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UNLV School of Architecture welcomed Margo Grant Walsh on March 10, 2003
Video title: Margo Grant Walsh
View lecture on DVD or VHS:
Arch Media NA737.W2657 A2 2003 (b)

Margo Grant Walsh, vice-chairman of Gensler Architecture Design & Planning Worldwide, discusses her career and the history of her company. Includes question and answer session

Information about Margo Grant Walsh:
After graduating from the University of Oregon in 1960, Walsh joined Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in San Francisco. She spent 13 years with that firm, rising to Associate Director of Interior Design. In 1973, she joined Gensler as Interior Design Director in Houston. Six years later she established the Gensler New York office. Soon, client demand for her personal attention and expertise led her to open the firm's Boston, Washington, D.C., and London offices. She became founder and Managing Principal of the Eastern Region Division and a member of Gensler's Board of Directors and Management Committee. Today Walsh serves as Vice Chairman Emeritus of Gensler. She supports the efforts of the firm's London office and is currently completing projects for two major law firms in New York and Atlanta.

MARGO GRANT WALSH
Margo Grant Walsh has become one of the most powerful and influential women in American architecture and interior design. She not only pioneered the way for women in her field, but helped establish the profession as it is defined today.

Starting in 1979 with a staff of two, Walsh now has a staff of 280 and serves a client roster of more than 1,850. She has participated in and supervised work on top corporate design projects for Mobil Oil Corp., Goldman Sachs & Co., Newsweek, Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft, Davis Polk & Wardwell and Morgan Bank, among others. She has been credited with helping to establish Gensler as one of the world's largest and most successful design firms, and in 1995 became its Vice Chairman.

In 1987, Walsh was inducted into the Interior Design magazine Hall of Fame, and in 2000 she received a Leadership Award of Excellence from the New York Chapter of IIDA. Her alma mater presented her with a medal in 2002 for her professional and personal achievements.

"Margo distinguished herself as an interior designer when the profession was still in its infancy," says Jennifer Busch, Editor-in-Chief of Contract magazine, which in 2002 presented Walsh with its first Legend Award. "Moreover, she did this as a woman in a largely male corporate world."

"I would like to be known for participating in the creation of the leading design firm of the last half of the 20th century," Walsh says.

Busch adds that throughout her career Walsh also served as a role model and mentor to countless younger interior designers. "There are many designers today, great successes in their own right, who would name Margo as a positive influence on their career," Busch says.

"I'm very proud that through inspiration and example, I was able to challenge many young professionals— especially women—to become part of the ever-evolving profession of interior design."

Bio taken from: Knowledge Center for IIDA. (last accessed 2.12.2006)