The Builder

If you tell Wilkinson this all sounds like dotcom-era decadence, he'll cringe. He sees that period, with its office foosball tables and desk-side bean bags, as representative of "a puerile notion of rebellion." He thinks of his designs as being rather more substantive, and others seem to agree. "Clive's work doesn't come from cool and groovy; it comes from thoughtfulness, honesty, and humanity," says Cindy Allen, editor-in-chief of Interior Design magazine, which last year inducted Wilkinson into its prestigious Hall of Fame.

Indeed, Wilkinson's clients will remark on his sense of responsibility--to them, to their workers, and, in some small way, to the larger world. "Clive has an incredible sense of integrity," says Chestnut. "From an artistic, intellectual, and ethical standpoint, you just can't get any better." Wilkinson also doesn't believe in profligacy. Like Gehry's early work, his interiors often use inexpensive materials such as plywood and chain link; he thinks nothing of reusing old doors and office systems, and selects eco-friendly materials when he can.

Wilkinson estimates that he has so far designed about a million square feet of office space, with another million--for clients including JWT (formerly J. Walter Thompson), the Adcenter at Virginia Commonwealth University, and the Children's Place/Disney Store --currently on the boards. He's also working on an aircraft interior prototype for Zero-G, the zero-gravity flight operator cofounded by the X Prize's Peter Diamandis. Of course, Wilkinson's work probably isn't for everyone. But he hopes it will make an impact, anyway. "Why would we do it if we didn't want people to emulate us?" he asks. "It's not because we want to see our work in print, but because we want to contribute."

Aric Chen is a contributing editor for I.D., Surface, and Interior Design magazines and regularly writes for The New York Times, Art + Auction, and others.