New York’s design community honors top designers at prestigious awards ceremony.

A record-breaking number of attendees turned up at New York’s Haworth showroom on Tuesday, June 26, for this year’s Lester Dundes Design Awards, hosted by the New York Chapter of the International Interior Design Association (IIDA NY). Haworth is the 2007 & 2008 sponsor and host of this high-profile awards ceremony.  Members of top design firms and the New York design community came together to celebrate award winners in five categories: Commercial Over 50,000 sq ft; Commercial Under 50,000 sq ft; Healthcare; Hospitality; and Retail. 

This year’s Awards were particularly well represented, as Lester Dundes’ wife Seena and daughter Kate attended.  Attendees were fortunate to enjoy stories about Lester, a highly regarded industry icon, as told by Kate. Following the annual meeting and induction of the 2007-2008 Board of Directors, awards were announced and slide presentations of each project were shown. 

Lester Dundes, originally from Brooklyn, pursued a career in law upon his college graduation.  However, he ultimately decided that he could not work in a field he did not love and pursued a career involving interior design. With limited design skills and tremendous sales potential, Lester found his true calling in 1950 selling advertising space for Interior Design Magazine, then a relatively small, unknown trade publication.   Lester rose through the ranks to become Publisher and was associated with the magazine for more than 45 years. He was an advocate for the design industry, mentoring many designers and architects, and created the widely recognized Interior Design Hall of Fame honoring top designers in the A&D industry.  Retired at age 80, Lester continued to serve as a consultant for the magazine and created the concept of publishing Corporate Interiors books.  

IIDA NY is proud to announce the winners of the 2007 Lester Dundes Design Awards:

Commercial Over 50,000 SQ FT
Gensler
American Red Cross in Greater NY, New York, NY

TPG Architecture
Moet Hennessy USA, New York, NY

Commercial Under 50,000 SQ FT
Gensler
BBH/Bartle Bogle Hegarty, New York, NY

Merit Award for Residential Marketing
II By IV Design Associates Inc.
Bohemian Embassy Presentation Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Healthcare
Perkins Eastman
Duke University Medical Center & Health System, Durham, NC

Hospitality
ICrave Design
STK/The One Group, New York, NY

Retail
Gensler
HBO Shop/Home Box Office, Inc., New York, NY

Ted Moudis Associates
Tiffany & Company, New York, NY

Sponsor & Host:  Haworth, Inc.

For photographs of the event, please contact:  Ellen Kushman
T: 212.297.2119
E: ekushman@kellencompany.com

ABOUT IIDA NY:
IIDA NY is a professional networking and educational association of more than 550 Members in nine specialty Forums.  IIDA NY is committed to enhancing the quality of life through excellence in interior design and advancing interior design through knowledge. IIDA NY advocates for interior design excellence; provides superior industry information; nurtures a global interior design community; maintains educational standards; and responds to trends in business and design.
Visit our website: http://www.iidany.org/ for more information.