Billie Tsien and Tod Williams Billie Tsien and Tod Williams have worked together since 1977 and have deliberately stayed small, focusing on a few projects at a time and choosing to work slowly in a world characterized by speed. Their architectural designs are based on a profound sense of optimism and the conviction “that is...

Robert Greenberg A giant in his industry, Robert Greenberg keeps in tune with the constant evolution of the communications field and consistently maintains the highest standards of excellence and innovation. In 1977 when he co-founded his company, R/GA, with his brother, it was the first firm to bring print, television commercials and feature films under...

SPECIAL COMMENDATION FOR CORPORATE ACHIEVEMENT This award was given by the Jurors in recognition of outstanding achievements in the design stewardship of the public realm. General Services Administration’s Design Excellence Program The U.S. General Services Administration’s Design Excellence Program will be awarded a Special Commendation in the Corporate Achievement category. In 1961, Daniel Patrick Moynihan...

Michael Van Valkenburgh Michael Van Valkenburgh devotes himself to the practice of landscape architecture with great integrity and passion. A professor and mentor in Harvard’s Graduate School of Design for over twenty years, he has simultaneously carried out a prolific and diverse practice. Van Valkenburgh has designed and built more than 300 gardens; parks; and...

Tom Ford Tom Ford is a rare combination of a gifted designer and an astute businessman. He believes that “good design should have the power to communicate long after the original moment has passed.” Ford’s timeless designs beautify the body as they celebrate sensuality. They have attracted worldwide attention through his role as Creative Director...

Herman Miller For over 65 years Herman Miller has been a design leader through thick and thin, advancing both the science and the art of furniture design. Based in Zeeland, Michigan, the company pioneered modern American residential furniture in the 1930s and 1940s through its unique relationships with Gilbert Rohde, George Nelson and Charles Eames....

Milton Glaser Nearly all Americans today are familiar with Milton Glaser’s work as one of the pivotal figures in postwar graphic design and illustration. Born in the Bronx, and educated at Cooper Union and Bologna, Italy under a Fulbright grant to study with the painter Giorgio Morandi, Glaser is a profoundly influential master of communication,...

Amanda Burden Amanda M. Burden is Chair of the New York City Planning Commission and Director of the Department of City Planning. Museum Director Paul Thompson characterizes Burden as “a civic leader widely recognized for her generous community spirit and dedication to design excellence.” From 1983 to 1990, Burden was responsible for the planning and...

Aveda Corporation Founded in 1978 and based in Minneapolis, the mission of Aveda Corporation (A-Veda = All-knowledge in Sanskrit) is rooted deeply in two things: design and responsibility. Aveda’s strives to develop solutions to problems by insisting on strong design and aesthetic standards, expressed within shifting parameters of materials and design processes that are “light...