David Rockwell is a child of the theater: His mother worked as a vaudeville dancer and a choreographer and would cast him in community repertory productions. Rockwell, who spent part of his childhood in Guadalajara, Mexico, brought a passion for theater and an eye for the color and spectacle he saw while living south of the border to his architecture training at Syracuse University.
Those formative influences continue to reverberate throughout Rockwell's practice. Rockwell Group, which he founded in 1984, has grown into a 160-person office with over 200 built projects to its credit, including casinos, hotels, performing arts centers, restaurants and retail spaces. (For more on Rockwell's radical redesign of FAO Schwarz's famous Fifth Avenue store, see page 36.)
Rockwell's passion for all things theatrical, meantime, remains unabated. His recent projects include set designs for the Broadway musicals “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” and “All Shook Up,” as well as set design for the movie, “Team America: World Police.”
What led you to a career in architecture?
Growing up in Mexico, I became enamored with the layers of daily life. The vastness of colors and texture in my environment and the “drama” of the marketplace made me want to create spaces and places for people that would draw them in and connect with them emotionally.
How does your background as a designer of retail, restaurant and hotel spaces impact what you create for theater and film productions? (And vice versa?)
Any time you're designing a project, whether it's a retail store or a hotel lobby, you are, in essence, designing a stage for people to be amazed by and astonished in.
Everyone loves the theater. Is store design as fulfilling a creative endeavor?
Absolutely! All of our projects are fulfilling, since there's a story inherent to each and every one. Each of our projects is about partnering with our clients to identify the story and then telling it in a way to create a memorable space.
You've said, “If life is a stage, I want better lighting.” What lighting challenges did you have to overcome in redesigning the FAO Schwarz flagship?
The ceiling in the main room is 30-feet tall, and our LED cloud covers the entire surface, which left no ceiling surface to light the product from. Also, the space gets a lot of sunshine, and the LEDs are very bright, so placing the right amount of light on the product, which is critical to a retail space, was the most difficult challenge.
What was the “heart and soul” of the FAO Schwarz project?
The heart and soul is really the main room when you first walk in. The 24,000 LED lights, the three urban treehouses, the 30-foot windows, the piano on the balcony and the huge pieces of plush merchandise all serve to make it one of New York's signature retail spaces.
Did you envision FAO Schwarz as a toy store for kids, or a toy store for their parents?
I felt like it was the same thing. We tried to capture a design that engages both children and parents to create a toy store for everyone.
Any projects you'd like to reconsider?
I don't think I'd reconsider any. Design is an evolutionary process and I think each of our projects is reflective of what was happening at the time, the clients we partnered with and how we understood the narrative.
What's the most beautiful natural sight you've ever seen?
My wife giving birth to my two children.
You collect kaleidoscopes. What inspiration do you find from them?
For me, they're really wonderful models for a certain kind of non-linear visual brainstorming and a unique way of viewing the world.
What part of your job makes you the happiest?
So many things – collaborating with so many talented, vibrant, smart people; creating spaces that people love to go to; and having the opportunity to learn and grow and experiment.
How do you unwind?
I take my kids to the park, cook dinner for my wife or go to see a Broadway show – all of my passions.