Background
He was a child of the theater as his mother worked as a vaudeville dancer and choreographer.
He was a child of the theater as his mother worked as a vaudeville dancer and choreographer.
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.
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Rockwell also spent part of his childhood in Deal, New Jersey and Guadalajara, Mexico. She sometimes cast him in community repertory productions. These formative influences continue to shape his practice.
He 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.
Adour Alain Ducasse at The Saint Regis
Bar Americain
Chefs Club by Food & Wine, New York
Gordon Ramsay’s Maze (London)
Maialino, New York
Nobu restaurants worldwide, including New York, Hong Kong, Las Vegas, Doha, Melbourne and Dubai
Aloft hotels (Starwood Hotels & Resorts)
Andaz Maui at Wailea, Hawaii
Canyon Ranch Miami Beach
Chambers Hotel
The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas
Nobu Hotel Caesars Palace, Las Vegas
West Hotels New York, Union Square, Vieques, Paris and Singapore
Hall of Fragments, the entrance installation to the 2008 Venice Architecture Biennale
The Walt Disney Family Museum, San Francisco
The Center for Civil and Human Rights, Atlanta
Elinor Bunin-Munroe Film Center, Lincoln Center
Culture Shed in collaboration with Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Hudson Yards, New York
TED Theater, Vancouver
Dolby Theatre, home of the Academy ceremony (Los Angeles)
The Marketplace at the JetBlue terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport
NeueHouse, New York and Los Angeles
Shinola, New York
Imagination Playground
David Rockwell for Maya Romanoff, wall covering collection
Hairspray
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
All Shook Up
Legally Blonde
Team America: World Police (2004, film)
The 81st Annual Academy (2009)
The 82nd Annual Academy (2010)
Catch Maine If You Can
Harvey
Kinky Boots
Lucky Guy
You Can"t Take lieutenant with You
Side Show
On The Twentieth Century
Omnia Nightclub (Las Vegas and San Diego).
Chairman board Design Industries Foundation Fighting Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (DIFFA). Board director The Public Theater, City Meals on Wheels.
Married Marcia Kirkley. Children: Sam, Lola.