Patagonia Patagonia, a sports apparel company, based in Ventura, Calif was founded in 1973. The company creates high-quality outdoor sportswear for mountaineering, skiing, and extreme sports, with a focus on functionality. Patagonia works with manufacturers to develop new fabrics, such as Capilene and H2No Strom, which meet athletes’ strict demands, and implements numerous environmental initiatives,...

Sergio Palleroni Sergio Palleroni a research fellow at the Center for Sustainable Development at University of Texas at Austin, who runs ten-week-long design/build studios around the world in marginalized communities. Established in 1995 at the University of Washington, these pioneering design/build programs combine innovative architectural training with cross-cultural immersion, social activism, and environmental science. Students...

Diller, Scofidio + Renfro Diller, Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R) is an interdisciplinary studio that fuses architecture with the visual and performing arts. The work of DS+R includes architectural commissions, temporary and permanent site-specific installations, multi-media theater, electronic media and print. Elizabeth Diller and Ricardo Scofidio founded D+S in 1979. Charles Renfro, a collaborator in the...

Paolo Soleri Born in Italy in 1919, Paolo Soleri has dedicated his lifelong work to experimentation in urban planning. Settling in Scottsdale, Arizona in 1956, Soleri established the Cosanti Foundation and began designing Arcosanti, a prototype town for 5,000 residents based on his concept of “Arcology”—architecture in accordance with ecology. Soleri’s work has been included...

Paola Antonelli Paola Antonelli is the curator in the Department of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art. Antonelli’s exhibitions at MoMA have thoroughly explored the role of design in everyday life, highlighting how mindful design enriches, facilitates, and supports our lives. Antonelli’s recent exhibitions for MoMA include, SAFE: Design Takes On Risk,...

Craig Robins Craig Robins is a Miami-based real estate developer. As part of his mission to integrate art and design into the local community, Robins has worked with architects and designers including Alexander Gorlin, Craig Konyk, Enrique Norten and Alison Spear on his development projects. He was instrumental in bringing the Art Basel Fair to...

NIKE, INC. For 30 years Nike, Inc. has created products designed to help athletes of all disciplines and skill levels perform at their optimum. In addition to regularly exploring and employing the latest in technological advancements Nike has consistently incorporated design as an essential element in all of their work, from the design of their...

Syd Mead Illustrator and conceptual designer Syd Mead is known for his work on Hollywood film projects such as “Bladerunner,” “Aliens,” and “Mission Impossible-3.” Mead’s diverse career, spanning some 30 years, has included working with clients in the entertainment, hotel, aviation, and automobile industries. Always advocating new technologies, his work has consistently looked toward the...

Stefan Sagmeister A major force in the design world since arriving in New York on a Fulbright grant in 1987, Austrian born Stefan Sagmeister strives to create design that has the ability to touch the viewer’s heart. He established Sagmeister Inc. in 1993, with an emphasis on concept over style. His work is primarily based...

Thom Mayne Thom Mayne is principal of Morphosis, a Santa Monica, Calif.-based architecture and design firm. Mayne has won numerous awards for his work in design including the Pritzker Prize for Architecture and a Rome Prize Fellowship. Morphosis’ intuitive and collaborative approach to projects for diverse clients including the state of California, the NYC 2012...

Toledo Studio Established in 1984 by fashion designer Isabel Toledo and artist Ruben Toledo, Toledo Studio comprises clothing design, ad campaigns, hotel promotion and mannequin design. The company’s driving goal has been to infiltrate their ideas into everyday life. Ms. Toledo’s appreciation of machinery, practicality and comfort and Mr. Toledo’s instinctive approach to art combine...

2X4 Founded in 1993 by Michael Rock, Susan Sellers and Georgianna Stout, 2×4 works in print, film/video, Web and environment design for clients ranging from Vitra, Knoll Textiles, Prada and Target to the Guggenheim Las Vegas, the Studio Museum in Harlem, N.Y., and the Winspear Opera House in Dallas. The New York-based design firm develops...

Maria Cornejo Chilean-born Maria Cornejo’s career has spanned London, Paris, Milan and Tokyo. She moved to New York City in 1996 and began her clothing line Zero, noted for its sculptural garments that are at once feminine, architectural, minimal and modern. Cornejo’s personal approach to her designs has won her a loyal following. Ignoring seasonal...

Richard Gluckman Since beginning his architectural practice in 1977, Richard Gluckman’s work has been closely aligned with the art world. Based in New York, Gluckman has created distinctive spaces for numerous galleries and museums, and developed installations with such notable contemporary artists as Dan Flavin, Richard Serra, Jenny Holzer and Walter De Maria. His professional...

Michael Gabellini Michael Gabellini is a principal at Gabellini Sheppard Associates, LLP in New York, a multidisciplinary design firm specializing in architecture and interior design projects. With a goal of creating pure, graphic environments that do not detract attention from their purpose, the firm has created interiors for fashion, museum and contemporary art galleries, and...