David Rockwell unveils Oscars set design

US architect and designer David Rockwell has created the set for this year’s Oscars ceremony, to be held on Sunday.

Rockwell is the first architect to design the sets, and says he took his inspiration from the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, which will host the 81st Academy Awards, and which he also designed.

The set will feature a proscenium curtain made from approximately 100 000 Swarovski crystals, a bandstand which will move up and down, break apart and disappear throughout the night, and a thrust stage with only four steps between stage and seating level.

Rockwell, chief executive of the Rockwell Group, says, ‘We created a spatial and architectural solution for the 2009 Oscars that is based on storytelling, spectacle and community.

‘We wanted to use a surprising and dramatic integration of technology and movement to celebrate the awards ceremony, which has become one of the greatest shared rituals of our time.’