Expertise for High Potential Students and Buildings with Good Bones
A new program called “Blueprint” will launch this fall, with the aim to provide career readiness to selective students in the architecture and interior design programs at Hillier College and Kean University. Advisory board member Brenda Nyce -Taylor, who is managing director and principal in Gensler’s Morristown office, in partnership with colleagues at Gensler and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Interim Director of the School of Art + Design, John Cays, have come up with a plan to work with college students on career preparation. The program will target third year students who would benefit from support in thinking through their career decisions and how to move forward via internships into their professional lives.
Gensler is committed to diversity and inclusion and recently held a firmwide global charette about how to put its diversity and inclusion strategies into practice. “Blueprint” was one of the programs developed from this charette. Nyce-Taylor said “One thing that I really enjoy and why I am drawn to the advisory board is my passion for the next generation of talent and how we can mentor them and have them be contributors as soon as they enter the workforce. They can be such great sparks for new ideas. Participating in the program, students can use what they learn to help prepare their resume and get themselves ready for interviews and intern season.”
"Students from diverse backgrounds contribute so much to design firm culture but many need support to prepare themselves for the shift to professional life. We think Gensler's mentorship program will be especially useful to students who would like to have one-on-one and group support from seasoned design professionals working at multiple scales. Learning interviewing and teamwork techniques and knowing what other critical skills and knowledge potential employers are looking for are all part of what Blueprint will provide," said Cays.
Nyce-Taylor highlights the importance of interdisciplinary school work as an important factor when they enter the workplace, “Gensler’s summer internship program prioritizes teamwork. For example, one of our Design Directors Roger Smith led architecture, interior design, and marketing students on a project to reimagine a portion of Halsey Street in Newark a few summers ago. When approaching design problems collaboratively, it brings diverse perspectives and unique outcomes,” Nyce-Taylor said.
Nyce-Taylor knows something about integrated design teams and unique outcomes. As a sciences leader at Gensler, her expertise focuses on work spaces for bio-pharmaceutical companies. Two of her recent projects involved the adaptive re-use of existing office buildings in New Jersey, which adds several factors of design complexity; one for Genmab and the other for Celularity.
Genmab, a global biotech company headquartered in Denmark, was in search of a facility for its U.S. location. Gensler converted a 1990s-era office building, taking on all the design challenges in creating a workplace with laboratories and areas for R&D. The design team consisted of: architects, lab planners, and interior designers, who worked side by side with Vanderweil Engineers to bring Genmab’s vision to life.
“Genmab challenged us with creating a holistic lab and workplace environment while also meeting the technical requirements for a building conversion. The site’s standard HVAC systems, typical workplace ceilings, unusually low floor loading and other limitations presented several challenges for the design and engineering team, but we were innovative in our solutions.” Genmab features floor to ceiling glass walls, laboratories with high ceilings, highly visible collaborative areas and an interconnecting stair,” said Nyce-Taylor. “Overall, Genmab was a very sustainable solution because it converted a vacant suburban office building into a vibrant contributor to the local community and pharmaceutical industry.”
Nyce-Taylor is impressed with the direction of Hillier College over the past few years. “It is great to see the range of new programs offered and to see the education available to a broader population beyond the typical university experience. We had a recent advisory board meeting at NJIT@JerseyCity and it was great to see that NJIT is creating opportunities for working professionals to continue their education.”