Santa arrived in the Capital City early this year, not only to greet boys and girls at area malls and along parade routes, but to bring one prestigious gift to a group of local architects.

The special gift was notification to McAlpine Tankersley Architecture that the firm had been selected to be among the new AD100, Architectural Digest magazine’s biennial list of the top talents in architecture and interior design.

First published in 1990, the AD100 is known as “the list that Matters,” and features an international fellowship of trailblazers and standard bearers whose work is imaginative, intelligent and inspiring.
The honor came with a special invitation to a gala celebration in New York hosted by the magazine and its always stylish editor-in-chief, Margaret Russell. In addition to partying in a room filled with “who’s who,” Russell, who had been a vice president and editor of Elle Decor magazine for 10 years, was also celebrating her first time selecting the list’s honorees since taking the helm of AD in 2010.

Russell wore a stunning red dress and spoke about the importance of timeless design as McAlpine Tankersley Architecture was among those on the list officially announced during the gala.

Founded in Montgomery in 1983, the firm is the partnership of Alabama natives Bobby McAlpine, Greg Tankersley, John Sease and Chris Tippett. Known for their design of artistic and romantic houses and evocative rooms across the country from Florida to Oregon, New York to Napa, Aspen, Dallas, Houston, Salt Lake City, Chicago and the Bahamas. The firm was also responsible for designing local structures at the A&P Lofts in Cloverdale and on the grounds of Blount Cultural Park, including the Shakespeare Garden addition, as well as the Wee Top, the Bridge and the park’s Vaughn Road entrance.

The McAlpine design umbrella also includes McAlpine Booth & Ferrier Interiors, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., Atlanta and New York; and McAlpine Home furniture, available nationwide. Bobby McAlpine is still enjoying the acclaim of his book, “The Home Within Us.”

Soaking up the excitement of the recent honor, Greg Tankersley and his wife, Mary Robin Jurkiewicz, enjoyed a couple of days in the “Big Apple,” meeting with New York clients and enjoying Manhattan’s holiday atmosphere; while Chris and John made a quick turnaround trip, arriving in time to enjoy the celebration of the new list last Tuesday night at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum on Fifth Avenue.

Celebrated names in the design world were among the guests who joined Russell and the Architectural Design team for the occasion including Martha Stewart, White House decorator Michael Smith, and architect, author and dean of the Yale School of Architecture Robert A.M. Stern, whose firm boasts the George W. Bush Presidential Center, slated to open in Dallas in 2013, as one of it latest projects.

Other design world luminaries in attendance included interior, garden and furniture designer and author Bunny Williams; Martyn Lawrence Bullard, a favorite interior designer to Elton John, Cher and Sharon and Ozzy Osborne; and Mario Buatta, a fixture in the world of residential design, who was long known as the “Prince of Chintz.” Observing his 50th year in business in 2011, Buatta is developing something akin to a Southern drawl as he works on several current projects in Alabama, South Carolina, Texas and Florida.

Also seen there were Calvin Klein; cosmetics heiress and beauty entrepreneur Aerin Lauder, who is launching her own line in 2012; socialite, former model and entrepreneur Nina Griscom; comedienne, actress and author Alexandra Wentworth, who is the wife of ABC’s George Stephanopoulos; Jason Wu, the Manhattan-based Tiawanese American fashion designer who created first lady Michelle Obama’s 2009 inaugural gown, and the creator of a new limited edition collection of affordable women’s wear and accessories for Target to be released in February.

Also seen there were British interior designer and socialite Nicholas “Nicky” Haslam; Campion Platt; Darryl Carter, Amy Fine Collins, Jamie Drake, and Peter Marino; Robert Verdi and Richard Mishaan, who enjoyed a sneak peek of the January 2012 issue of the magazine that features the list. The issue is on national newsstands today.

It was a great night for a party, as Giulio Capua helped welcome everyone amid sheer white panels of fabric; special white columns created to feature the “new AD100” logo and names of the honorees; cozy, yet sleek and modern vignettes of white leather furnishings; mirrored cubes set aglow with votives; and a wait staff offering celebratory flutes of champagne throughout the evening.

- Deborah Hayes Moore