Awards & International Recognition
For more than four decades, Norwegian interior designer Gunvor Catherin Røkholt has developed a practice rooted in colour, craftsmanship, storytelling and Norwegian cultural heritage.
Through GCR Design, that approach has evolved into a distinctive body of work spanning hospitality, private interiors and heritage-led design.
At the heart of the practice is a simple principle: preservation through use. Existing buildings, furniture, textiles and cultural references are not treated as relics, but given a continued life within contemporary interiors.
In recent years, this approach has received growing international recognition across interior design, heritage hospitality and design leadership.
Awards
Luxury Lifestyle Awards · 2025
Best Luxury Apartment Interior Design in Norway
Project: Frøyenhuset, Knutholmen
Frøyenhuset at Knutholmen received the 2025 Luxury Lifestyle Award for Best Luxury Apartment Interior Design in Norway.
The project transformed a historic building at Knutholmen into distinctive hospitality interiors, using colour, wallpaper and period references to connect contemporary comfort with the people, history and landscape surrounding the property.
Luxury Lifestyle Awards · 2025
Top 100 Interior Designers of the World
Gunvor Catherin Røkholt was included in Luxury Lifestyle Awards’ Top 100 Interior Designers of the World 2025, recognising her work across hospitality, private interiors and heritage-led design.
The recognition followed decades of work and an increasingly focused approach to interiors that preserve Norwegian cultural heritage through contemporary use.
Global Elite Awards · 2025
Global Elite Top 100
GCR Design was selected for the Global Elite Top 100 2025, an international listing spanning luxury, hospitality, architecture, design and other industries.
GCR Design appears within the Interior Design category, marking another step in bringing its distinctly Norwegian approach to a wider international audience.
Luxury Lifestyle Awards · 2026
Best Contemporary Residential Interior Design in Norway
Project: KYN Norway
KYN Norway received the 2026 Luxury Lifestyle Award for Best Contemporary Residential Interior Design in Norway.
The project brings together historic architecture, cultural storytelling and contemporary hospitality, with restoration and reuse playing a central role in the design. KYN is scheduled to open in 2027.
International coverage: Luxury Xclusives → · G&G Magazine →
European Society for Quality Research · 2026
ESQR Quality Achievements Awards — Brussels
In 2026, Gunvor Catherin Røkholt received an award at the ESQR Quality Achievements Awards Convention in Brussels.
For Gunvor, the recognition reflects values at the heart of her work: Norwegian cultural heritage, sustainability and preservation through use.
International Recognition & Features
Passion Vista Magazine · 2026
Passion Vista Hall of Fame
Gunvor Catherin Røkholt was selected for Passion Vista’s Hall of Fame 2026, with a feature exploring her career, leadership and commitment to preserving Norwegian cultural heritage through interior design.
The profile, Gunvor Røkholt: Where Heritage Becomes Luxury, traces her journey from more than four decades in interiors to the increasingly focused heritage-led practice of GCR Design.
Forthcoming feature
Most Admired Global Brandz
GCR Design has been selected for inclusion in Most Admired Global Brandz, a publication profiling international brands through their vision, development, innovation and long-term impact.
The forthcoming GCR Design profile explores the evolution of the studio, Gunvor’s philosophy of preservation through use, and her ambition to bring this approach to an increasingly international audience.
Current Nominations
2027 REVE Luxury Awards
GCR Design has received three project nominations for the 2027 REVE Luxury Awards, representing different expressions of the studio’s work with heritage, hospitality and place.
Frøyenhuset / Knutholmen
KYN Norway
Kviknes Hotel — Balestrand Suites
The nominated projects span coastal hospitality, historical restoration and the redesign of rooms within one of Norway’s landmark heritage hotels.
Results will be announced following the 2027 voting season.
For GCR Design, recognition is most meaningful when it brings greater attention to the value of cultural heritage, craftsmanship and the possibilities of giving existing places a new life.