(WASHINGTON, D.C., March 11, 2005)—The American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) is pleased to announce its 2004 design award honorees. A jury of esteemed professional designers selected winners in five categories: Designer of Distinction, Design for Humanity, Educator of Distinction, Patron’s Prize and Product Prize (corporate and individual). The honorees will be recognized at the Society’s annual awards program, Celebration: The ASID Design Awards, to take place at the Westin Horton Plaza in San Diego on Saturday, March 19.
Designer of Distinction
Deborah Lloyd Forrest, FASID, is the 2004 ASID Designer of Distinction. A world-renowned, award-winning hospitality interior designer specializing in historic preservation of landmark hotels, Forrest was inducted into the Hospitality Design Platinum Circle in 2004. Her projects have included the historic Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C., the Hermitage in Nashville, Tenn., and the Alluvian in Greenwood, Miss., which was selected as one of the world’s “Hot 100 Hotels” by Condé Nast Traveler in June 2004. The design of the Alluvian also was honored with the grand prize, luxury segment category, by Lodging Hospitality in 2004. Her firm, ForrestPerkins, also has designed a variety of boutique and large-scale luxury hotel properties for Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, InterContinental Hotels Group, and St. Regis Hotels and Resorts, to name just a few. The firm’s award-winning work has been published in a number of publications, including Architectural Digest, Hospitality Design, Interior Design, Travel & Leisure, The New York Times and The Robb Report.
Forrest and her partner, Stephen Perkins, AIA, founded ForrestPerkins in 1998, and currently maintain offices in Dallas and Washington, D.C., with more than 30 employees—interior designers, architects and technical staff. Before establishing ForrestPerkins, Forrest owned her own firm, Deborah Lloyd Forrest Associates, based in Dallas. Forrest is a fellow of ASID, the highest honor the Society bestows on members, and was named one of the top interior designers in Dallas by D Home magazine in 2004. She received her undergraduate and master’s degrees the University of North Texas in Denton and is an honorary alumnus of Oklahoma State University, where she serves on the advisory board of the School of Hotel and Restaurant Administration.
Design for Humanity
Architecture for Humanity and Cameron Sinclair, its founder and executive director, are honored with the 2004 ASID Design for Humanity award. The nonprofit organization was founded in 1999 to “promote architectural and design solutions to global, social and humanitarian crises.” Architecture for Humanity links architects and designers in 60 countries to projects in needy communities. The organization’s volunteers have provided assistance to communities in Afghanistan, the Balkans, Grenada, Iran and Turkey, among many others around the globe, and the organization is currently involved in tsunami relief efforts in Asia. To date, Architecture for Humanity has raised more than $200,000 in donations and pro-bono services to allow for the building of basic shelter, schools, medical clinics and infrastructure in Sri Lanka. The organization also hosts international design competitions, leads educational outreach and advocacy programs, and partners with relief organizations to achieve their missions.
Sinclair, referred to by the media as the “Bob Geldof of architecture,” runs this global design relief network single-handedly. In 2004, Fortune magazine named him as one of the “Aspen Seven,”—“seven people changing the world for the better.” Sinclair also was awarded the first Nice Modernist award by Dwell and was selected as one of the “2004 Fast 50” by Fast Company. Sinclair is an architect, educated at the University of Westminister and the Bartlett School of Architecture in London. He currently is an adjunct professor at the Montana State University School of Architecture and is a well-regarded lecturer at conferences, educational institutions and other venues in the United States and abroad.
Educator of Distinction
Dianne Jackman, FIDEC, FIDC, FPIDIM, IIDA, is the 2004 ASID Educator of Distinction. She recently retired as a full professor at the University of Manitoba at Winnipeg after 31 years of service and is remembered by her students and peers as an outstanding teacher committed to the welfare of her students and to the profession of interior design. Jackman, along with two other interior design educators—Buie Harwood, Hon. FASID, FIDEC, of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va., and the former Ronald Veitch of the University of Manitoba—founded the Interior Design Experience Program in 1999. IDEP is an entry-level apprenticeship program for graduates of interior design education programs run by the National Council for Interior Design Qualification. The program assists new interior designers in meeting NCIDQ exam eligibility requirements, and helps to bridge the gap between education and professional practice.
