Just as Hollywood has the Academy Awards, the A&D industry has Interior Design‘s Hall of Fame gala, an event that brings together the crème de la crème to honor individual achievements and showcase innovation throughout the decades. This year, Hall of Fame turns 40, which makes for an extra celebratory evening.
For the event’s anniversary edition, Interior Design will recognize five standout creatives as well as two special tributes during the black-tie gala, which will take place December 11 at The Glasshouse in Manhattan. The newest group of inductees, selected by Editor-in-Chief Cindy Allen as well as a nominating committee of Hall of Fame members, includes: Adam Rolston, Drew Stuart, and Gabriel Benroth, founding partners of INC Architecture & Design; David Galullo, CEO and chief creative officer of Rapt Studio; and Holly Hunt, founder of HOLLY HUNT and House of Hunt. Special tributes will be made to DIFFA (Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS), which is also celebrating 40 years, as well as the late architect, Jeffrey Beers.
“As we look back on the past four decades, we are excited to honor the legacy we’ve built and the incredible work that lies ahead,” says Allen. “And this year’s stellar talent certainly honors the past, but their vision and impact speaks to the future of design.”
Interior Design‘s 2024 Hall of Fame gala will feature award-winning documentaries, 2024 inductees, and—for the first time—a silent auction, which will take place throughout the event with all proceeds going towards supporting DIFFA’s mission to support those affected by HIV/AIDS and food insecurity, as well as mental health and housing challenges.
Get ready for the big bash: See what’s next for Interior Design‘s Hall of Fame event with a peek at what we’re planning for the 40th annual gala. Discover Hall of Fame details.
Get to Know Interior Design‘s 2024 Hall of Famers
Founding Partners of INC Architecture & Design
From left, INC Architecture & Design founding partners Gabriel Benroth, Adam Rolston, and Drew Stuart.
What can’t INC Architecture & Design do? Founding partners Adam Rolston, creative and managing director, Drew Stuart, development and construction director, and Gabriel Benroth, studio and information director—who pioneered the concept of sustainable luxury with hospitality spaces such as 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge Park—will be jointly honored as 2024 Hall of Fame inductees.
Driven by Rolston’s conviction that beauty is a human entitlement, the team works to harmonize aesthetics, social responsibility, and technology. Having lived around the globe, and throughout the U.S., Rolston brings a sophisticated sensibility to designed objects, spaces, and buildings that range from the intimate to the urban, totaling over a million square feet. But it takes three, and each founding partner plays an integral role in its success. Stuart possesses a particular interest in the complexities of ushering a design from conception to realization and Benroth keeps an eye on new technologies and tools to create a first-rate client experience.
Distinguished by a commitment to social well-being, attention to detail, and stewardship of complex projects, INC Architecture & Design continues to garner recognition, including a 2024 NYCxDESIGN Award for multi-unit housing.
David Galullo, CEO and Chief Creative Office of Rapt Studio
Age is just a number to David Galullo, who continuously infuses design with a youthful energy. Galullo, who has worked on award-winning projects for brands such as The North Face, Google, and Goop, founded Rapt Studio in 2011 to create a home for his fresh and evolving vision of design.
Drawing on an interdisciplinary approach, Galullo creates eye-catching spaces, infusing hospitality sentiments into workplaces and commercial hubs like the Tinder Los Angele office, which features a bright palette and plenty of photo ops.
With studios in San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York, Rapt Studio continues to bend the barriers between spatial design, brand, and strategy. Adding yet another accolade into the mix, the studio also earned a spot on this year’s Top 100 Giants of Design report, proving there’s no project too big—or small—for Galullo’s larger-than-life impact.
David Galullo, CEO and chief creative officer of Rapt Studio.
Holly Hunt, Founder of HOLLY HUNT and House of Hunt
Holly Hunt, founder of HOLLY HUNT and House of Hunt.
Known for rolling up her sleeves and transforming a small furniture showroom into a globally respected luxury design brand, Holly Hunt has a keen understanding of what it takes to separate the good from the truly exceptional. Plus, she has an unparalleled business sense and heads boutique interior design firm, House of Hunt.
Hunt’s projects reflect decades of expertise. Her first HOLLY HUNT showroom, which opened in 1983 in Chicago’s Merchandise Mart selling custom furnishings, reshaped the way products were presented to the A&D industry by including an unprecedented array of diverse makers and design perspectives in a gallery-like setting. Très chic!
But Hunt didn’t stop there. She went on to design her own high-quality furniture, lighting, and textiles while expanding her business to more than a dozen U.S. and international locations before selling HOLLY HUNT to knoll in 2014.
Led by her astute business acumen, discerning eye, and instinct to challenge the status quo, Hunt continues to push the industry forward, heralding in the next era of great design.
DIFFA
The design industry, like many creative fields, suffered immense loss during the height of the AIDS crisis. In response, DIFFA was born in 1984 and has since been at the forefront of mobilizing the design community, granting over $56 million for underserved populations across the United States.
The organization’s thoughtful and incredibly impactful work helps provide essential services, including healthcare, food, and housing, for those impacted by HIV/AIDS, food and housing insecurities, and mental health challenges. Last year, DIFFA’s grants were instrumental to New York-based groups and helped provide 130,000 pantry bag meals and food vouchers through the Gay Men’s Health Crisis, facilitate 10 Women’s Empowerment Art Therapy workshops via Visual AIDS for the Arts, and support Callen-Lorde’s Health Outreach to Teens (HOTT) program, serving underserved LGBTQ homeless and street-involved youth across New York City.
As DIFFA celebrates its 40th anniversary alongside Interior Design, the two continue to stress the importance of community through design—and giving back.
Jeffrey Beers, Founder and CEO of Jeffrey Beers International (1956-2024)
The late Jeffrey Beers, founder and CEO of Jeffrey Beers International.
The late Jeffrey Beers, who passed away in 2024 after battling cancer, left an indelible mark on the industry—and all who knew him. Always seeking an adventure, from studying with Oscar Niemeyer as a Fulbright scholar in Brazil to working with I.M. Pei in New York and later founding his own firm, Jeffrey Beers International (JBI), in the mid-1980s, Beers never strayed from a challenge.
A deep love of design anchored his work, and life passions, which included glassblowing—a skill he learned from artist Dale Chihuly while studying architecture at the Rhode Island School of Design.
Under Beers’s leadership, his firm solidified its reputation with striking resorts such as Fontainebleau Las Vegas, restaurants like Café Boulud New York, and residential developments like 108 in Leonard in Tribeca. Beloved by many, Beers—and his eye for design—will be missed.