INTERIOR DESIGN 2023 Hall of Fame Awards
INTERIOR DESIGN (interiordesign.net), the global, industry-leading design authority serving the interior design and architecture community, has proudly announced the inductees of its 2023 Hall of Fame Awards.
Selected by Editor-in-Chief, Cindy Allen, and a nominating committee of Hall of Fame members, this year’s honorees are: Carlos M. Martínez Flórez, Managing Director, Principal of Gensler; Joshua Aidlin and David Darling, Founders of Aidlin Darling Design; textile designer and weaver, Suzanne Tick; and for the first time, a special Icon Award will be presented to David Rockwell, Founder and President of Rockwell Group, as they commence their 40th Anniversary year.
Established in 1985, and hosted by Allen, INTERIOR DESIGN’s Hall of Fame Awards will take place on December 6, 2023, at The Glasshouse in New York City. This year’s gala will feature a reimagined space and evening kicking off with cocktails, a curated program featuring a modern menu and award-winning documentaries, followed by a new celebratory after party.
“This year’s extraordinary group of inductees exemplify the wildly diverse segments that together define 360 degrees of design,” said Allen. “From immersive commercial, residential, and hospitality design, to a multitude of product segments (and creative artistry), the 2023 Hall of Fame inductees have not only achieved unparalleled status in their chosen expertise, but also serve as leaders in the community and role models for future generations. Giving to the design industry is only superseded by how extraordinary a contribution they give back to the world.”
THE INDUCTEES
Carlos M. Martínez Flórez | Gensler
Carlos M. Martínez Flórez, AIA, FIIDA, LEED® AP, brings almost 40 years of experience in architecture, design, innovation, and strategy to his hybrid career combining traditional design and senior executive leadership roles. A 23-year veteran of Gensler, Martínez Flórez is currently a Managing Director of Gensler’s New York office and Creative Director for the firm’s Northeast Region, in addition to serving on Gensler’s Board of Directors and the firm’s Management Committee. Martínez Flórez also serves as a Global Design Leader for Gensler.
Martínez Flórez has more than two decades of teaching experience as an adjunct professor of design at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. In 2011, he was inducted into the College of Fellows by the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) and was the honoree at the 2010 IIDA Chicago Leaders Breakfast. Among his many honors, Martínez Flórez won the Best of Year award from INTERIOR DESIGN for his work on the Loft Right project and the American Institute of Architects’ Interior Architecture Award for his work on the 1435 North Astor building in Chicago.
Martínez Flórez’s community involvement includes serving as Board Chairman for the Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS (DIFFA) Chicago board; Board Chairman for Harrington College of Design; as well as serving as the Director of the Architecture Committee for the Mies van der Rohe 900/910 Lake. He is the past president of the landmark 1897 Holabird & Roche apartment building in Chicago’s historic Astor Street District. He was later appointed to be a Board Member of the prestigious Chicago Architectural Foundation. A passionate supporter of the arts, Martínez Flórez served as a Board Member for the Strategic National Arts Alumni Project (SNAAP), and Marwen Foundation in Chicago. He also served on the board of Chi Arts, The Chicago High School for the Arts, where he shared his passion for art and design with young, aspiring artists.
Joshua Aidlin and David Darling | Aidlin Darling Design
David Darling, FAIA, NCARB, IIDA and Joshua Aidlin are Founding Partners of Aidlin Darling Design, a multi-disciplinary San Francisco based design studio formed in 1998 with a focus on architecture, landscape, interior and product design. From its inception, the studio has held closely to the conviction that design is a social act, and that by engaging all of the senses, design can advance the human condition. Through twenty-five years of work, Aidlin Darling Design has sought to inspire, heal, serve, and educate, advancing a deeper connection to our environment, to ourselves, and to one another.
A cross-pollinated studio environment with a deep dive approach to site, material, and social investigations has enabled Aidlin Darling’s wide variety of work across a broad range of project types, including commercial work (educational facilities, community centers, galleries, and contemplative spaces); hospitality spaces (spas, resorts, restaurants, and wineries); and residential commissions with locations across the United States and as far flung as Doha and Hong Kong. Underpinned by the influence of Aidlin’s late father, renowned sculptor Jerome Aidlin, Aidlin Darling has explored design’s relationship to the human body, and how it can engage the senses, while maintaining the highest standard of social responsibility.
The firm’s commitment to environmental stewardship through design is evident in their activism, through publications, lectures, and symposia, as well as their work, which has been recognized locally, nationally and abroad. Aidlin Darling Design is honored to have received many industry accolades, including two James Beard Awards for restaurant design, 12 awards from the Chicago Athenaeum, three Civic Trust Awards, eight National AIA awards, INTERIOR DESIGN’s Best of Year, and the Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt’s 2013 National Design Award recognizing the firm’s full body of work.
