Gensler Named #1 in Urban Development and Real Estate on Fast Company’s 2026 Most Innovative Companies List

The firm’s recognition for Pali High South — a school campus rebuilt in 30 days following the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires — reflects a commitment to design innovation from crisis response to long-term urban transformation.

SAN FRANCISCO — Gensler has been named to Fast Company’s 2026 World’s Most Innovative Companies list for the third consecutive year — and sixth time overall — earning No. 1 in the Urban Development and Real Estate category. The recognition reflects the firm’s sustained commitment to design that doesn’t just respond to the moment, but reshapes what’s possible.

Each year, a new innovation has earned Gensler its place on the list: most recently in 2026, Pali High South — a proof of concept for rapid-response design at its most human; in 2025, the Gensler Product Sustainability (GPS) Standards™, redefining how materials are evaluated across projects globally; and in 2024, Conversions+™, a proprietary algorithm accelerating office-to-residential conversions to address urban housing shortages.

When wildfires destroyed nearly 40% of Palisades Charter High School’s campus in January 2025, Gensler transformed an abandoned Sears department store in Santa Monica into a fully operational school for more than 2,500 students in 30 days, within a $6 million budget. Permitting was expedited in under 72 hours. A 24-hour global workflow compressed what typically takes 18 months. And the result was not just functional — it was designed to restore dignity and belonging to a community in crisis.

“Pali High South represents what’s essential in disaster relief,” said Kelly Farrell, Global Lifestyle Sector Leader and Managing Director, Gensler Los Angeles. “This was more than just giving students temporary classrooms — it represents rebuilding community at speed — giving students, families, and neighbors a place that says, ‘This is yours. You belong here. You can rebuild from here.’”

“At Gensler, we believe design has the power to create stability in moments of uncertainty,” said Jordan Goldstein and Elizabeth Brink, Co-CEOs of Gensler. “Pali High South shows what’s possible when creativity, collaboration, and urgency come together in service of a community. This went beyond delivering a building quickly — what mattered was restoring a sense of normalcy, dignity, and belonging for students and the entire school community when they needed it most.”

Pali High South has shown what becomes possible when design, government, and community act together with urgency and trust. Gensler is committed to carrying those lessons forward — developing a Rapid Response Design framework that other cities, districts, and communities can draw on when disaster strikes.

About Gensler

At Gensler, the value of our work stems from its positive impact on the human experience. We are a dynamic and collaborative design firm uniting creativity, research, and innovation to solve complex problems for our clients. Our work challenges conventional ideas about architecture and the built environment. We aren’t just designing buildings — we are reimagining cities and places that make a difference in people’s lives. Founded in 1965, Gensler has built a team of 6,000 professionals who partner with clients in over 100 countries each year. Everything we do is guided by our mission: to create a better world through the power of design.

About Fast Company

Fast Company is the only media brand fully dedicated to the vital intersection of business, innovation, and design, engaging the most influential leaders, companies, and thinkers on the future of business. Headquartered in New York City, Fast Company is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with our sister publication Inc., and can be found at www.fastcompany.com.