2026 Ones To Watch - Rising Stars: Michael Lin, Gensler

“Michael Lin brings a rare combination of design vision, technical fluency, and commercial understanding to some of New York’s most complex office developments. He is recognized not only for advancing high-performing, future-ready buildings, but for the leadership and mentorship he brings to the next generation of designers.” 

What accomplishment or project so far in your career are you most proud of?
70 Hudson Yards, one of Manhattan’s most prominent trophy office developments, was something I was involved in from its early design phases. Designed by Gensler and Roger Ferris + Partners, my work helped shape the building to ensure long-term performance across evolving leasing cycles and workplace trends. Following the pandemic, we moved toward a “neighborhood based” model, prioritizing flexibility, experiential variety, and distinct floor-by-floor environments supporting collaboration, focus, wellness, and hospitality-driven amenities to align with today’s office building market in NYC.

What trends or opportunities do you see shaping the future of your industry?
The future of office design will be shaped by the continued flight to quality and the need for more adaptable, human-centered buildings. Tenants want workplaces that support collaboration, focus, wellness, talent attraction, and a stronger sense of identity. The opportunity is to bring architecture, interiors, amenity strategy, and operational thinking together earlier, creating buildings that are not only compelling on day one, but resilient, high-performing, and competitive over many leasing cycles.