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NEW YORK -- David Rockwell lives among his work, which, if you're a lawyer or a doctor, might not sound so appealing.
But when you're the architect responsible for some of the chicest restaurants and hotels in Manhattan, not to mention the Academy Awards' Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, that translates into some pretty dazzling decor.
Like the jewel-toned patchwork quilt hanging on the dining room wall on the first floor of his Tribeca triplex. A gift for Rockwell's 40th birthday, it's stitched with fabric cut from a dozen of the designer's projects, including purple velvet from Vong, one of Jean-Georges Vongerichten's eateries, and a cowboy print used for banquettes at the now-defunct restaurant Tapika. The backdrop, green and gold rubbed plaster walls, is something he developed for nearby Nobu, the legendary Japanese eatery.
Another unique piece hangs above the second-floor landing: Rockwell's image board for the W Hotel at Lexington Avenue and 49th Street. The board is actually 3-D, a series of shadow boxes stuffed with bits of nature, including leaves, sticks and stones. His concept for the hotel was for guests "to go some place to be rejuvenated," says Rockwell, 50. It's a familiar theme, one that threads through many of Rockwell's projects, as well as his home.
"It had all these windows facing west," Rockwell says, standing before them beneath the penthouse's double-height ceiling. The promise of a nightly sunset proved irresistible. "I wasn't a very good negotiator. I said, 'I'll take it.'"
One of the benefits of loft living is that walls, furniture configurations and whole rooms can evolve -- they can be added, re-arranged or taken away relatively easily. In the 10 years he's been in the 3,200-square-foot space with his wife, Marcia, a former film producer, he's created a roof deck and sunroom and, with the additions of Sam, 6, and Lola, 4, two more bedrooms.
"It's a very flexible, almost laboratory-like place," Rockwell says. The home ultimately functions as a backdrop, while "the vibrancy comes from the activity and the things we put in it."
It's a theory of Rockwell's explored in his new book, Spectacle, co-authored with Bruce Mau. It tours more than 60 large-scale events, from NASCAR races in Phoenix to bull runs in Pamplona, where physical venues are mere vessels for gathering strangers and fostering instant communities.
And with two young children, a dog and two cats running about, there's no shortage of energy in chez Rockwell. He calls it "a little haven of kid-induced hysteria." Lola's room, for example, features wooden shutters that open onto the dining area. "That's our own personal Laugh-In wall," says Rockwell, as his daughter, channeling Goldie Hawn, peeks through and hollers down to the visitors below.
A trio of stickers adorn the left side of his upright Steinway (Lola's handiwork). Kids' toys and games jam the nook between the winding stairwell and the living room wall. Lola's room used to be her dad's "sports shrine/media room." Rockwell is a huge Chicago Bears fan, but he's got his football memorabilia in storage these days.
The evolution theme is mirrored in other, subtler details. "I love materials that look different from one moment to another," he says, such as multihued velvet covering a star-shaped ottoman. It's fitting, then, that Rockwell collects kaleidoscopes. (He's gathered 30 to 40, a few of which stand atop the piano.)
Rockwell's apartment comes with stories that resonate beyond the furnishings themselves. There's the banyan tree sculpture, a newish acquisition with professional significance: He's putting one in Miami Beach's Canyon Ranch Living, a hotel, spa and residential community opening next year.
The living room coffee table, a block of birch saplings crammed together as if in a really dense forest, reflects both Rockwell's past (the birch tree columns of Nobu) and his future (the indoor park he's creating for CityCenter, the luxury mixed-use development project under construction in Las Vegas).
Not a bad way to bring your work home with you.
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