Design Nation

For its sixth annual design awards, the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum has added new categories and a special citation. Husband and wife designers Katherine and Michael McCoy snagged the inaugural Design Mind award, which honors visionaries whose writing, research, and scholarship have affected design thinking. The jury also awarded a special commendation to University of Texas research fellow Sergio Palleroni for 10-week design-build studios he hosts in marginalized communities.

Ceramist Eva Zeisel took this year's Lifetime Achievement award. Patagonia, a sportswear manufacturer, snagged the Corporate Achievement award.

In another first for the awards, firms will also receive honors in the interiors and landscape-design categories. Nominees for the first distinction are Michael Gabellini, Richard Gluckman, and Hugh Hardy; nominees for the latter are Kathryn Gustafson, Ned Kahn, and Peter Walker and Partners.

The finalists for architecture are Diller, Scofidio + Renfro, Tom Kundig, and Antoine Predock. The remaining six honors will be announced at Cooper-Hewitt's annual gala in New York this October.