Inside Interior Design’s Hall Of Fame Gala At The Waldorf Astoria

But first, Allen offered a brief history lesson, the kind peppered with juicy bits of gossip about the Waldorf Astoria’s past. Noting the hotel’s rich connection to technology and innovation (it’s where IBM unveiled the PC), Allen referenced its roots as a space where design meets power. Often playing host to royalty, the Waldorf—a locale firmly rooted in tradition—also is known for challenging it. “The Waldorf was the first hotel to let single women check in solo.” Allen shared as applause filled the room. “Landmark doesn’t mean museum,” she continued. “It means living, breathing, evolving.”

After taking a moment to thank event partners, including Turf’s table centerpieces and podium and 3form’s design of the Hall of Fame awards, Allen honored design luminaries who died this year—Robert A.M. Stern, Bruce Bierman, Amy Lau, Olle Lundberg, and Frank Gehry. “We’re not just honoring design tonight,” she said. “We’re honoring what happens when design meets purpose.”

Interior Design’s Hall of Fame Gala Celebrates 4 Inductees 

After a brief pause to indulge in the evening’s fare, including short ribs with a blood orange glaze and a decadent mousse dessert, the 2025 Hall of Fame inductees took to the stage. First up, Allen introduced Mexico City-native Héctor Esrawe, founder of Esrawe Studio. “Héctor spent more than three decades turning curiosity into a practice,” she shared, noting his meditative hotels, cafes, galleries and pavilions, often defined by a restrained palette of brass and bronze. “The soul of the work is unapologetically Mexican,” Allen continued, pointing out that Esrawe’s way of working is as impactful as his final designs.

In a documentary short about Esrawe’s life produced for the event, the designer offers a look into his creative process and the people who inspire him every day, notably his son. From founding MASA, the first collectible design gallery in Mexico, to creating ethereal structures that reflect their surroundings like Xinú, a Mexican perfumery that recently caught the eye of Estée Lauder, Esrawe’s work is rooted in the culture that shaped him. “Mexico gives me endless energy and motivation,” he shares in the film. As for the design concepts: “If it feels correct, I trust my intuition and it hasn’t failed me.”

Next, Allen honored husband and wife duo, Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi, founders and partners of Weiss/Manfredi. “Let’s celebrate the pair that keeps expanding the field right under our feet,” Allen said. The design duo’s work speaks for itself, reinventing landscapes and spaces and always rising to transform the most challenging sites. “There shouldn’t be a boundary between when artists and designers and landscape architects start doing work,” says Manfredi in a documentary short celebrating the pair. “That fluidity between what’s inside and outside seems to us one of the greatest opportunities for design.”

From drawing together using age-old tools—charcoal is a favorite medium—to morning walks over the Brooklyn Bridge spent debating design decisions, Weiss and Manfredi are living examples of the magic that stems from true partnership. “What we touch, what we feel… are how we inhabit spaces,” adds Weiss. This ethos is evident in Weiss/Manfredi designs, such as the lauded Olympic Sculpture Park at the Seattle Art Museum and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Visitor Center, which gently merges the urban and natural worlds. With every project, Weiss/Manfredi continues to stretch the boundaries of architecture and design.

The Hall of Fame Inductee Behind The Waldorf Astoria Refresh

Last but certainly not least, Allen introduced an inductee who lent his expertise to the restoration of the regal rooms that played host to this year’s Hall of Fame gala: French designer Pierre-Yves Rochon, founder of PYR. “We’re in your room tonight, Pierre,” Allen said of Rochon who, now in his 70s, continues to wow with discipline, curiosity, and imagination.

Effortlessly merging past and present, Rochon views even the largest tasks through the lens of simplicity. “I always say: The concrete to the flowers,” he shares in a documentary short, pointing out that he approaches design as if it breathes life into spaces, communities, and cities. “The word design, for me, is really about the way human beings think life should be.”

A student of the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Rochon has spearheaded cutting-edge hospitality projects around the world like Chopard’s 1, Place Vendôme boutique hotel in Paris as well as landmarks like the Savoy in London and the Waldorf Astoria New York. For the latter’s refresh, Rochon shares that he aimed to “keep the DNA of the Waldorf as before but, I hope, more luxurious, more quiet, and more chic.” Mission accomplished.

In accepting his Hall of Fame award, Rochon recalled how much his first Interior Design project write-up meant, roughly 30 years ago, a marker of how far he’s come. “As you see tonight, dreams can come true,” he shared. “This is a dream I could not have imagined, for sure. Never forgot to dream.” With those wise words, Interior Design‘s Hall of Fame gala came to a close—that is, until next year.

Highlights from the 2025 Hall of Fame Gala