Bar & Leisure Toby Maxwell speaks to designers shaping enticing spaces, and we assess a few examples of projects that have harnessed uniquely creative ideas to set themselves apart in a highly competitive hospitality field
Edited by Toby maxwell
David Rockwell, founder and president of Rockwell Group, on why the role of the designer as storyteller should not be underestimated…
What is your own background and what was the path that led you to working within hospitality architecture and design?
I founded Rockwell Group in New York in 1984. I knew I didn’t want to be confined to a particular typology or programme. Today, we are a 300-person studio with satellite offices in Los Angeles and Madrid, and we’ve designed restaurants, hotels, playgrounds, schools, offices, Broadway sets, and healthcare projects.
Bringing people together and creating spaces that come alive when guests and occupants move through them has always been at Rockwell Group’s core. I didn’t consciously plan this; I’ve just been driven by a cocktail of curiosity and a desire to create something new, to tell a story that hasn’t been told yet. As a designer, I need to be constantly learning, constantly making. This is why we often initiate projects, to explore ideas rather than wait for a client to knock on the door, and I think that – combined with working across a diverse range of typologies – has helped us to grow and remain vibrant and alive to possibility.
The initial spark of our hospitality work can probably be traced back to Rockwell Group’s first project, a restaurant in Manhattan called Sushi Zen. We were then incredibly lucky to be given the opportunity to design the first Nobu restaurant. Our collaboration with chef Nobu Matsuhisa taught me so much about the power of research, cross-disciplinary collaboration, creating community, and storytelling with design. These are lessons we’ve carried through every hospitality project that has come after.
My mother was a dancer and choreographer, and ran a community theatre on the Jersey Shore. Seeing how art and beauty were created through collaboration was completely eye-opening. That might have been the first clue that the power of shared experiences in the public realm would be a passion of mine, but I didn’t realise it was a career path.
When I was 11, my family took me to New York City for the first time to see Fiddler of the Roof on Broadway and to dine at Schrafft’s. It was the first time I connected theatre and restaurants as vehicles to bring people together and create instant communities. It was also the first time I made the connection between design that was manipulated and performative, in terms of the set, and narrative – I saw how the design of the show helped propel the story and convey emotion. Since then, I’ve been fascinated by design as a tool for facilitating connection through shared experienced, and design as a storytelling tool.
Bathhouse’s Manhattan location measures 35,000ft2 across three levels and was a project for the Rockwell Group. Image Credit: Emily Andrews
What defines your studio’s approach to projects?
One of the things that we have encountered over and over again is how powerful design can be when you build anticipation and create moments of surprise and discovery for guests, when not every move is revealed all at once. Sometimes this involves weaving references and details throughout a space so that a story unfolds with the choreography and circulation; sometimes it involves creating a series of portals and transitions that reveal new worlds. It’s a balancing of communal and more private spaces and creating rooms within rooms.
Many of these ideas are ones I learned from being an avid theatregoer, as well as designing sets. You can tell amazing stories on stage with scenography, lighting, movement, and transformation. I realised this was true of architecture as well.
The Bathhouse features six thermal pools… Image Credit: Emily Andrews
Given the ever-evolving nature of consumer tastes and trends, how do you deliver longevity in your designs?
Creating unique experiences is at the core of our projects. Ultimately, our goal is to create a story about the client, and craft a physical expression of their story using every device. Our emphasis on the full experience is what enables us to create spaces that don’t feel repetitive. Our first step to any project is to fully immerse ourselves in the ideology, themes, inspirations, and goals of the client. Once we have this complete understanding, we create a narrative through which our design emerges. Maybe because I approach design with an eye for theatre and set design – a realm where the setting and the design directly influence the audience’s experience of the narrative – I imagine hospitality design as directly influencing guests’ experiences in our spaces.
We try not to pay too much attention to trends and instead are interested in creating spaces for people to come together, make memories, and feel like there is an opportunity to add their story to the ongoing narrative.
For COQODAQ, Rockwell Group wanted to contrast fried chicken with a beautiful, elevated and sexy space.
What does the future hold for hospitality design?
This year, Rockwell Group is celebrating its 40th anniversary. It’s a really significant milestone, and I don’t take it lightly in such a competitive environment and industry. I think we have grown and thrived because we’ve been diverse, working across geographical areas and typologies, and weathering the tough times with nimbleness and a willingness to dive into the unknown, and we will continue to do that.
Certainly, in the near future we are going to continue to explore and experiment with projects in the public realm, architecture and theatre, and to be focused on how they all come together to create new types of commons.
Please talk us through your recent projects COQODAQ and Bathhouse.
For COQODAQ, we wanted to contrast fried chicken with a beautiful, elevated and sexy space. We started with this prompt of ‘let’s build a cathedral for all things fried chicken’, and that, of course, called to mind all kinds of rituals and the sacredness of food and dining together. What is incredible about the owner Simon Kim is his passion for creating a sense of family and community at his restaurants. This inspired us to create seating that is either communal or for larger parties (there are very few two tops in the restaurant).
From the moment of the entry, we had fresh thoughts about what a restaurant could be. A handwashing station greets guests, creating a moment of respite after entering from the busy street. It prompts an act of self-care and cues up the special moments to come. It also adds a playful, surprising touch.
…and an infrared sauna. Image Credit: Adrian Gout
We infused the dark, luxurious dining room with touches of art nouveau, custom furniture, and dynamic, highly strategic lighting throughout. The material palette features hunter green leather, dark walnut wood, architectural lighting, champagne glass, soapstone, bronze, and glowing lacquered panelling. The palette was driven by a desire to surround guests in an envelope of warmth, creating an inviting environment that changes in tonality and mood from day to night and is a joyful place to be at any time.
Kim and I connected over the idea of daily rituals. Dining out is a way that friends and family can commune, and restaurants – from the most formal to the most casual – have their own series of choreographed experiences, even if guests aren’t aware or conscious of them. Our goal was to create a space where these little observances and routines are celebrated and raised to the level of exceptional hospitality.
Our concept for Bathhouse’s Manhattan location was based on the idea of the ‘hero’s journey’. And, given the scale and programme of this project – 35,000ft2 across three levels – we are asking visitors to go on a literal journey, so there should be a metaphorical and emotional complement to that. The hero’s journey framework allowed us to create ritualistic nodes, or beacons, as guests pass through the different spaces. And then we were able to create tangible moments for each of these landmarks.
We worked within the constraints of the existing building, across several floors, to determine what the particular journey would be, and how to weave in these surprises using light, material, massing, form. We needed to offer a distinct departure from the outside world – in this case, bustling Manhattan. Our goal was to create a new architectural language, allowing guests to feel as though they’ve discovered a slightly futuristic ruin from an ancient civilisation. www.rockwellgroup.com
