David Rockwell is an American architect and designer. He is the founder and President of Rockwell Group, a 250-person award winning, cross-disciplinary architecture and design practice based in New York City with satellite offices in Madrid and Shanghai.
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Rockwell also spent part of his childhood in Deal, New Jersey and Guadalajara, Mexico. He was a child of the theater as his mother worked as a vaudeville dancer and choreographer. She sometimes cast him in community repertory productions.
Rockwell brought his passion for theater and an eye for the color and spectacle of Mexico to his architecture training at Syracuse University, where he received his Bachelor of Architecture. He also studied at the Architectural Association in London. These formative influences continue to shape his practice.
David founded Rockwell Group in 1984. Over the past 30 years, Rockwell Group has carved out a unique role encompassing multiple ideas, design styles, clients and project types. The firm creates a unique narrative for each project, ranging from restaurants, hotels, airport terminals, and hospitals, to festivals, museum exhibitions, and Broadway sets. With global offices to support a far-reaching vision, Rockwell Group is an interdisciplinary firm that emphasizes innovation and thought leadership in every project.
See also: Bassam Fellows – A Fully Integrated Lifestyle Brand
David’s numerous honors include the 2008 National Design Award by the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum for outstanding achievement in Interior Design; the 2009 Pratt Legends Award; the Presidential Design Award for his renovation of the Grand Central Terminal; induction into the James Beard Foundation Who’s Who of Food & Beverage in America and Interior Design magazine’s Hall of Fame; inclusion in Architectural Digest’s AD 100; three Tony Award nominations for Best Scenic Design; and four Drama Desk Award nominations for Outstanding Scenic Design of a Musical. Rockwell Group was twice named by Fast Company as one of the most innovative design practices in their annual World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies issue.
