On May 15, 2026, Gensler's annual flagship thought leadership event, the "Design Trend Outlook 2026" Summit, was successfully held at Shanghai Puxi Plaza under the theme "Restructuring Design Value in an Era of Transformation." As the official screen sponsor of this event, MRCOM showcased its cutting-edge COB UHD & MRC displays, smart all-in-one conference machines, versatile poster screens, and fine-pitch P1.5 & P1.2 series products, providing top-tier visual presentation and intelligent interactive support for the summit. The forum released the Design Trend Outlook 2026 report and gathered scholars and industry leaders from urban planning, scientific research, commercial real estate, venture capital, and cultural consumption to discuss how design drives innovation, activates asset potential, and reshapes long-term value in the era of stock optimization.
Keynote Speech: Cities Moving from "Incremental Expansion" to "Stock Optimization"
Professor Wu Jiang from Tongji University pointed out that China's urbanization has entered a new era of "stock optimization," shifting away from large-scale destructive "reconstruction" toward refined, progressive "organic renewal" that respects the city's life cycle. He proposed systematic reforms in planning and governance: shifting from goal-oriented to problem-oriented approaches; extending management from construction to full life-cycle operations; and reserving elastic space for cities to cope with future uncertainties. True resilient cities require not only "hard resilience" to withstand disasters, but also "soft resilience" to retain flexibility for unforeseen possibilities.
Panel Discussion: New Logic for Project Success in an Era of Transformation
Moderated by Ted Liu, Global Cities and Urban Design Leader at Gensler, four cross-disciplinary guests redefined "success" from different dimensions:
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Dai Minhan (Director, Lujiang Innovation Laboratory) | Innovation Ecosystem Perspective: A successful innovation ecosystem is like a "coral reef"—thriving in "semi-starved" clear waters through the collision and symbiosis of diverse species (institutions, talent, capital).
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Zhang Bin (CEO, Shui On Xintiandi) | Commercial Operations Perspective: The market is mercilessly eliminating "blur-faced" projects, proposing a "trinity" strategy: beautiful appearance (spatial shaping and tenant mix) + interesting soul (modern translation of local culture) + unique temperament (continuous content operations and community building).
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Tony Tang (Vice President, Corporate Solutions, APAC, CBRE) | Corporate Real Estate Perspective: The evaluation logic of office space has completely shifted from "cost and efficiency" to "talent and experience."
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Guan Shanhang (Co-founder, INS Park) | Cultural Consumption Perspective: In the era of surging AI-generated content and virtual experiences, the scarce "emotional value" and "in-person social experience" of offline spaces have become core competitiveness.
Practice Sharing: Design as a Strategic Catalyst
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Xue Yun (Vice President & Studio Director) | Research-Driven: Explaining how the Gensler Research Center invests annual profits into research and institutionalizes a culture of innovation through the GDEA and GRIA award systems.
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Roman Wittmer (Design Director) | Resilient Design: Sharing ecological restoration and sustainable design practices for the Under Armour Global Headquarters (Baltimore, USA) and UOB Headquarters (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam).
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Xu Heng (Co-Studio Director & Greater China Greater China Tech Practice Area Leader) | Headquarters Paradigm in the AI Era: Using the Bandwidth Global Headquarters as an example to transform workplaces into "living engines."
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Li Shuo (Greater China Design Technology Manager) | AI as "Augmented Intelligence": Introducing self-developed tools like gFloorz and generative AI integration during early project stages.
Closing: Three Key Design Capabilities for the Future
In his closing remarks, Ted Liu summarized three core capabilities required by the industry to navigate an uncertain era: cross-disciplinary problem-solving integration, product thinking that views space as a long-term value asset, and strategic steadfastness returning to humanism. The forum clearly conveyed a single overarching theme: in the era of stock assets, design has transcended the shaping of form and function, evolving into a strategic framework integrating technology, operations, culture, and human-centric care.
