Welcome to AD’s January 2023 Issue: Introducing This Year’s AD100

At AD we perpetually celebrate architects and designers—they are our rock stars—but we do so with particular intentionality in our annual AD100 issue, which includes our much-anticipated list of the most exciting talents in the world. The exceptional projects featured this month have been in the works for many years, and AD has often been tracking them for a long time prior to publication: It’s a process! However, no one has more patience, faith, and vision than the homeowners themselves, without whom these inspirational, ambitious spaces would obviously not exist.

An especially warm relationship between client and designer is one of the common denominators in many of this month’s stories. Cover star Ellen Pompeo’s striking Malibu beach house is her latest project with serial collaborator Martyn Lawrence Bullard, who considers Pompeo one of his closest friends. “We’ve been in each other’s lives so long we know what the other will like before even showing it to them,” Bullard says.

Pamela Shamshiri met LA gallerist Shulamit Nazarian about five years ago. Nazarian recalls a “strong emotional connection almost immediately,” and Shamshiri agrees “the bond was real.” The duo renovated Nazarian’s historic A. Quincy Jones house, shown on a second AD cover, over the course of their fruitful relationship.

Finally, we visit the extraordinary residence architect Bjarke Ingels created for a Danish entrepreneur who wished to live with his family alongside his prized collection—of automobiles. “The challenge was to make a building where the cars are part of the house, rather than just hidden away in a garage,” says Ingels, who, naturally, aced the assignment. As for the client? Smooth cruising.

-Amy Astley, Global Editorial Director and Editor in Chief, AD U.S., @amyastley 

This story appears in AD’s January 2023 issue. To see Amy Astley’s letter in print, subscribe to AD.