David Collins | |
---|---|
Born | 1 March 1955
Dublin, Ireland |
Died | 17 July 2013
London, England |
Education | Bolton Street School of Architecture |
Occupation | Interior designer |
David Collins (1 March 1955 – 17 July 2013) was an Irish architect who specialised in designing the interiors of bars and restaurants in London. [1]
David Collins was born in Dublin, Ireland on 1 March 1955. [2] He studied architecture at the Bolton Street School of Architecture in Dublin. [2] [3]
He established the David Collins Studio, an interior design firm based in London, in 1985. [3] One of his first interior designs was chef Pierre Koffmann's La Tante Claire in Chelsea. [2] He then designed chef Marco Pierre White's (now defunct) Harvey's Harveys (restaurant) [1] in 1988. [2] Later, he designed The Gilbert Scott, chef Marcus Wareing's restaurant at the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel. [2] Another Wareing restaurant that he designed was the Blue Bar in Belgravia. [2] He went on to design The Wolseley, the Delaunay Hotel, J Sheekey, Brasserie Zédel, Colbert, Gordon Ramsay at Royal Hospital Road, and Nobu Berkeley St. [2] [3] He also designed retail interiors for Jimmy Choo, Alexander McQueen and Harrods. [3]
Additionally, he designed The Charles, an apartment building on the Upper East Side in New York City. [4] He was a close friend of Madonna: he designed her London and New York apartments and she used a poem that he wrote as the basis of her 1998 song " Drowned World/Substitute for Love", for which he received a co-writing credit. [5] [6]
David Collins's design and aesthetic has had a huge impact, which was part of what led him to be named to the 2012 AD100 list. [7] Simon Mills of Wallpaper* magazine said that "It is no exaggeration to say that the restaurant and hotel revolution in London of the last two decades would not have been the same without him." [8]
Collins died in London on 17 July 2013 from melanoma only three weeks after being diagnosed. [2] [3] [1]
A book that Collins had been working on was published posthumously in May 2014 and the Studio celebrated its 35th anniversary in 2020. [9] [10]