princeton University and a Master of Architecture from UCLA.
Key Moments in This Episode
00:00–01:57 | Setting the Stage: Why the 2026 Design Forecast Is So Timely
Robert introduces the episode, frames the 2026 Design Forecast in the context of technological acceleration, market volatility, and shifting human expectations, and previews the “6 in ’26” meta trends and themes listeners will hear.
02:09–05:22 | The Moment We’re In: Creativity, Volatility, and Design as a Strategic Lever
Jordan and Elisabeth describe today’s environment for the built world, defined by rapid tech change, volatility, and changing human expectations, and explain why they see design and “creative optimism” as essential tools for navigating complexity.
05:56–09:30 | Experience as the New Measure of Real Estate Value
The conversation turns to how clients are now quantifying “experience” with data (dwell time, behavior patterns, emotional response) and how that reframes project briefs. Under Armour’s Baltimore HQ and Edelman’s London office illustrate hospitality-rich, performance-driven workplaces.
09:31–12:08 | Redefining High-Performing Workplaces (and Common Pitfalls)
Jordan contrasts today’s best post-COVID workplaces with those of five years ago, highlighting balance between focus and collaboration, destination-worthy environments, and culture. He also calls out the biggest mistake: failing to address the workplace at all, rather than strategically evolving it.
12:09–15:57 | Predictive Tools, Digital Twins, and Designing for Centuries
Jordan shares how Gensler’s enhanced digital toolbox, predictive cost intelligence, and digital twins help de-risk projects and optimize conversions like The Pearl House office-to-residential project in New York. He also describes speculative work on buildings designed to adapt over centuries, showcased at the Venice Biennale.
16:07–24:17 | AI as Creative Partner: Storytelling, Data Literacy, and the Gensler Cinematic Universe
Elisabeth and Jordan unpack how Gensler is experimenting with AI through what it calls an “AI Sandbox,” proprietary tools, and cinematic storytelling using a cast of digital characters to visualize day-in-the-life experiences long before construction. They discuss data literacy, bias, authorship, curiosity, and the new skillsets designers need.
24:17–31:36 | Adaptive Reuse, Hybrid Programs, and ‘Future Fitting’ Existing Assets
The discussion shifts to adaptive reuse as “bringing new life to old bones,” from office-to-residential conversions to big-box retail transformations. Jordan and Elisabeth talk vertical mixed-use mashups, evolving zoning and financing, and how future fitting reframes buildings as adaptable systems rather than static products.
31:05–35:33 | Future-Proof or Fail: Climate Resilience as a Boardroom Issue
Building on the “future-proof or fail” megatrend, they explain why resilience, energy efficiency, and carbon performance are now core to asset value and risk management, not just sustainability aspirations—with tools like Gblok CO₂ enabling real-time carbon discussions early in design.
35:49–40:07 | Sectors Under Pressure and Practical Takeaways for Smaller Firms
Jordan and Elisabeth highlight sectors facing the biggest disruption (aviation and mobility, workplace, and healthcare) and offer advice for firms of any size: embrace data and scenario modeling, stop designing for static programs, and keep human experience at the center.
40:07–43:55 | Gensler’s Own Offices as Phygital Labs for Talent and Culture
They describe how Gensler is rethinking its own studios—from LA to Tampa to Bangalore—as local yet globally connected labs that blend hospitality, community engagement, and digital experimentation to attract and empower the next generation of designers.
44:00–47:38 | Optimism, Cities, and a Call to Unleash the Next Generation
In closing, Jordan and Elisabeth share what gives them hope: cities as conveners and young designers’ energy. They also issue a call to action: give emerging talent real runway, view every intervention as a chance to enrich the urban fabric, and design for a brighter future for the next generation and beyond.
About the Author
Robert Nieminen
Market Content Director
Market Content Director, Architectural Products, BUILDINGS, and interiors+sources
Robert Nieminen is the Market Content Director of three leading B2B publications serving the commercial architecture and design industries: Architectural Products, BUILDINGS, and interiors+sources. With a career rooted in editorial excellence and a passion for storytelling, Robert oversees a diverse content portfolio that spans award-winning feature articles, strategic podcast programming, and digital media initiatives aimed at empowering design professionals, facility managers, and commercial building stakeholders.
He is the host of the I Hear Design podcast and curates the Smart Buildings Technology Report, bringing thought leadership to the forefront of innovation in built environments. Robert leads editorial and creative direction for multiple industry award programs—including the Elev8 Design Awards and Product Innovation Awards—and is a recognized voice in sustainability, smart technology integration, and forward-thinking design.
Known for his sharp editorial vision and data-informed strategies, Robert focuses on audience growth, engagement, and content monetization, leveraging AI tools and SEO-driven insights to future-proof B2B publishing.