Boutique Design - January/February 2011 - 26

Q + A

Rockwell has emerged as one of the design world’s true Renaissance men. Projects created by the architect’s New York-based Rockwell Group span a wide spectrum of sectors, including hotels, stage sets, restaurants, retail spaces, museums and even a playground. In honor of his high-profile work in boutique hotel design—where his firm’s recent creations include the Andaz Wall Street, Trump Soho New York and Ink48 hotels—he was named Boutique Design’s Designer of the Year for 2010.
BD: The Ink48 Hotel has been named Best Hotel in this year’s Boutique Design Awards competition (see page 18). In what ways does that project reflect your firm’s goal of creating “immersive environments”? Rockwell: The story we wanted to tell with

Q+A: David Rockwell
BY MAT THEW HALL

hese days, David Rockwell’s theatrical roles are strictly behind-thescenes affairs—he has designed the stage sets for a variety of Broadway plays, including “Hairspray,” “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” and “Elf.” But as a youngster, Rockwell actually trod the boards in a variety of community theater productions, playing such parts as Winthrop in “The Music Man” and a Siamese twin in “The King and I.” He was cast as those characters by his mother, who was a vaudeville dancer/ choreographer. “My interest in lighting and the importance of movement through space were formed through the many days

T

the design of Ink48 is that the hotel is simultaneously in the center of the city and off the beaten path—so there is a sense of discovery and surprise that we incorporated at a number of different levels. For example, the original robust concrete columns remain central features of the lobby; horsehair brushes make up the feature wall in the elevators; the tables in the restaurants are made with copper and blackened metal; and there are industrial felt inserts in the guest room millwork. Ink48 really caters to guests who are New York connoisseurs. We wanted to play off this “in-the-know” nature of the guests to create a unique oasis centering around three quintessentially New York icons: the and evenings I spent in the theater with my neighborhood pocket park (lobby), the loft (guest rooms) and penthouse terraces mother and my brothers,” he says. Rockwell also spent some of his younger (rooftop lounge). years in Guadalajara, Mexico, where he gained an appreciation for the roles that BD: Morgans Hotel Group’s Fred Kleisner color and spectacle can play in creating has said this about a recent project you memorable environments. “In Guadalajara, worked on together: “I told David, ‘Don’t it seemed like every rule I knew was broken: give me another Nobu. Give me somekids played soccer in the streets; dogs thing fresh.’ And he did.” How do you romped on the roofs and not on the ground; keep from copying yourself? people sold food on the street. It was an I am very fortunate to work with an amazing extraordinarily exuberant world, and I loved array of clients who are so committed to the public life there: the marketplace, bull- design and innovation. We approach each rings and mariachi bands in the square.” project with a fresh perspective, since we Building on those early influences, don’t have a set vocabulary, and that allows

26

Boutique Design | January+February 2011

Christopher Sturman
Boutique Design - January/February 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Boutique Design - January/February 2011
