Louis Schump of Gensler | The Westside Pavilion in Los Angeles | The Future of Retail

Today, I’m joined by the creative director at Gensler, Louis Schump. Louis has spent his career making progress in proving, demonstrating, and advocating for interiors to be on equal footing as exterior design. His design philosophy is rooted in defining problems and creating unique solutions, which is on full display in his work with the Westside Pavilion. 

The Westside Pavilion is a former shopping mall located in West Los Angeles, California that is being repurposed into an office complex for Google. You might recognize the location from Clueless, but like most shopping centers, it’s been on a steady decline since the introduction of the internet. Louis breaks down how both malls and technology companies have changed over time, and what makes the Westside Pavilion project particularly unique. We discuss the challenges and advantages that the space presents, and Louis shares some details about the design vision and finishes. 

We also talk more broadly about the downfall of malls. I give a brief history on the suburban staple and we chat about some potential solutions: Converting them into senior housing, offices,  or constructing an intermix of industrial, commercial, retail, and residential functions. We round out the conversation by talking about Louis’ predictions about the future of brick-and-mortar retail and the role that augmented reality has in that. 

About the Guest:

Though Midwest born and raised, Louis Schump, creative director at Gensler, has spent the last 35 years in San Francisco. Over his career, designing buildings gave way to designing interiors, which was enhanced by furniture and experience design. He has worked at NBBJ, HOK, and Rapt Studio. As a creative director at Gensler, he is responsible for growing the firm's portfolio, cultivating client relationships, and mentoring talent.

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, or on your favorite podcast platform. 

Topics Covered:

• Louis’ approach to being a designer and creative director 
• How the concept of what a tech company is has changed over time 
• What Louis sees as the problems and solutions with the Westside Pavilion project 
• Louis’ desire to create mixed-use environments 
• Where things went wrong for malls 
• Gensler Research Institute design forecasts for retail spaces 

About Your Host

“Atif Qadir is the Founder & CEO of REDIST, a technology company making it easy for commercial real estate professionals to find and use the $100B of real estate incentives given out every year in the US.”

Resources and Links

• Louis Schump’s LinkedIn
• Gensler LinkedIn
• Gensler Website
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