Marin Gertler

Biography: Marin Gertler is an award-winning Architect , Studio Director and Design Director with Gensler’s San Diego office. Since joining Gensler in 2012, Marin has become a leader in the firm with a focus on urban mixed-use projects. He is currently leading the design for several high profile projects in downtown San Diego including; the redevelopment of Horton Plaza, the 850 room Fifth Ave Landing hotel and the first new office building in the heart of little Italy. The combined construction cost of the projects Marin is actively leading the design on exceeds $1 Billion. In 2017, Marin was recognized as Young Architect of the Year by the AIA San Diego (American Institute of Architects). Marin has a diverse cultural background, which has a strong influence on his design approach. He was born in Annapolis, Maryland to American / Canadian / Scottish parents who relocated to Switzerland and then France when Marin was five years old. Marin returned stateside at the age of eighteen to study Architecture at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). After graduating in 2005 with a B.F.A and B.Arch., he relocated to San Diego with his wife, Rocio Lastras De Gertler, a landscape architect from Mexico, to work for the design firm Safdie Rabines Architects . Outside of work, Marin is a mentor in the industry. He is a very active leader with the Urban Land Institute. In 2016-2017 he was a board member for the Young Leaders Committee in San Diego, a group that exceeds 150 young professionals under the age of 35. Some of the key activities included monthly tours and/or learning seminars revolving around development and new projects in our city. Giving back to the community is also part of the core mission, for example the board donated and organized a charity dinner for the Monarch school (school for homeless children) last fall and the board is also organizing a technical assistance panel (TAP) in Tijuana. On the board, Marin was co-chair for the Partnership Forum Groups. This position oversaw 150 young land use professionals in our market who were placed into small groups and paired with respected mentors such as Jeff Graham, executive director of real estate at UCSD. Marin continues to demonstrate leadership in the organization and recently was invited to be a guest on the National Mixed-Use (blue) Council with the ULI for the four-day conference in Los Angeles. In fall 2016, Marin was the recipient of the Global 40 under 40 Award from the ULI. Marin is also involved with the Arts and Culture committee of the Downtown Partnership, where he was invited to be the design juror for a project in 2017 focused on pop-up retail. Within the higher education community, he has co-taught a design studio for a semester as an adjunct professor at the New School of Architecture, which focused on analyzing and re-purposing existing structures and continues to be a guest critic for studio work multiple times a year during finals. Marin has also lectured at the USD graduate developer program. Marin is also a panelist and writer for San Diego UrbDeZine, a national blog for urban design & planning, where all of his publications have been picked up by another well respected urban blog, Planetizen. He is regularly featured in industry publications including Hospitality Design, which featured his Music Box, project and 5th Avenue Landing, which is repeatedly featured in the San Diego Union Tribune, San Diego Business Journal and several other publications. In 2013, Marin and his wife, Rocio Lastras De Gertler co-founded LdG Landscape Architects, a thriving eight person boutique landscape architecture firm focused on innovative urban spaces. Outside of his dedicated career, Marin spends as much quality time as possible with his two young boys and his wife sailing and discovering new countries.