Hall of Fame Event

The 2009 Awards Ceremony

Six new inductees lit up the silver-anniversary stage at the 25th annual Hall of Fame gala, held Wednesday, December 2, 2009 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York, as 1,200 of their closest industry friends applauded their life-long achievements in design.

Sans any wild anniversary theatrics, the program delighted all in attendance with its vivacious combination of inductees: the modernist-goes-contemporary attitude of Leo Marmol & Ron Radziner; the cool, understated glamour of Tony Chi; the playful inventiveness of Nick Luzietti; the iconic furniture designer that is Vladimir Kagan; and the shape-shifting zeitgeist of architectural firms, Gensler, recipient of the 2009 Special Award.

Arthur Gensler closed the evening with directives characteristic of an industry legend soliciting his audience, “If you work for Gensler, please stand.” Guests at a row of tables rose to their feet. He continued, “If you ever worked for Gensler, please stand. If you would like to work for Gensler, please stand. If you are a vendor who has worked with Gensler, please stand.” As he reached his last request, the entire room was on their feet. It was a glorious moment both for the firm and, undoubtedly, for Arthur, as well, since he stood on the very same stage 25 years prior to receive one of the first Hall of Fame awards for his individual achievements.

Despite a challenging year, it was fitting that 2009 end with an image of 1,200 individuals standing proud.