March 8, 2004—The American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) has announced its 2003 design award honorees in five categories: Designer of Distinction, Design for Humanity, Educator of Distinction, Patron’s Prize, and Product Prize (corporate and individual), several of which are new categories this year. The winners are:
- Designer of Distinction: Eleanor Brydone, FASID, FOCA, ARIDO, principal and founder of Rice Brydone Limited in Toronto, Ontario—an award-winning interior design consultancy founded in 1971. In the mid-1990s she also created KiiA Architecture, Inc., Architects and KiiA Technology, Inc.—independent firms that collaborate to offer design solutions to clients across North America. Brydone has been active in ASID, including the ASID Board of Directors, as well as in a variety of other professional and charitable organizations and government councils and committees, and is a sought-after public speaker and CEU instructor as well as a mentor to many young designers, says ASID.
- Design for Humanity: Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), a leading international organization addressing the issues of poverty housing. Since its founding in 1976 by Millard and Linda Fuller, this grassroots-based organization has built and rehabilitated more than 150,000 houses for 625,000 needy individuals in approximately 3,000 communities across the globe. Numerous ASID chapters and individual members have volunteered with HFHI, and like the Society, Habitat is committed to sustainable design. Its environmental initiative teaches staff and volunteers to use “green” construction techniques that conserve natural resources and are energy efficient. According to ASID, “Habitat has had an international impact on a diverse group of humanity.”
- Educator of Distinction: Buie Harwood, Hon., FASID, FIDEC, an accomplished interior design educator, professor, and past chair of the Department of Interior Design at Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond, VA, and Doha, Qatar campuses). She previously taught at the University of Texas at Austin and the University of North Texas in Denton and provided workshops at a variety of US universities. Last year, Harwood and the co-authors of the book, Architecture and Interior Design through the 18th Century, were honored with the 2002 ASID Education Foundation/Joel Polsky Prize. She is currently working on a follow-up publication, Architecture and Interior Design, 19th Century to the Present: An Integrated History. Harwood has also been actively involved in professional service organizations, including ASID and top posts at IDEC.
- Patron’s Prize: Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution, for its support and promotion of quality interior design. The awards jury noted, “As the only museum in the nation exclusively dedicated to historic and contemporary design, this organization has elevated design and had a far-reaching effect for designers and the public.”
Two ASID Product Prizes were awarded in 2003, honoring an individual, organization, or manufacturer that has contributed a significant and lasting body of work relating to the products of interior design:
- Product Prize—corporate: Interface Flooring, for its leadership in sustainability. The ASID Awards Jury said, “Interface has been the pioneer in emphasizing sustainability, not only in their own company, but enlisting other manufacturers as well.”
- Product Prize—individual: “legendary” textile designer Jack Lenor Larsen, for his award-winning hand-woven fabrics, which have set a new standard in textile design. The awards jury noted: “[Larsen] is recognized for his far-reaching impact on the interior design environment for 50 years. His innovative use of fiber, his superb aesthetic sense of both color and design has influenced our industry.”
