Design Republic
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When The Late Show premiered in 2015, Stephen Colbert called out Design Republic's own Neil Tucker by name — crediting the team that pulled off what he called "a three-month miracle" transforming the Ed Sullivan Theater. Eleven years later, that stage has taken its final bow — but it will always remain an important part of DR history.
Thank you, Stephen for the recognition, and every single person who contributed to it.
Last week, Stephen Colbert took his final bow at the Ed Sullivan Theater. This week, we want to share how that stage came to be.
When Design Republic was brought in to redesign the space for The Late Show, we weren't starting from scratch. We were working inside a landmark — a 1927 Broadway theater with a dome, original stained glass panels, and a Great Lantern chandelier that had been completely buried. Painted over. Hidden behind decades of acoustical panels and production lighting.
"The challenge, the design challenge, was to come in and open that all up."
That meant uncovering what was already there — and then building something worthy of it. The marquee was designed to be a preview of the experience inside. The dome was restored and fitted with digital projection capability. The seating was reduced from a thousand to 370, so every person in the room would feel connected to the stage and "Every seat in the house is a good seat."
The show's head writer said it best: everyone in the design process brought real intentionality to it — just like the writers bring to their writing every day.
For our team, this project was the opportunity of a lifetime. We're grateful we got to be part of it.
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05/15/2026
This week our team had an incredible time participating in the ACE Mentor Program alongside Shawmut Design and Construction, who has led ACE Chapter 14 for years — coordinating everything and making the whole program possible.
This year, our designers mentored 26 students through a mock architectural project right here in NYC: designing immersive retail concepts for Carhartt, Crocs, and Beats by Dre. Students explored real NYC stores for research, sketched layouts, dove into material selection, and brought their ideas to life through CADD drawings and photorealistic renderings. They even tackled a mock subconsultant RFI and gained real-world insight into scheduling, budgeting, and construction management. To close out the program, they presented their designs to a panel of judges — including our Principal, Vincent Iacobellis, IIDA, Assoc.AIA.
We're so proud of every student who participated and deeply grateful to Shawmut for their continued leadership of the chapter. And for senior students pursuing an ACE-related college degree, the program also opens the door to ACE scholarships — something that makes participation that much more meaningful to us.
Programs like ACE are a reminder of why we love this industry — and we can't wait to see where these future designers, architects, and builders take their careers.
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