Dive Brief:
- General Electric announced that it has chosen architecture and design giant Gensler to design its new Boston international headquarters, estimated by CEO Jeff Immelt to cost $100 million, the Boston Business Journal reported.
- GE said in a statement that the company will overhaul two historic buildings and construct a new building as part of the project. GE said its headquarters will have a "global scale and feel," yet still stay entrenched in Boston's culture.
- GE said it chose Gensler, which has 46 international offices, from a field of 35 other architecture firms as part of a 10-week, worldwide selection process based on "employee inspiration and teaming, environmental sustainability, and integration into the Boston innovation ecosystem."
Dive Insight:
"We look forward to partnering with Gensler to support GE as a digital industrial leader and develop a campus that can adapt and evolve to meet the future needs of GE," GE Vice President Ann Klee said in a statement. Doug Gensler, head of Gensler's Boston office, will spearhead the project.
Gensler, which ranked 38th on Glassdoor’s 2016 list as one of the best places to work, has designed some of the world's most high-profile projects, including the second tallest building in the world, the 2,073-foot-tall, 121-story Shanghai Tower, in Shanghai, China. The skyscraper is the tallest building in China, and, while 644 feet shorter than the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, it tops the third-place Makkah Royal Clock Tower in Mecca, Saudi Arabia by 102 feet.
In February, Gensler released its Design Forecast 2016, which included predictions for what factors in the community, workplace and lifestyle sectors will shape cities in 2025. The six megatrends named by Gensler included: a full integration of digital into daily life; 'smarter' environments; design that incorporates speed and seamless experiences; human-connected urban living; an emergence of digital/artisanal maker cultures; and a focus on health and safety.
