Boutique Design - Fall 2023 - 48

A MA XIMALIS T MI X OF PAT TERNS INFORMS JAQUELINE RES TAURANT IN BARCELONA
Can you talk about your background in both architecture
and law? Architecture was fi rst. My parents built our
house when I was in high school. The architect, Robert
Wilson (one of the founding members of what is now
the National Organization of Minority Architects) was a
Corbusier/Sea Ranch acolyte, so there were open stairs,
redwood walls, orange kitchen cabinets, and an oval
Saarinen Tulip table.
I loved to look at the trade magazines and designed
LEANN
SHELTON
CHIEF LEGAL OFF I CER
ROCKWELL GROUP, NEW YORK
a wall unit based on an Alexander Girard room I saw in
House & Garden. The Girard cabinet was rosewood. I had
drawn an elevation but did not know I had to specify the
material. I was not thrilled when the contractor used
birch veneer with a walnut stain. Undeterred, I declared
my intention to study architecture in college. That also
was not well-received. The professional options were JD
or MD, not starving artist. So I went to Amherst College
(and majored in something even less fi nancially viable,
Ancient Greek) then to Columbia Law School. In my third
year of law school I convinced the dean that a course
on urban design in the architecture program at the
[Columbia's] Graduate School of Architecture, Planning
and Preservation (GSAPP) involved land use regulations
and deserved legal credit. The professor was [Perkins
Eastman principal and board director] Stan Eckstut. Fast
forward after two years of practicing real estate law, I
starting taking interior design classes at Parsons, thought
about the real estate program at GSAPP, and decided I
should apply to the M.Arch program because that is what I
really wanted to do.
I practiced architecture for 15 years, doing mostly
48
FALL 2 0 2 3
large-scale master planning (including six years at
Stan's fi rm) before a headhunter called and asked if I was
interested in Rockwell Group, for what eventually evolved
into an in-house counsel role. I use the legal skills as a
business tool, to defi ne the scope of work, the roles of the
owner, designer, and a process to solve problems as well
as enable creativity. You want to say, 'yes you can do that'
because that will make the project happen.
What would you like to see in terms of a more inclusive
industry? A more inclusive industry needs diversity in the
designers and developers. My parents' 'starving artists'
view was not unique. The numbers are low in design
schools because design is not seen or experienced as a
career option for building or maintaining generational
wealth. I'd like to see more diversity in the real estate
programs and business schools, and the companies that
hire design fi rms. It's a system. All the sectors need to be
more inclusive.
What are you most looking forward to at Rockwell Group?
I work on projects from the very beginning to the
hopefully happy ending. I read the proposal, draft
the agreements, help the designers manage client,
contractors, consultants, and colleagues. It's fun to
see the fi nished projects. We have a lot of exciting new
projects that have opened recently, including the new
lobby and Metropolis restaurant by Marcus Samuelsson at
the Perelman Performing Arts Center in lower Manhattan.
When I travel to our Spain offi ce, I will see the Seda Club
Hotel in Granada and Jacqueline in Barcelona.
PHOTO: RICARDO LABOUGLE
Boutique Design - Fall 2023

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