PROFILE


David Rockwell


Whether he’s designing Nobu, a new kind of playground or the interiors for Battersea Power Station, David Rockwell has always refused to be pigeonholed. He tells Magali Robathan why curiosity is his biggest asset


“M 46 CLADGLOBAL.COM


ore than anything, I believe design should be memora- ble,” says architect, interior designer and set designer David Rockwell,


speaking to me from his offi ce in New York. Since launching the Rockwell Group 30 years ago, Rockwell has built up a vast and diverse portfolio, ranging from the camp theatricality of The Rocky Horror Show set to the simple power of the World Trade Center Viewing Platform, and from the sleek interiors of Nobu to the quirky originality of the child-directed Imagination Playgrounds. Though the projects are all very different, they have one thing in common – they’re all vividly memorable. Inspired by his love of the theatre, Rockwell


uses lighting and materials to create a sense of excitement and drama in the spaces he designs. His latest book, What If...? The Architecture and Design of David Rockwell, demonstrates his endless curiosity and determination not to be defi ned or constrained by any one sector – to explore unexpected combinations (or ‘mash ups’) of forms and materials to create something new. Rockwell Group’s work spans restaurants, hotels, hospitals, museums, Broadway shows, playgrounds, airports and retail spaces, with lessons learned from each project used in others – often in unexpected ways. “When I launched Rockwell Group I was driven by one thing – curiosity,” says Rockwell. “That’s something that hasn’t changed. For me it’s about constantly recre- ating an environment in which you’re willing to not know the answer.” Today, the New York-based practice employs 250 people, with satellite offi ces in Shanghai and Madrid. As well as being


CLADmag 2015 ISSUE 2


PHOTO: CHRISTOPHER STURMAN


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