the Designer Pages blog

Braving sharp winds and arctic temperatures on Friday morning at 7:30am, 800-some members of the contract interior design community gathered for Contract Magazine’s 31st annual awards breakfast at Cipriani’s 42nd street outpost in Manhattan. It was Designer Pages’ particular pleasure however, to be seated with our lovely friends at MMPI and our collaborators on www.neocon.com. Led by the magazine’s editor-in-chief Jennifer Busch and sponsored by manufacturing giants Shaw Contract and Herman Miller, Contract hosted a truly dynamic audit of the best projects throughout 2009 in sectors like hospitality, restaurant, healthcare, education and design retail to name just a few. A common thread among almost all the acceptance speeches of the sector champions? Inventive projects owe most of their success to open-minded, forward-thinking clients who let these winners do what they do best - design phenomenal environments.

Perhaps even more exciting though was the announcement of the 2010 Legend Award given to none other than the great Arthur Gensler, founder of Gensler, leading shaper of the contract interior design industry and mega architecture patron. With characteristic Gensler modesty, the award was less about his professional achievements and all about continuing to pave the path for great design by way of cultivating design innovation at it’s roots - in a collaborative, supportive firm environment where risk is rewarded.

Another advocate of risk and reward was Designer(s) of the Year Graft whose founding partner Lars Kruckeberg who accepted the award on behalf of his team in a king’s crown and fuschia boa (his team couldn’t be there as they are currently meeting with 102-year old Oscar Niemayer in Brazil for a new project). A design firm espousing the philosophy that one must understand things globally in order to act locally (hence offices spread across Berlin, Los Angeles and Beijing), Kruckeberg said he will continue to fly uncomfortably in coach in order to improve his craft by way of travel.

All in all, two thumbs up to Contract for a seamlessly produced event!