FIT Honors Tony Chi With 2015 Lawrence Israel Prize

The studio of Tonychi and Associates.

Celebrating high-end hospitality design that blends luxury with comfort, the

Fashion Institute of Technology

’s Interior Design department awards its 2015 Lawrence Israel Prize to

Interior Design

Hall of Fame member

Tony Chi

of

Tonychi and Associates

. Architect Lawrence J. Israel endowed the eponymous award, which has been presented annually since 1998, to highlight ideas and work that enrich FIT students’ course of study. Previous award recipients include architect

David Rockwell

of Rockwell Group, and Ada Tolla and Giuseppe Lignano, founding partners of

LOT-EK

.

Tony Chi founded his interior design firm, Tonychi and Associates in 1984. In the three decades since, he’s focused on high-end hospitality clients around the globe, such as the W, Mandarin Oriental, Andaz and Park Hyatt hotels. Chi’s previous awards include a James Beard Foundation Best Restaurant Award, numerous Gold Key awards, and several best hotel design awards from

Interior Design

. In 2009, he was inducted into the

Interior Design

Hall of Fame.

Chi, an FIT alum, notes that receiving the Lawrence Israel Prize is a great honor—and a particularly meaningful one for him. “It is most touching to return to FIT where I have shared four years of my life in the formative years of my design journey,” he says. “I greatly look forward to share my knowledge and experiences with today’s students and the next generation of designers.”

To that end, on April 23 at 6 p.m., Chi will discuss his work in a talk, “Invisible Design,” hosted at FIT’s Katie Murphy Amphitheatre. The event is free and open to the public.

Rosewood London hotel by Tony Chi.

Park Hyatt Shanghai by Tony Chi.