Jim Prendergast, FAIA, IIDA
Design Director, Principal
A Principal and Design Director in Gensler’s Chicago office, Jim is also a firmwide leader within Gensler’s interior architecture practice, directing the development of tenant-driven architectural solutions and co-developing the region’s design talent contributing to the firm’s overall design culture. With nearly 30 years of experience, he has designed or overseen the design of more than 10 million square feet of office interiors and architecture for a broad array of domestic and global clients. An innovative designer and progressive thinker, Jim is frequently invited to present at client and professional forums, and to lecture as part of university curricula on design and its impact on client culture and performance. His work has been featured in premier design publications; and he has received numerous local and national design awards for project work and achievements, including the 1999 “Young Architect Award” from the Chicago chapter of the American Institute of Architects and a 2012 election into the Institute’s College of Fellows. Jim is involved with multiple charities and institutions, most notably DIFFA/Chicago, a not-for-profit grant-making foundation that distributes funds to Chicago-area HIV/AIDS service agencies, for which he has chaired multiple fundraising events, and served on the board of directors. Jim received his Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Cincinnati.