Contract Magazine - January/February 2019 - 12

EDITORIAL

Elevating the Community
of Interior Design
I am thrilled to honor Nina Etnier and Brad Sherman of Float Studio
as our 2019 Designers of the Year, and Clive Wilkinson as the 17th
recipient of the Legend Award. Both Float and Wilkinson are designers
who are on the forefront of interior design today and are shining
examples of the great talent that comes out of our community.
We picked Float, in part, because they've carved out a
successful niche in the market by designing workspaces for young
tech startups like Casper the mattress brand, in addition to companies
like cooking and home brand Food52, anti-aging startup Elysium,
complete with a main street and even a central park. Wilkinson
English e-learning company Voxy, and socially responsible sock
places unparalleled importance on the social aspect of the workplace-
sellers Bombas-companies you'll know in five years' time, if you
features that transcends each of his projects to date from
don't know them already. Float has helped their clients grow and
Google's Mountain View headquarters to The Barbarian Group's
has developed a strong reputation for working around their tight
New York office.
time lines, modest budgets, and rapid growth.
Wilkinson was an innovator and risk-seeker from his early
Float's design solutions are very much informed by residential
days and continues to challenge the notion of what a workspace
design, largely in part because that's the background Etnier came
can and should be, but always remembers to put people first. During
from. They have found that companies are looking for a comfortable
and inviting environments-spaces where you have layered furniture the 1990s, when offices were either full of cubicles or panelized,
Wilkinson was designing collaborative open offices, and when nothing
from multiple sources. "What you're essentially doing is creating
in the marketplace at the time worked, he created (in partnership
the home of the brand," Etnier says. "We find that it's helpful in
with Steelcase) his reconfigurable workstations called "nests."
creating a space that feels more authentic, and also opens up this
"We were lucky enough to have quite a few clients that came after
entire creative toolkit of different small choices we can make
to help weave an authentic representation of the company that's
that who had a real appetite for invention," Wilkinson says.
comfortable, feels ultimately quite residential, but at the same
The multitalented designer has just finished his own amazing house
time, is still a functional workplace."
in LA. He has a hotel under development, and now, with a monograph
Float also uses their studio like a laboratory, customizing
of his work out in February, Wilkinson's creative energies are radical
certain designs in its office, like workstations and office lighting
and ever-evolving.
that might end up in one of their projects. And every Tuesday night
Along with celebrating our Designers of the Year and
they have Float School where one of their team members gives
Design Legend, I'm also thrilled about our 40th Interiors Awards
a presentation and teaches a discipline that they're an expert
in 16 categories. The awards were created to celebrate the best
in. "It's a really fun time to skill share, but also to make sure that
example of designs in the commercial interiors community. Our
our team members are really well rounded and getting an education
amazing jury-made up of Carolyn BaRoss of Perkins+Will; Sarah
in things that they might not otherwise have," Sherman says.
Brophy of IA Interior Architects; Carlos Madrid III of SOM; and Shawn
Members have an opportunity to teach others what they're really
Sullivan of the Rockwell Group-spent countless hours between
good at-everything from ADA codes to how to produce the best
them reviewing the submissions, and found that the winners
possible renderings. Like the tech startup community they design
exhibited discipline, intelligence and a responsibility to our physical
for, Float is just as much a disruptor in how they are designing
and social environments. "Hopefully [the winners are] a forecast
workspaces and who they design for.
of our world
This year's legend Clive Wilkinson is a true visionary, in the
to come," said one of the jurors.
classic sense of the word. The Cape Town-born, now Los AngelesEnjoy this Interiors Awards issue, and I look forward
based designer has been at the forefront of workplace design
to continuing the conversation on how we better support our
for decades and his work is deeply rooted in his belief that good
community in 2019!
design can have a major impact on people's live. A Wilkinson-designed
workspace is like a community of its own, which has resulted in the
Sincerely,
city-like characteristics of his projects. Take a look at his 120,000square-foot TBWA\Chiat\Day-his first project as Clive Wilkinson
Paul Makovsky
Architects in 1998-that was designed as an "Advertising City,"
Editor in Chief
12

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