In addition to founding IDEP, Jackman is a former president of the Interior Designers of Canada and served in a variety of officer positions with the Interior Design Educators Council and the Foundation for Interior Design Education Research. She also was honored with IDEC fellowships and the University of Manitoba’s outreach award, the Olive B. Stanton Award for Excellence in Teaching and Special Teacher Recognition.
Jackman also is the author of two books: The Guide to Textiles for Interior Designers (which won the 1985 ASID Educational Foundation, Inc./Joel Polsky Prize for outstanding academic contribution to interior design) and Professional Practice: A Handbook for Interior Designers.
ASID Patron’s Prize
Herman Miller, Industry Partner of ASID, based in Grand Rapids, Mich., is being honored with the 2004 ASID Patron’s Prize for its support and promotion of innovative, inspiring and quality design. Formed in the early 1930s, the company was founded on the modernist ideal of wedding design principles and processes with the materials, methods and means of industrial manufacturing to create mass-produced furniture that was not only well-made but also inherently well-designed. Over the years, the firm has engaged such notable designers as Charles and Ray Eames, George Nelson, Alexander Girard and Isamu Noguchi. The Eames Lounge Chair, Nelson Marshmallow Sofa and the Aeron Chair have become icons of 20th century style and, along with other Herman Miller creations, have been exhibited in museums in the United States and abroad.
In addition, Herman Miller has been a leader in ergonomically designed furniture and environmentally conscious manufacturing. Its efforts in these areas have been recognized by the U.S. Green Building Council, GreenGuard, the American Institute of Architects and the National Wildlife Federation, among others. The company recently topped Fortune magazine's "Most Admired Companies" list in the furnishings category for the 17th year in 19 years.
Product Prize
The 2004 ASID Product Prize honorees are Edward Fields, Inc., Industry Partner of ASID (corporate), and Holly Hunt (individual). The category honors an individual, organization or manufacturer that has contributed a significant and lasting body of work relating to the products of interior design.
Edward Fields, based in New York, N.Y., has produced fine custom wool and silk floor coverings since its founding in 1935. The company has installed custom carpets in the White House and U.S. State Department, along with an illustrious list of luxury clients and luminaries—corporate and private—in a variety of environments. Edward Fields coined the term, “area rug,” a concept that “allowed designers to move furniture away from walls, create new dynamics in room function and use the floor as the ‘fifth wall’ in a room,” according to James Lothrop, Jr., ASID, AIA, in his nomination letter. The company’s founder, Edward Fields, and his son, Jack, who is currently president, are both honorary fellows of ASID.
Hunt described as a “design scout, design muse and international businesswoman” (according to House Beautiful), owns and operates showrooms in Chicago, New York City, Miami, Minneapolis and Washington, D.C., and will soon open her newest showroom in Los Angeles. Originally a fashion designer, she made the transition from fashion to interior design in 1984, purchasing an interior design showroom in the Merchandise Mart in Chicago. Hunt launched her own collection of furniture and lighting in 1994, with the original collection designed by Christian Liaigre through an exclusive licensing agreement for North America. Today, Hunt designs with John Hutton and Kevin Reilly, and personally designs her Great Plains textile collection and Hunt Leather Company products. She graduated from Texas Tech University with degrees in English literature and clothing and textiles.
The members of the 2004 ASID Awards Jury were Gary Wheeler, FASID, chair; Charles Gandy, FASID; Nila Leiserowitz, FASID; and Robert Ivy, FAIA, editor in chief, Architectural Record.
To learn more about the ASID awards, visit asid.org. or e-mail communications@asid.org.
ASID is a community of people—designers, industry representatives, educators and students—committed to interior design. Through education, knowledge sharing, advocacy, community building and outreach, the Society strives to advance the interior design profession and, in the process, to demonstrate and celebrate the power of design to positively change people’s lives. Its more than 36,000 members engage in a variety of professional programs and activities through a network of 48 chapters throughout the United States and Canada. To learn more about ASID, visit www.asid.org