Announcements From The AGM 2026

Published on 24th September 2026

BIID Announces New President and Merit Award Winner at 2026 AGM

The British Institute of Interior Design (BIID) is delighted to welcome the new BIID President for the 2026-2027 term, Anna Burles, who officially took over the role at the BIID Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 17th September, held at The National Liberal Club, London. The BIID also presented its prestigious Merit Award to recognise the achievements of individual BIID Members who have made a valuable contribution to the institute.

The BIID AGM provides members with the chance to learn about the Institute’s progress over the past twelve months and vote in new directors.

New BIID President

The AGM marked the official hand-over to new BIID President Anna Burles, who takes over from Liz Bell.

Anna is Creative Director of award-winning interiors and branding design studio Run For The Hills. The studio crafts captivating interiors, immersive spaces and evocative brand identities. They design for hospitality, hotels, work-clubs and boutique residential and are known for layering inventive details and hand-crafted artistry within their memorable designs; interweaving both interior design and brand/art creation.

Speaking about her career to date, Anna said 'I came late to design - starting out at Penguin Books, then radio journalism at the BBC, before a long stint chasing celebs down the red carpet as an interviewer. Then I moved into guerrilla marketing and event design, which is where I got the interiors bug. So I retrained at the ripe old age of 37, under the wonderful Jenny Gibbs OBE (and former BIID President) at KLC which was amazing.

After graduation, I work-experienced at Martin Brudnizki and freelanced for Blacksheep hospitality designers before founding my studio Run for The Hills, doing a mix of resi and hospitality. I joined the BIID more than 10 years ago and have made so many great friends over the years getting involved in committees and panel discussions.'

Merit Award

Mathew Freeman with Merit Award

The Merit Award honours a BIID member who has particularly excelled in three key criteria: excellence in interior design practice; a contribution to the development of the Institute and a commitment to the wider field of design education. Chosen by the awards committee, the 2026 award was presented to BIID Registered Interior Designer Mathew Freeman.

Speaking to the AGM, Liz said: Matt founded his practice, Freeman Studio, in 2022 following a successful two decades working in residential and commercial design. He has combined his work as a designer with volunteering to champion his passion for making interior design more professional, collaborative and sustainable. Matt joined the BIID in 2014 and has served on the Professional Practice Committee, Membership Committee, Sustainability Committee and Council of Directors. Matt became President in 2022 and since standing down from Council in 2024 has continued to volunteer including as a BIID Interior Design Awards short-lister and site assessor.

During his time on Council and subsequently, Matt has championed the importance of collaboration across the built environment and worked to improve the BIID’s relationship with other key organisations such as the Construction Industry Council, RIBA and the European Council of Interior Architects. He is a passionate advocate for sustainable interior design, and in addition to being a signatory to Interior Design Declares and a member of the Sustainable Design Collective, for the past few years he has represented the BIID on the British Standards Institute FW6 Furniture Fire Safety Committee. He has been working tirelessly behind the scenes on an incredibly important campaign to reduce the reliance on chemical flame retardants to make furniture safer. This campaign has been ongoing for many years with many obstacles, but Matt has stayed the course and we are so lucky to have such a steadfast BIID representative at the heart of this issue.