David Rockwell on 40 years of global restaurant design: From Nobu to W Hotels and beyond

How does the design of Nobu Bangkok showcase your long-term partnership with Nobu and the city’s cultural identity?

Nobu enabled us to move away from literal scenographic space into the exploration of abstraction. We were able to develop a more sophisticated and rich architectural language that related to the food and helped redefine what the fine dining and hospitality experience could be. Since 1994, we have designed over 40 Nobu restaurants and hotels across the globe.

For the first location in New York, we created a space that was heavily narrative driven, from the river rock walls to the cherry blossom floor stencil that referred to Madame Butterfly. It was a very rich, multiple-layered interior with a very strong narrative inspired by the chef ’s unique approach to cooking. At the time, it was the first of its kind, and best represented our idea that a visit to a restaurant could be thought of as a mini-vacation.

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Nobu Bangkok is the brand’s first location in Thailand and the largest Nobu restaurant to date. The restaurant is situated on level 57, 58 and 61 rooftop of the Empire Tower in Sathon, the city’s financial centre. Nobu Bangkok’s multiple areas for dining, socialising, large gatherings and celebrations offer a distinct F&B programme unique to Bangkok and Thai culture, such as a private tearoom and flexible event spaces.

The experience culminates with the open-sky bar atop the building. There, low banquettes and lounge seating allow guests to take in the 360-degree views of the Bangkok skyline and Chao Phraya River. Throughout the project, materials and textures meld Thailand’s rich artisanal techniques, such as hand-woven textiles and wood carving, with traditional Japanese arts, such as kintsugi as well as calligraphy. 

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How has your background in theatrical design influenced your approach to hospitality spaces?

For me, the theatre was, and is, a microcosm for so many of my emerging interests that became focused on practising design. That is, design as a social experience, a means of communication, and as a collaborative process to create an aesthetic universe. Theatre introduced me to the power of ideas and the multiple ways those ideas could be expressed: a single script, screenplay or libretto, all driven by a narrative, can be expressed in infinite ways.

There are so many rich architectural elements that can be abstracted from architecture—the sense of an entrance, moments of surprise and discovery, and the celebration of ephemerality. We generally look at the design of a building as a whole, and not as a sequence of moments and experiences, but that is actually how architecture and interiors are typically experienced. For that reason, the design of Nobu Bangkok—as well as most of our projects—pays particularly close attention to the entrance, what guests can see from particular vantage points, how it feels to walk to their table or the rooftop, the scenographic stepped ceiling in the dining room, and so on.

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What core design principles remain constant as your firm grew globally, and how do you ensure consistency across diverse projects?

I think the key lies in the talent and incredible breadth of expertise of our staff, from architects to interior designers, model makers, set designers, technologists and storytellers—it’s sort of a design city. We’ve broken the city up into neighbourhoods, where smaller groups work together on multiple projects across all types of problems.

This organisation enables cross-pollination between types and scales of projects, and averts the atrophy that can happen when project types are repeated. Ultimately, our goal is to create a story about the client and craft a physical expression of that story using every device, including texture, craft, technology and unexpected collisions. 

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How has the evolving hospitality industry influenced your approach to restaurant design, and what elements are essential for a memorable dining experience today?

Every project we design strives to bring something new into the world — and because we don’t have a design signature, there’s
no single element that equates memorability. Instead, the underlying commonality is creating spaces in which people can connect and indulge their curiosity for life.

We try to create duality: moments for both spontaneous and planned events, an atmosphere that is both familiar and refreshing, intimacy within grand spaces. Our design has a point of view and conveys authenticity. Today’s guest is seeking authentic connections to the spaces they find themselves in.

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How do you incorporate local architectural traditions into contemporary design while avoiding cliches?

We’re never adding specific cultural elements or motifs simply to add them. Each design and project is a natural extension of its place.

Our deep and rigorous research, extensive collaboration with local artists and craftspeople, and the diverse lives and backgrounds of our exceptional staff all contribute to rich and sensitive projects.  

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What are some of the key projects or moments that have shaped your design philosophy, and what sort of influence do they have on your current work?

If there was one moment of strategy in terms of building the studio that I can remember, it was in 1996. We wanted to expand, and so I made a diagram that thought through the things I was interested in: hospitality, performance, storytelling, materiality, craftsmanship and so forth.

In terms of hospitality, in addition to Nobu, Rockwell Group designed the first W Hotel, which opened in 1998 in New York City, and we have collaborated with W over the years to help shape the brand. Our redesigns and renovations of the new W New York-Union Square and W Hollywood represent one of the first iterations of the new W brand design concept developed by Rockwell Group for Marriott.

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What aspects of design currently excite you most, and what future directions do you envision for hospitality architecture?

I’m excited about the ways I see them overlapping in three categories—theatre, hospitality, and the public realm. Additionally, we have responded to crises over the years by initiating and raising funds for public works projects.

Our latest is Cork Collective, a non-profit initiative with a mission to transform cork stoppers from restaurants and hospitality venues into valuable resources. We are launching Casa Cork at this year’s Milan Design Week. The installation is an immersive cork atelier where the hospitality and design communities will come together with a shared sustainability goal.

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