Bios

Staff -- Interior Design, 8/1/2007 12:00:00 AM

Belzberg Architects

"Rocky Mountain High," page 174

principal: Hagy Belzberg, AIA.

completed projects: The Music Center's Ahmanson Theatre Founders Room in Los Angeles; residences in L.A. and Pasadena, California.

current projects: Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust, a restaurant at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Ray Hotel, and Conga Room lounge, all in L.A.

honors: AIA/LA Design Awards; AIA California Council Emerging Talent Award; American Athenaeum Architecture Awards; Urban Land Institute Award for Excellence.

art walk: Belzberg, his filmmaker wife, Jane, and 7-year-old daughter, Sara, frequent LACMA and the Museum of Contemporary Art.

art crawl: Their 1-year-old son, Zack, comes along.

1501 Colorado Avenue, Suite B, Santa Monica, CA 90404; 310-453-9611; belzbergarchitects.com.

Desiderata Design

"Hip-Hop and Pop," page 214

principal: Don Stewart.

completed projects: Residences in Los Angeles and Dallas; Hamilton Lounge in Las Vegas.

current projects: Residences in L.A.

at home: At his duplex in Venice, Stewart chills out to Nelly Furtado, Mos Def, Joni Mitchell, and Nina Simone.

on the road: In his Land Rover, he's been listening to Kanye West's Graduation.

5521 Venice Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90019; 323-935-8889; desideratadesign.com.

Elliott + Associates Architects

"The Way Forward," page 194

principal: Rand Elliott, FAIA.

completed projects: Chesapeake Boathouse, Oklahoma Heritage Association museum and education center, Heritage Hall middle school and athletic center, and Kirkpatrick Oil, all in Oklahoma City; ImageNet in Houston.

current projects: Chesapeake Energy Corporation campus, Lyric Theater, and Red Prime Steak, all in Oklahoma City; Pops gas station, café, and store in Arcadia, Oklahoma; Opportunity Park pavilion in Dallas; a house in Joplin, Missouri.

honors: Interior Design Hall of Fame; AIA Central Oklahoma Chapter Firm of the Year; 10 national AIA honor awards; Texas Society of Architects Honor Award; Chicago Athenaeum International Architecture Award.

writer: Elliott composes poetry.

collector: He owns two watercolors by an employee, project architect Michael Hoffner.

35 Harrison Avenue, Oklahoma City, OK 73104; 405-232-9554; e-a-a.com.

Gensler

"Gensler Rocks," page 224

design principal: Peter Wang.

completed projects: 300 Fidelity Investments centers nationwide.

current projects: A hotel tower in New York; an office park in Fairfield, Connecticut.

design director: Stefanie Shunk.

completed projects: EvensonBest, Directv, Fox News, KBC Bank, and Traxis Partners, all in New York.

current projects: McGraw-Hill Companies and LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae in New York.

summer vacation: Wang and his family spend a week on New Jersey's Long Beach Island.

winter vacation: Shunk plans a ski trip out West.

1230 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 1500, New York, NY 10020; 212-492-1400; gensler.com.

Intelligent Design

"Nesting Instinct," page 182

principal: Bill Fritts.

completed projects: Marios 3:10 boutique in Tigard, Oregon; Hotel Tetherow in Bend, Oregon; Chronicle Books headquarters in San Francisco; consultation on TCP/Disney in Pasadena, California; collaboration with Clive Wilkinson Architects on a honeycomb storage system for Quinze & Milan.

current projects: Nike design library in Beaverton, Oregon; consultation on Jackspoint Resort in Queenstown, New Zealand; furniture selection for Hiroshima Baseball Stadium in Japan; sustainable-furniture company Solidcore.

art: Fritts sculpts Carrara marble at his weekend house in Oregon's wine country.

art of the deal: Also a furniture dealer, he supplied the Seattle Public Library by the Office for Metropolitan Architecture.

537 SW 12th Avenue, Portland, OR 97205; 503-228-8825; intelligentdesign.tv.

Luis Pons D-Lab

"What Is Art?" page 232

principal: Luis Pons.

completed projects: Singer Chayanne's house in Miami Beach; Mutables door panels and Clouds inflatable chairs for his company, Aponwao Design; an inflatable floating villa for Art Basel Miami Beach.

current projects: Hotels in Miami Beach and Loreto, Mexico; a commercial building and a mixed-use building in Houston; furniture and fashion accessories to be introduced at Accent on Design.

inspired: Aponwao is the name of a waterfall in Pons's native Venezuela.

inspiring: His daughter, Eleanora, is now 11 years old.

4040 NE Second Avenue, Suite 411, Miami, FL 33137; 305-576-1787; luisponsd-lab.com.

Starck

"Chapter Three," page 188

principal: Philippe Starck.

completed projects: Ian Schrager Hotels in New York, Miami Beach, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and London; Jean Paul Gaultier boutiques in New York and London; Katsuya restaurant in L.A.; Lan restaurant in Beijing; products for Alessi, Driade, Duravit, Emeco, Flos, Kartell, Samsonite Corporation, Target Brands, and Thomson.

current projects: SLS Hotels in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean; a 525-foot yacht; hydrogen cars and eco-friendly motorcycles; creative direction for Virgin Galactic.

honors: Commandeur Dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres; Officier des Arts et des Lettres; Chevalier Dans l'Ordre National de la Légion d'Honneur; Harvard Excellence in Design Award.

reading: Entretiens sur la Multitude du Monde by astrophysicist Thibault Damour.

dreaming: "Of my very quiet oyster farm on a small island with no electricity or cars."

18/20 Rue du Faubourg du Temple, 75011 Paris, France; 33-1-48-07-54-54; philippe-starck.com.

Photographers in this issue

Jeremy Bittermann ("Nesting Instinct," page 182), 971-570-2020; jeremybittermann@gmail.com.

Joel Eden Photography ("Rocky Mountain High," page 174), 4612 Shoshone Drive, Larkspur, CO 80118; 303-660-6002; joeledenphoto.com.

Art Gray Architectural Photography ("Hip-Hop and Pop," page 214), 171 Pier Avenue, 272, Santa Monica, CA 90405; 310-450-2806; artgrayphotography.com.

David Joseph ("Gensler Rocks," page 224), Hillary Aiges Represents, 212-247-2992.

Eric Laignel ("Chapter Three," page 188; "Modern in Motion," page 204; "What Is Art?" page 232), ericlaignel@hotmail.com.

Scott McDonald ("The Way Forward," page 194), Hedrich Blessing, 400 North Peoria Street, Chicago, IL 60622; 312-491-1101; hedrichblessing.com.

William O'Connor ("Rocky Mountain High," page 174), 990 Yarnell Drive, Larkspur, CO 80118; 719-488-4581.

Bob Shimer ("The Way Forward," page 194), Hedrich Blessing, 400 North Peoria Street, Chicago, IL 60622; 312-491-1101; hedrichblessing.com.