Maximilian Riedel, CEO of the Austrian glassware manufacturer, has joined Tommy Hilfiger, Richard Meier and other iconic names in the roll of honour at the renowned Pratt Institute in New York.
‘Humility and gratitude’: Riedel
Riedel has been given the 125th Anniversary Pratt Legend Award for his ‘ingenuity and leadership’ of Riedel Glassware.
The Legends Awards celebrate distinguished individuals and corporations in the world of art and design. Past recipients include American architect Richard Meier, American glass sculptor Dale Chihuly and fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger, among others.
Pratt, which celebrates its 125th anniversary this year, is a renowned school of architecture, design and visual arts. Its alumni include the great modernist artist Max Weber, photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, cartoonist Joseph Barbera, actors Robert Redford and Martin Landau, the architect Ralph Appelbaum, who was responsible for the exhibition design for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and many others.
The prize follows a collaboration between Pratt and Riedel subsidiary Nachtmann, in which Maximilian Riedel selected designs by two Pratt students which resulted in two new Nachtmann glass collections, Petal and Quartz.
Riedel was presented with the award at a ceremony on 15 October. ‘After advising students for five months, I was delighted by the winning designs, which Nachtmann has introduced worldwide to strong sales performance,’ he said.
‘It is rewarding to know that the Pratt Institute values the collaboration as much as Nachtmann does, and it is with humility and gratitude that I will accept the Pratt Legend Award this October.’
Written by Adam Lechmere
