David Rockwell
David Rockwell’s Book List
The books on my list represent a group of people and things that have influenced my approach to design over the past 30 years—from childhood memories to the magic of theater to some extraordinarily creative individuals.
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When my parents moved our family to Guadalajara, Mexico, I started to realize the excitement and potential of life in public spaces. Luis Barragan’s use of color, craft and light in his buildings in Mexico are permanently imprinted in my mind.
Ever since seeing my first Broadway show as a child, I’ve been fascinated with how ephemeral experiences can have as much impact as permanent structures. I’m always dreaming up and experimenting with portable and temporary structures, so I love this collection of pop-up urban interventions. The mobile skyscraper is pretty great.
Dana Cowin is one of the most knowledgeable people that I know about food. So it was an unexpected and hilarious surprise when she revealed in her new book that for years she didn’t know how to cook. Fortunately, Dana was able to enlist the world’s top chefs to teach her—and us—the craft of cooking.
One of the things that led me to the Architectural Association in London was Archigram’s work. I particularly love Peter Cook’s Plug-in-City, his futuristic vision for an urban infrastructure that can continuously rebuild and reinvent itself to meet the needs of its inhabitants.
The design process and work of one of the greatest collaborative design teams of the 20th century, Charles and Ray Eames, is presented in a beautiful, lovingly made tome reminiscent of their slideshows.
William Goldman’s depiction of the inner workings of Broadway productions and the big personalities associated with them is very revealing. It was essential reading for me when I worked on my first Broadway show.
My son Sam developed an interest in ping pong a few years ago, and now plays competitively around the world. I’ve been trying to learn as much as I can about the sport, and this book provides a fascinating historical spin (pun intended) of the game’s impact on U.S. and China relations.
A quirky, personal and sometimes poignant take on objects—both ordinary and extraordinary – that Maira handpicked from the Cooper Hewitt’s archives.
An unvarnished, deeply researched biography of one of America’s greatest playwrights.
A comprehensive look at the prolific career of one of my favorite designers whose profound interest in theater drove his architectural work.
Boris Aronson was unquestionably the greatest scenic designer of the 20th century. Frank Rich and Lisa Jalowetz Aronson, Boris’s widow, did an amazing job of presenting the brilliance and artistry of his work.
One of my passions is cooking for friends and family, and this book is so well written that it enables me to prepare dishes with complex flavors with relative ease. The chicken soup with coconut milk and lemongrass is one of my favorite recipes.
Announcements
If Walls Could Speak: My Life in Architecture by Moshe Safdie
If Walls Could Speak: My Life in Architecture
By Moshe Safdie
Publisher: Grove/Atlantic
Published: September 2022
One of the world’s greatest and most thoughtful architects recounts his extraordinary career and the iconic structures he has built—from Habitat in Montreal to Marina Bay Sands in Singapore—and offers a manifesto for the role architecture should play in society.
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Design Emergency: Building a Better Future by Alice Rawsthorn and Paola Antonelli
Design Emergency: Building a Better Future
By Alice Rawsthorn and Paola Antonelli
Publisher: Phaidon Press
Published: May 2022
Rawsthorn and Antonelli tell the stories of the remarkable designers, architects, engineers, artists, scientists, and activists who are at the forefront of positive change worldwide. Focusing on four themes—Technology, Society, Communication, and Ecology—the authors present a unique portrait of how our great creative minds are developing new design solutions to the major challenges of our time, while helping us to benefit from advances in science and technology.
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Why Design Matters: Conversations with the World’s Most Creative People by Debbie Millman
Why Design Matters: Conversations with the World's Most Creative People
By Debbie Millman
Publisher: Harper Design
Published: February 22, 2022
Debbie Millman—author, educator, brand consultant, and host of the widely successful and award-winning podcast “Design Matters”—showcases dozens of her most exciting interviews, bringing together insights and reflections from today’s leading creative minds from across diverse fields.
Milton Glaser: POP: by Steven Heller, Mirko Ilić, and Beth Kleber
Milton Glaser: POP
By Steven Heller, Mirko Ilić, and Beth Kleber
Publisher: The Monacelli Press
Published: March 2023
This collection of work from graphci design legend Milton Glaser’s Pop period features hundreds of examples of the designer’s work that have not been seen since their original publication, demonstrating the graphic revolution that transformed design and popular culture.
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Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall by Alexandra Lange
Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall
By Alexandra Lange
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Published: June 2022
Chronicles postwar architects’ and merchants’ invention of the shopping mall, revealing how the design of these marketplaces played an integral role in their cultural ascent. Publishers Weekly writes, “Contending that malls answer ‘the basic human need’ of bringing people together, influential design critic Lange advocates for retrofitting abandoned shopping centers into college campuses, senior housing, and ‘ethnocentric marketplaces’ catering to immigrant communities. Lucid and well researched, this is an insightful study of an overlooked and undervalued architectural form.”
Women Holding Things by Maira Kalman
Women Holding Things
By Maira Kalman
Publisher: Harper Design
Published: October 2022
In the spring of 2021, Maira and Alex Kalman created a small, limited-edition booklet, “Women Holding Things,” which featured select recent paintings by Maira, accompanied by her insightful and deeply personal commentary. The booklet quickly sold out. Now, the Kalmans have expanded that original publication into an extraordinary visual compendium. We see a woman hold a book, hold shears, hold children, hold a grudge, hold up, hold her own. In visually telling their stories, Kalman lays bare the essence of women’s lives—their tenacity, courage, vulnerability, hope, and pain.
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