NEW YORK, Mar 15, 2011/ — Architect and designer David Rockwell has been named the recipient of the 2011 Lawrence Israel Prize, awarded by the Interior Design Department at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT).

The prize, endowed by architect Lawrence J. Israel, has been given annually since 1998 to an individual or firm whose ideas and work enrich FIT Interior Design students’ course of study. Each year, the recipient is invited to give a public lecture on a relevant topic.

Rockwell will speak about his professional journey, Rockwell Group’s current projects, and on his new explorations into using technology to create more powerful spatial experiences on Thursday, April 28 at 6:00 pm in the Katie Murphy Amphitheatre at FIT, Seventh Avenue at 27th Street. This event is free and open to the public, with no reservations required.

David Rockwell founded Rockwell Group in 1984. Based at Union Square in New York City, with a satellite office in Madrid, Rockwell Group is a cross-disciplinary architecture and design firm that handles a broad spectrum of project types and services, ranging from master planning, strategy, and building to interior design, set design, and custom furniture design.

Past and current projects include hotels, restaurants, hospitals, retail and department stores, theaters, theater sets, casinos, playgrounds, and an airline terminal. Standouts among these are the Imagination Playground in downtown New York City; the JetBlue Terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport; and the Nobu restaurants in New York, Dubai and Hong Kong.

Current projects include the sets for Broadway’s Catch Me If You Can; the new restaurant Untitled at the Whitney Museum of American Art; the first Yotel outside of Europe, in Times Square; W Hotels in Paris and Singapore; a renovation of Los Angeles’ legendary Hotel Bel Air; and the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Society at Lincoln Center.

Rockwell and his firm have been nominated for or received more than 100 prizes and awards for their work. Among these are the National Design Award for Outstanding Achievement in Interior Design from the Smithsonian Institution’s Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum (2008); the Presidential Design Award for the restoration and renovation of Grand Central Terminal (2001); and an Emmy Award for Outstanding Art Direction for Variety, Music or Nonfiction Programming for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards (2010).

Photo courtesy of David Rockwell