Design Director, Gensler
Olivier Sommerhalder is a design director at Gensler’s LA office with experience in a variety of project types in the U.S., South America, Asia, Middle East and Europe. He believes in using building technology and building science as means to drive progressive architecture which contributes to a rigorous process to create contextually appropriate, holistic designs. As a leader in Gensler research, he has played a significant role in the R&D of High Performance Envelopes which focuses on design issues related to performance of buildings. His current research is on embodied energy of buildings comparing different project types with a focus on lifecycle. Olivier’s prior experience includes award winning work at Burckhardt & Partner in Zurich on such projects as the Wukesong Cultural and Sports Center for the Beijing Olympics and the MFO Park in Zurich. He has taught at the University of Southern California on envelope design and served as visiting critic and guest lecturer at USC, Cal Poly Pomona, UCLA and the ETH in Zurich. Olivier holds an Executive Master in Design Culture from the University of Arts, Media and Design in Zurich, a Master in Architecture from the Southern California Institute of Architecture and a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Applied Sciences in Brugg-Windisch, Switzerland.
