Syracuse University alumnus and designer of the Academy Awards’ Kodak Theatre to speak at SU on April 10

Syracuse University alumnus and designer of the Academy Awards’ Kodak Theatre to speak at SU on April 10March 28, 2002Judy Holmesjlholmes@syr.edu

Syracuse University alumnus David S. Rockwell of the Rockwell Group in New York City will present the School of Architecture’s annual L.C. Dillenback Lecture at 7 p.m. April 10 in the Sue Ann Genet Auditorium, Room 108 of Slocum Hall. Rockwell’s presentation, “Theater and Architecture,” is free and open to the public.

Rockwell, a 1979 graduate of the School of Architecture, gained national notoriety for the design of the Planet Hollywood restaurants and more recently for the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood, which this week hosted the 74th annual Academy Awards. Born in Chicago, Rockwell moved to Guadalajara, Mexico, at the age of 10. His mother was a dancer on the vaudeville stage, which greatly influenced his love of theater and music.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in architecture at SU, Rockwell continued his studies at London’s Architectural Association. He then moved to New York City where he worked as an assistant for a Broadway lighting designer.

Rockwell is currently the chair of the board of trustees of the Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS, and he is on the board of trustees for the Joseph Papp Public Theater/NY Shakespeare Festival. In 1998, Interiors Magazine named him Designer of the Year.

The Rockwell Group has designed a wide range of projects, from restaurants and entertainment to retail, commercial, residential and performing art spaces. Current and recent clients include the Walt Disney Company, Sony/Lowes Theaters, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Related Companies, the Bronx Zoo, the Coca-Cola Company and Cirque du Soleil.

In addition to the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood, other large scale projects of the Rockwell Group include the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore; a large-scale addition to the Mohegan Sun Casino; the dining concourse at Grand Central Terminal; and a master plan of the Detroit Tigers ballpark, including retail and restaurant facilities.

The Dillenbeck Lecture is named in honor of Lemuel Cross Dillenbeck, dean of SU’s College of Fine Arts and Architecture from 1934 to 1957. The School of Architecture became a separate school at SU in 1958.