David
Rockwell
1956 Born in Chicago, Illinois1979 Graduates with a Bachelor
of Architecture from Syracuse
University1983 Designs Sushi Zen in New
York, his first restaurant project1984 Founds Rockwell Group in
New York City1994 Rockwell Group designs the
first Nobu in Tribeca1998 Rockwell Group’s first hotel
project – The W New York –
opens2002 Broadway set designs
for Hairspray earn a Tony
nomination2008 Receives the Smithsonian’s
Cooper-Hewitt National Design
Award for Interior Design2014 Rockwell Group designs a
portable theatre for the annual
TED Conference in Vancouver2019 The Shed, designed by Diller
Scofidio + Renfro and Rockwell
Group, opens in New York City‘In our industry there’s a
predisposition to like buildings
better without people in them’
completed in Los Angeles. I believe that if
you're too certain in your work then there's
no reason to do anything.’̒Our latest challenge is investigating the
potential of events and buildings that shift
and move. We’ve explored this in projects
such as NeueHouse New York, the TED
Theater, and of course now The Shed at
Hudson Yards, which was a collaboration
with Diller Scofidio + Renfro, who were the
lead architect. We’re starting to see how we
can apply this ethos of ephemerality in cities
where real estate demands make it increas-
ingly harder for interesting, edgy tenants to
take up space. We need to get past the point
at which the only companies that can afford
to invest in part of our streetscape are banks,
drug stores, and fast-casual restaurant chains.
As such, I think there's going to be a demand
for ways to create places that don't last 15
years, where the length of lease can be signifi-
cantly reduced. That's important because it
creates new content.’
̒Content is key for us, because if there’s one
thing that underpins all of our work it’s a real
interest in thinking about the users of our
spaces as an audience: the audience in a park,
the audience in a restaurant, the audience in a
show. That’s not such a common perspective
in architecture. In fact I think in our industry
there’s a predisposition to like buildings bet-
ter without people in them.’
̒I'm also very interested in the idea of the
architectural journey. We look at projects as
having a sequence, similar to choreography.
We’re increasingly aware that the spaces we
create act as a kind of memory machine. On
a stage, the set and the props are not merely
there for the audience, but also to help the
actors feel connected to the narrative. You’d
be surprised how much of a set designer's job
is making it feel real to the actors. The same
is true with a built space. For us that way of
thinking has become a cornerstone of creat-
ing places that people feel are worth looking
up from their phones for. For example, The
Diner, Surface’s pop-up installation and
eatery at Milan’s Salone del Mobile 2018,
was a great example of how we can create a
memorable experience with only a six-month
timeline from concept to opening. It started
a conversation about design and was more
than just an Instagram image.’
̒I remain hopeful about the power of design
to connect people and create deeper experi-
ences. I think back to the week after 9/11
- a downtown public school had to evacuate
and move to a location on 13th Street. One of
the parents called me and said, “David, you
know a lot about design... can you help make
this a less depressing place for the kids?”
So we got about 20 people from our office
there and did a sort of urban barn raising. It
was the first time I realized that the act of
envisioning and making something was, at its
core, a uniquely optimistic gesture.’ ●
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