On the Move: December Design Industry News

Snowflakes are falling and design firms are calling. See the latest industry promotions, new hires, and moves in Interior Design‘s latest edition of On the Move.

Bjelin

Bjelin, formerly Välinge Flooring, has recently hired Fredrik Alfredsson as global head of sales. He will be responsible for all flooring product sales under the Bjelin brand. He joins the company from Sweden’s leading flooring distributor SGD, where he served as CEO.

EDG Interior Architecture + Design

David Hard has joined EDG Interior Architecture + Design as senior design strategist at its Novato, California headquarters in Marin County. Hard has He has played pivotal roles at Vanderbyl Design, Starbucks, Lyric, and Kayak Hotels. David holds an architecture degree from California College of the Arts. He is currently engaged in crafting unforgettable hotel and resort experiences in diverse locations, including the Dominican Republic, the Big Island of Hawaii, Jasper Park in Alberta, Canada, and Reno, Nevada.

Perkins Eastman

Perkins Eastman has expanded its leadership team with new voices from throughout the firm. The new additions are Stephanie Kingsnorth and Jeff Young to the EC as executive directors, and Paul Grillo and Salema Gumbs as ex officio members. The new members join Brad Perkins, Mary-Jean Eastman, Andrew Adelhardt, Shawn Basler, Nick Leahy, Jeff Brand, Hilary Bertsch, Jason Haim, Barbara Mullenex, and Supriya Thyagarajan. Stephanie Kingsnorth is an Los Angeles-based architect who joined the firm through its 2021 merger with Pfeiffer Partners. Jeff Young is co-managing principal of the Pittsburgh studio. Paul Grillo is principal and chief financial officer. Salema Gumbs is principal and director of human resources with a 23 year tenure in the New York office.

Array Architects

Array Architects has acquired DCC Design Group, based in Wilmington, which is the leading healthcare-focused interior design firm in the mid-Atlantic region. As a result Array and DCC’s clients, many of whom were already shared, now benefit from a deeper roster of interior designers. As part of the merger, DCC’s former president has stepped into the role of principal and practice leader, interior design.

Perkins&Will

The global architecture and design leader Perkins&Will has opened a new full-service studio in Kansas City. It will deliver local services in sports, recreation, and entertainment; healthcare; higher education; science and technology; and sustainability consulting. While Perkins&Will has worked in the Kansas City region for decades, the new office reflects growing demand from clients in the Midwest generally as the area experiences some of the highest population growth in the region. Leadership of the Kansas City studio will include Lindsey Peckinpaugh as regional director; Ernest Joyner as managing director; Dale Duncan as operations director; Jeff Sittner and Erica Muhlenbruch as leaders in the sports, recreation, and entertainment practice; and Phaedra Svec as director of regenerative design.

Rapt Studio

ROAM Interior Design

HKS has announced the launch of ROAM, a new independently operated luxury design firm specializing in the hospitality and residential categories. The firm was previously operated as HKS Hospitality Interiors. It will be led by design veterans Mary Alice Palmer and Olga Acosta and their award-winning team of interior designers and interior architects. Newly independent, the firm may now more freely showcase their work and operate independently with external partners, expanding the firm’s reach. Its portfolio spans best-in-class names in hospitality, with award-winning properties like the Bishop’s Lodge Auberge Resorts Collection in New Mexico, Esperanza Auberge Resorts Collection in Cabo San Lucas, W Bellevue Hotel in Washington state, and AMAALA Triple Bay Yacht Club in Saudi Arabia under its belt.

Relativity Architects

Jianxin Sun has been promoted to director of housing at Relativity Architects. He will oversee the firm’s affordable and market-rate housing projects for low-income families, seniors, and veterans, and will manage ground-up construction as well as renovations/ revitalizations of existing buildings. Sun has been with the firm since 2015 and has worked on award-winning projects such as Imagine Village, an affordable Los Angeles County community for families and formerly unhoused military veterans, and 7th Street Apartments, a mixed-use development that provides affordable housing for the chronically homeless in Los Angeles.

AIA California

Darrell S. “Rocky” Rockefeller, CEO, president and senior partner of Rockefeller Kempel Architects, has been named the American Institute of Architects California’s 2024-2025 vice president of professional practice. Rocky is a respected member of the architectural and academic community, having held teaching positions at both UCLA and Cal Poly Pomona’s Interior Architecture Master’s Degree Programs where he gives the same attention to detail and high performance as in his client work. The new position encompasses a variety of responsibilities, including identifying emerging issues affecting the practice of architecture, coordinating state-level programs, serving as chair of the Professional Practice Advisory Committee (PPAC) and more.

Female Design Council

The FDC has a new director, Angharad Coates. Coates brings 14 years of experience with artists, designers and creatives, and has worked in New York, Milan and Paris. She served as the director of communications at the New York Academy of Art for seven years, and most recently was managing partner at Camron, a design-focused global agency. She will will work alongside Lora Appleton, founder of the FDC and kinder MODERN, to expand membership, create new partnerships, and grow the organization nationally.

Cooper Robertson

Partner Donald Clinton is stepping down from Cooper Robertson at the end of 2023 after a 30-year tenure, signaling a new chapter in the firm’s leadership. Partners Mike Aziz, Bruce Davis, Erin Flynn, and John Kirk will steward the firm into the next generation. Two additional newly appointed senior leaders are director of architecture Elizabeth Stoel and director of urban design Brad Barnett.

Nelson Worldwide

Award-winning architecture, design, and strategy firm Nelson Worldwide has moved into a brand-new office space in Manhattan. This reflects their continued commitment to their New York clients. The new office spans the entire 7th floor of the 18-story pre-war building at 470 Park Avenue South in midtown, close to Madison Square Park. It also supports the hybrid team and their workflows, empowering the team to provide optimal service to clients.