Suzanne Tick | Suzanne Tick Inc.
Suzanne Tick maintains a distinguished career as a CEO, textile designer, weaver, and Vedic Meditation teacher in New York City. Tick was the former Creative Director of KnollTextiles and is the founder of Suzanne Tick Inc., specializing in materials strategy, product design, development, and direction for commercial interiors. She is currently the Creative Director at Luum Textiles and Design Partner with Skyline Design.
Known for her focus on design in evolving markets, Tick provides innovative solutions based on a foundation of sustainability and wellness. A fourth-generation recycler, Tick’s life work is centered around exploring new materials and reinventing manufacturing methods. In 2021, working with chemical engineers, Tick designed Grid State and Ecotone, the contract industry’s first and second textiles made of 100% biodegradable, post-consumer recycled polyester for Luum Textiles.
Suzanne Tick Inc. operates out of her New York studio, where Tick develops a range of products including glass, floor covering, upholstery, drapery, and wall covering. The townhouse operates as a new approach in working and living, spanning multiple floors including a design studio, weaving workshop, and meditation center. Tick maintains a hand weaving practice and creates fine art woven sculptures from repurposed materials. Her work has been exhibited at MoMA, Cooper Hewitt, MAD, Art Basel and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, as well as collected by private and corporate clients. Tick is also a board member of The Light Inside, expanding the teaching of Vedic Meditation in Rikers Island and other prison facilities in both the United States and Australia.
David Rockwell | Rockwell Group
ICON AWARD
Long before turning his attention to architecture, David Rockwell, FAIA, and Founder and President, Rockwell Group, had a fascination with immersive environments. Growing up in the United States and Guadalajara, Mexico, David was a child of the theater, experiencing the power of collaboration in service of a shared artistic goal and witnessed the ways in which narrative and design created meaning and lasting memories. Through this unique lens, Rockwell founded Rockwell Group in 1984. Now a 300-person, cross-disciplinary architecture and design firm based in New York with satellite offices in Los Angeles and Madrid, Rockwell Group emphasizes invention and thought leadership. Led by Rockwell and partners Shawn Sullivan and Greg Keffer, the firm creates extraordinary experiences and built environments across the globe.
Merging theater, performance, and architecture to create unique narratives for each project, the firm’s work includes hotels and restaurants, theaters, cultural and educational institutions, set designs, products, exhibitions, and urban interventions that engage the public realm. These include: Nobu Hotels and restaurants worldwide; Equinox Hotel, New York; Warner Music Group headquarters, Los Angeles; Moxy Hotels in Times Square, Chelsea, East Village, Miami, and Lower East Side; the New York EDITION hotel; W Hotels worldwide; Union Square Cafe and Daily Provisions, New York; Neue House, New York and Los Angeles; production design for the 2021, 2010, and 2009 Oscars; exhibition design for the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, Atlanta; and set designs for more than 100 productions, both on and off-Broadway, including Take Me Out, She Loves Me, Kinky Boots, and Hairspray.
Rockwell’s many honors include his original induction into INTERIOR DESIGN’s Hall of Fame in 2002; the AIANY President’s Award; the National Design Award from the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum for outstanding achievement in Interior Design; two Emmy Awards; a Tony Award for Best Scenic Design for She Loves Me; the Pratt Legends Award; the Presidential Design Award; induction into the James Beard Foundation Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America; inclusion in Architectural Digest’s AD 100; and recognition by Fast Company as one of the most innovative design practices in their annual World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies issue. Rockwell’s latest book, DRAMA, developed in collaboration with designer Bruce Mau, was published by Phaidon in May 2021. Known for his commitment to non-profit and community organizations, Rockwell serves as the Chair Emeritus of the Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS (DIFFA), as a board member of City Meals on Wheels and for the New York Restoration Project.
More than 1,000 of the world’s most prestigious designers, architects, manufacturers, and design leaders will gather to honor the new inductees at this black-tie celebration. Award-winning documentaries on the work and legacy of each of the inductees will premiere at the Hall of Fame and later on DESIGNTV.
A portion of the proceeds from the Hall of Fame event will go towards addressing pressing design crises worldwide. Tables and tickets can be purchased through halloffame@interiordesign.net, and 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 90 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 Luxe Interiors + Design, INTERIOR DESIGN, METROPOLIS, Design Milk, DESIGNTV by SANDOW; ThinkLab, a research and strategy firm; and content services brands, including The Agency by SANDOW – a full-scale digital mar- keting 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.
