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American Idols

Interiordesign.net toasts the winners of the 2006 National Design Awards with a slideshow of their work.

Sheila Kim-Jamet -- Interior Design, 8/3/2006 1:24:00 PM

When you pit against each other such visionaries as Michael Gabellini, Tsao + McKown, and Bernard Tschumi, you know there’s going to be fierce competition. The 2006 National Design Awards, presented by the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, offered just that. The judges, who included Interior Design editor-in-chief Cindy Allen, had the daunting task of selecting winners in categories ranging from fashion design to architecture—each category featuring a slew of talent, making it a tight race. Michael Gabellini came out on top in the interior design category, which included finalists Annabelle Selldorf and Tsao + McKown; in architecture, Morphosis principal Thom Mayne was selected as winner to beat such distinguished practitioners as Stanley Saitowitz and Bernard Tschumi. Meanwhile, Bill Stumpf, who helped Herman Miller champion the office with the Aeron chair, was picked over Apple senior vice president of industrial design, Jonathan Ive, and Antenna Design.

The winners were recently announced, and then officially recognized at a White House breakfast, hosted by First Lady Laura Bush, on July 10. While the Cooper-Hewitt prepares to fete the winners this October back in New York, presenting each of them with a special trophy produced by Saint-Gobain, interiordesign.net toasts them with a look at their work in our slide show. The award program annually honors American design, as well as leaders and corporations who help promote design awareness. For more on the awards, visit the Cooper-Hewitt’s official site.