In our 50th year of publication, Contract proudly presents its 2010 awards issue, including the prestigious Designer of the Year Award, the 2010 Legend Award, and the winners of the 31st Annual Interiors Awards Competition. The editors wish to extend our congratulations to the five partners of Graft—Gregor Hoheisel, Lars Krückeberg, Wolfram Putz, Thomas Willemeit, and Alejandra Lillo—who are being honored as our 2010 Designers of the Year. In its young existence, Graft has already established itself as a model for design practice that transcends boundaries of all kinds, be they geographic, disciplinary, or social.

Congratulations are also in order for Art Gensler, our 2010 Legend Awards recipient, who founded Gensler and can rightly be considered the father of commercial interior design as a serious business profession.

Our 15 category winners of the annual Interiors Awards Competition are listed below. Also, be sure to check out all the video highlights from our awards breakfast.

Designers of the Year: Graft: Wolfram Putz, Lars Krückeberg, Thomas Willemeit, Alejandra Lillo, Gregor Hoheisel



Legend Award: Arthur Gensler



Large Office: Fornari Headquarters by Giorgio Borruso



Small Office: A confidential financial client, San Francisco by Gensler San Francisco




Historic Restoration: The Woodward Building, Washington, D.C. by Hartman Design Group




Retail: Barbie Shanghai, Shanghai by Slade Architecture




Hotel: Andaz West Hollywood by Janson Goldstein




Restaurant: ULTRA, Toronto by Munge Leung Design Associates




Healthcare: Peterborough Regional Health Centre, Ontario by Stantec Architecture




Education: FIDM San Diego, designed by Clive Wilkinson Architects




Exhibit: Prospect.1 Welcome Center, New Orleans by Eskew+Dumez+Ripple




Showroom: Osram Light Studio Showroom, Treviso, Italy by Cerquiglini & Rossi Architecture




Spa/Fitness: The Center for Wellness, The College of New Rochelle by ikon.5 architects/Galina Design Group




Sports/Entertainment Winner: Exeter Schools Multipurpose Space, Exeter, Mo. by Dake Wells Architecture




Public Space: Agave Library, Phoenix by will bruder+PARTNERS




Adaptive Reuse: Andel’s Hotel Lodz, Lodz, Poland by Jestico + Whiles



Environmental: The Power House, St. Louis by Cannon Design




As usual, these 15 firms represent a broad spectrum of experience, expertise, and geographic origins, proving once again that design excellence need not be confined to any particular location, building type, or budget.

Finally, sincere thanks to our five esteemed judges, who served on the Interiors Awards jury this year:

Lionel Ohayon, ICRAVE
Robin Guenther, Perkins+Will
John Peterson, Public Architecture
Joey Shimoda, Shimoda Design Group
Lois Goodell, CBT Architects