The World's Best

Deborah Wilk -- Interior Design, 5/1/2010 12:00:00 AM

If a single trend has emerged during tough economic times, it would undoubtedly be the call for firms of all sizes to diversify. That doesn't mean, however, that designers should abandon their areas of expertise. Whether the sector is office, institutional, retail, or health care, specialists remain natural innovators, always looking for ways to reuse resources, multiply functionality, and enhance ease, spreading the gospel of good design ever wider. Judges for the IIDA's 37th annual Interior Design Competition were therefore directed to identify projects that introduced new ideas and techniques in buildings and furnishings worldwide.

Composed of Giorgio Borruso Design's namesake principal, Gensler design director Carlos Martinez, and WHR Architects associate Peggy Noakes as well as the furniture manufacturer Niedermaier's Judy Niedermaier, the panel found the requisite integration of elements in seven projects. Two had already been spotted by Interior Design. Hall of Fame member Clive Wilkinson's Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, San Diego, was published last June; Studios Architecture's Los Angeles headquarters for Guess just appeared in April. The five other winners, featured here, include One Plus Partnership, the Will Ching Design Competition honoree for commercial design by firms employing five or fewer. All seven will receive their awards in Chicago on June 13 during the NeoCon World's Trade Fair, when the IIDA hosts its Cool gala.

Photography by Nic Lehoux.