Interior Design’s Hall of Fame Announces 2025 Inductees, Returns to Newly Restored Waldorf Astoria

Interior Design, the industry-leading design authority, proudly announces the 2025 Hall of Fame inductees, honoring exceptional figures whose work has shaped and elevated the fields of interior design and architecture. This year’s black-tie gala will take place on December 10, 2025, at the legendary Waldorf Astoria New York, which has just emerged from one of the most ambitious and majestic restorations in hospitality history. The evening will include a special tribute to the Waldorf Astoria, celebrating its storied past and its dazzling new chapter.

Selected by Interior Design Editor-in-Chief Cindy Allen and a nominating committee of Hall of Fame members, this year’s honorees are Héctor Esrawe, founder of Esrawe Studio; Pierre-Yves Rochon, founder of Pierre-Yves Rochon (PYR); and Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi, founders and partners of WEISS/MANFREDI Architecture/Landscape/Urbanism.

Said Allen, “The Hall of Fame is about honoring those who not only master their craft but expand its possibilities. This year’s inductees—Héctor, Pierre-Yves, Marion, and Michael—are united by a fearless embrace of cross-disciplinary thinking, cultural resonance, and design excellence. It’s only fitting that we celebrate them in the newly reimagined Waldorf Astoria, itself a global design icon.”

THE INDUCTEES

Héctor Esrawe | Founder, Esrawe Studio

Héctor Esrawe is a prolific interior and furniture designer, architect, academic, and entrepreneur whose work reflects deep mastery of materials, processes, and artisanal traditions. Guided by Mexico’s rich heritage and a dedication to timeless, honest creation, Esrawe transforms natural materials into sculptural, evocative forms. In 2003, Esrawe founded his namesake firm, Esrawe Studio, a multidisciplinary design studio located in Mexico City, with an aim to develop furniture, interior design, and architectural solutions for hospitality, cultural, and residential projects. The studio balances a deep passion and persistence, focusing on fine details and quality, always pushing boundaries and taking on new challenges, with collaboration at the very core.

Esrawe’s furniture has been exhibited internationally, including at Objective Gallery, Ateliers Courbet, Oliver Gustav, MASA Galería, and Luhring Augustine. His designs are part of both private and permanent museum collections, including the High Museum in Atlanta, and have earned him prestigious honors such as the Créateurs Design Award for Best Design Collection (2025) and Best Limited Series (2024). In addition to Esrawe Studio, he is the co-founder of EWE Studio, MASA Galería, the experimental glassmaking collective VISSIO, and Xinu perfumes. For his contributions to design and architecture, he has been named an Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA).

Pierre-Yves Rochon | Founder, Pierre-Yves Rochon (PYR)

Since founding his Paris-based firm in 1979, Pierre-Yves Rochon has become one of the most influential names in luxury interior architecture, designing exceptional environments for iconic hotels, restaurants, and residences around the world. For more than four decades, Rochon and his dedicated team have consistently delivered projects that marry refined elegance with the cultural essence and historical context of each location. This meticulous attention to detail and authenticity has positioned PYR as the trusted design partner for some of the most iconic properties around the world.

Rochon’s design philosophy is rooted in creating timeless, sophisticated atmospheres that seamlessly blend classicism with modernity. His approach transcends trends, favoring a style that is both contemporary and enduring. A perfectionist with an innate appreciation for craftsmanship, his commitment to quality and innovation has earned PYR the opportunity to spearhead the most avant-garde developments and transform the most renowned landmarks across the globe, including the Four Seasons Hotel George V in Paris, The Savoy in London, and The Peninsula in Shanghai. Rochon’s most recent work includes the complete interior redesign of the Waldorf Astoria New York, the home of the 2025 Interior Design Hall of Fame.

Rochon’s portfolio also includes collaborations with the Ritz-Carlton, Fairmont, St. Regis, Peninsula, and Shangri-La brands, as well as bespoke dining spaces for world-renowned chefs like Joël Robuchon and Alain Ducasse. With studios in Paris and Chicago and as part of Perkins & Will, PYR continues to define the global standard for luxury design.

Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi | Founders + Partners
WEISS/MANFREDI Architecture/Landscape/Urbanism

Based in New York City, WEISS/MANFREDI is a multidisciplinary practice known for seamlessly integrating architecture, art, infrastructure, and landscape design. Founded by Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi, the firm is celebrated for projects such as the Seattle Art Museum’s Olympic Sculpture Park, the Women’s Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Visitor Center and Overlook, and Hunter’s Point South Waterfront Park. Current projects include the United States Embassy in New Delhi, the La Brea Tar Pits and Museum in Los Angeles, Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania, the Tampa Museum of Art expansion, and Lincoln Center’s new outdoor theater in New York City.

Weiss and Manfredi are recipients of numerous honors, including the 2024 Louis I. Kahn Award in Architecture, the 2020 Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal in Architecture, the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award for Architecture, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award in Architecture. The firm has also been awarded the New York AIA Gold Medal and the Tau Sigma Delta Gold Medal, and its projects have been featured in prestigious exhibitions worldwide. Their work is in the permanent collections of MoMA, the Seattle Art Museum, the Library of Congress, and the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Their fifth and most recent monograph, Drifting Symmetries: Projects, Provocations, and Other Enduring Models, was published earlier this year by Park Books.

A Special Tribute to the Waldorf Astoria

This year’s Hall of Fame will be the first held at the Waldorf Astoria since its historic restoration. Led by Pierre-Yves Rochon, the redesign honors the grandeur of the original Art Deco spaces while introducing a fresh, contemporary approach to luxury. Guests will experience the building’s breathtaking revival firsthand, as the gala also includes a special tribute to the Waldorf Astoria’s legacy as one of the world’s most celebrated hotels.

Said Allen, “The Hall of Fame was born at the Waldorf Astoria 41 years ago, and returning after waiting nine long years is like coming home. The magic, elegance and style, and the unmistakable sense of place that only the Waldorf Astoria creates—is woven into the very fabric of the Hall of Fame.”

HALL OF FAME
Established in 1985 and hosted by Cindy Allen, the Hall of Fame Awards recognize individuals whose lasting contributions have shaped the design industry. The gala features award-winning documentaries on the inductees, with proceeds from the evening supporting DIFFA. More than one thousand of the world’s most prestigious designers, architects, manufacturers, and design luminaries will gather to honor the new inductees at this black-tie celebration. Inspirational documentaries on the work and legacy of each of the inductees will be premiered at the Hall of Fame, and later on DESIGNTV.
Tables and tickets are available at halloffame@interiordesign.net. More information can be found here.

INTERIOR DESIGN
Interior Design is the global, industry-leading design publication, website, and events company serving the interior design, architectural, and facility management audiences. For more than 95 years, Interior Design magazine–published by SANDOW DESIGN GROUP, a leader in multichannel brands that meet at the intersection of luxury and design–has been the essential design authority for every professional, on all projects, throughout the design process. Interior Design Events connect the industry, promoting creative leadership, innovation, and collaboration across a wide range of practice areas and platforms. Interior Design’s digital companion, interiordesign.net, is the go-to site for relevant and real-time content for the industry’s largest and most engaged design audience.

SANDOW DESIGN GROUP
SANDOW was founded by visionary entrepreneur Adam I. Sandow in 2003, with the goal of reinventing the traditional publishing model. Today, SANDOW powers the design, materials and luxury industries through innovative content, tools, and integrated solutions. Its diverse portfolio of assets includes SANDOW DESIGN GROUP, a multi-platform collective of leading design media and services brands, including, Interior Design, Metropolis, LUXE Interiors + Design, Design Milk, Architizer, DESIGNTV by SANDOW; ThinkLab, a research and strategy firm; and content services brands, including The Agency by SANDOW – a full-scale digital marketing agency, The Studio by SANDOW – a video production studio, and SURROUND – a podcast network and production studio. In 2019, Adam Sandow launched Material Bank, the world’s largest marketplace for searching, sampling, and specifying architecture, design, and construction materials.