Dick Lew, Brand Design Leader, Gensler
Dick Lew, brand design leader at global design and architecture firm Gensler, spoke to Invest: about the firm’s notable projects in the San Antonio region in the past year and also the opportunities that are emerging. “San Antonio is 300 years old. We’ve got a portfolio of buildings that need some love and care. The repurpose of those kinds of buildings is a big opportunity for developers,” he said.
What were the most notable projects or achievements for the San Antonio office in the last year?
Gensler has about 57 offices worldwide, with 6,000+ people across the board. But here in San Antonio, we’re still a boutique office of about 29 people. We’re local, and a lot of our team members are from San Antonio. The key thing for us has been trying to be part of some of these unique projects and helping to shape the character and flavor of San Antonio. The Alamo Visitors Center and Museum, and the overall site, is one such project we’re working on. Our project with the University of Texas at San Antonio Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Careers (IEC) is another one.
We’re trying to connect not only on project types but also on the community side of things because we’re true believers in giving back. In June, we have what we call Global Give Back Month, where every Gensler office finds a project, finds a cause, and we put our whole office and concerted efforts into that cause. It benefits charities, nonprofits, and the city as a whole.
What design opportunities do you see in the San Antonio region?
From a brand standpoint, San Antonio is contextual. It’s cultural. Replicating what you have at the Pearl, for example, is going to be tough, but taking it from a repositioning standpoint and creating something out of what you have is going to be key. San Antonio is 300 years old. We’ve got a portfolio of buildings that need some love and care. The repurposing of those kinds of buildings is a big opportunity for developers.
However, sometimes it can be a challenge to repurpose those buildings versus building from scratch because of the cost. But if you look at it from a long-term viewpoint, utilizing existing buildings is almost like a built-in brand opportunity from the get-go.
How are you dealing with rising costs and other economic challenges?
It’s a matter of having conversations during the process, bringing our clients and project partners along every step of the way. Many times during the process with a client, you start designing, then you send it out to bid, and then you find out that budgets don’t align with the bid. We’re big proponents of bringing contractors on board as soon as possible, just for pre-construction services – at least having dialogue and setting realistic expectations regarding parameters as you go about designing a building. So, it’s more about being transparent and communicative. That helps level the playing field. Of course, sometimes that doesn’t work. We got into a position during the pandemic where the supply chain was disrupting everything that we touched. We had to think about different typologies, what was more prevalent, whether you’re using steel joists or steel beams. Beams were more accessible, but the weight and the cost were a lot. But because of the limited availability of those joists, the cost of those lightweight joists was more than the cost of the heavier steel joists or steel beams that we were looking at.
Overall, you need to be current. You have to see what the landscape is and be honest with your client about what you’re seeing so that you can work together to develop what the project needs to be.
In a lot of those things, you just need to have honest discussions, not just with the client, but with the partners within their businesses, too, because they have different segments within their businesses that you also need to talk to. Oftentimes, designers say, ‘Just give me the program and then let me build and design around that.’ That’s not our approach.
In what way is AI reshaping your design and architectural practices?
AI is an amazing tool, but like any other tool, it’s about how and when you use it. From an administration standpoint and a management standpoint, it’s great in some of those areas to help us get organized. From a design and visual standpoint, AI often gives us different viewpoints. We’re always into finding different ways to see a different viewpoint that we haven’t thought about.
I see it as a secondary designer because you sometimes get locked in on a design and its iterations, but AI can suggest doing something else, and it’ll give you a quick snapshot.
It’s no different than in the old days, where we used to have snowcards and we would just draw out quick ideas. It’s another way of conceptualizing for us. The real-time aspect of it is amazing, but I don’t think it’s a replacement for design.
What are your top priorities for the Gensler office over the next two to three years?
Our outlook is optimistic. Gensler has about 33 different areas of expertise as a firm. In San Antonio, we probably cover 12 or 15 areas of expertise. We know there are things down at the airport right now that we want to be part of as well. But some of those projects may be better suited for Dallas because that’s our hub for aviation expertise. Whereas, when we look at San Antonio, mixed-use, sports, and lifestyle is a great opportunity for us to grow. With the hospitality market here, we can add design value and make some inroads there, such as in the food and beverage component of retail and interior design.
Within San Antonio, we need to find some other areas of opportunity to balance it out a little because when people come to town, they’re downtown-centric. We know that we have some areas around town that could use some revitalization.
