NewSchool of Architecture and Design (NSAD) is collaborating with Gensler, one of the world’s leading design firms, to offer a special design studio this Spring term to six undergraduate and graduate architecture students. The “Emergent Futures” 2013 Gensler Professional Studio at NSAD gives students the opportunity to re-imagine San Diego’s urban landscape, a project aligned with the school’s mission to prepare students for professional practice through urban engagement, sustainable studies and international perspectives.

Gensler’s San Diego office is leading the NSAD Design Studio. The firm is a multiple winner of the BusinessWeek/Architectural Record Awards, the U.S. benchmark for business design innovation. Four designers from Gensler are teaching  the course: Darrel Fulbright, Tom Heffernan, Marin Gertler and Ben Regnier. Gensler advisors Kevin Heinly, managing director of Gensler San Diego; Dan Robinson and Nick Alanen will also contribute to the project.

The studio challenges students to identify future opportunities for San Diego’s existing urban fabric. Students research the downtown area, then select already-developed sites to explore how the urban fabric might be “hacked” to reveal a dynamic, livable and sustainable urban core. “Through the 2013 Gensler Professional Studio at NSAD, students have the opportunity to explore urban sustainability issues while integrating the global perspectives of an international firm,” said Kurt Hunker, NSAD’s director of graduate programs, who is coordinating this unique studio experience.

The six participating NSAD students were chosen through a competitive selection process. They include graduate students Alison Downton, Jisun Kwon and Logan Suhrer and undergraduate students Forrest Agnew, Kyle Duvernay and Ei Khin Khin.

The 2013 Gensler Professional Studio at NSAD is one among several high-profile collaborations between NSAD and renowned architecture and design firms around the world. This Spring term, NSAD is also offering a special design studio in collaboration with the internationally acclaimed Bjarke Ingels Group. The BIG-NSAD design studio is exploring urban design as it pertains to freeways and coastal environments.