A train hall, an arts center and a Broadway museum: New York as the stage of David Rockwell

Commuters at Moynihan Train Hall, audiences at The Shed and visitors to the Museum of Broadway have all walked through rooms by the same New York firm. David Rockwell founded Rockwell Group in 1984 and still runs it from Union Square West, now a staff of over 300 with satellite studios on the West Coast and in Spain. He learned his trade at Syracuse University and London's Architectural Association, but his method comes from the theater his mother, who danced and staged choreography, put him in as a child: start with a narrative, then build the set. That is why the portfolio jumps from Hairspray and Kinky Boots to hotels, restaurants and stadiums, and why the shelf holds a Tony Award, two Emmys for Academy Awards broadcasts and the Cooper Hewitt National Design Award. Off the clock he chairs DIFFA emeritus and sits on the boards of Citymeals on Wheels and the American Theatre Wing.

For American offices La Mercanti brings in the work he did for European makers: the Pax armchair, Tecno's first project with his firm, and Gessi's Inciso bath line; Knoll's Rockwell Unscripted completes the set.