Archinect - News

Snøhetta completes ‘revitalized’ garden at 550 Madison Avenue in New York

2022-11-29T11:10:00-05:00

The Snøhetta-designed public garden at 550 Madison Avenue in Manhattan has opened, completing one step of the extensive remodelling of the former AT&T Building at the same address. Developed with Olayan Group, the half-acre garden is described by the team as “the first new green space in Midtown in decades."

Photograph credit: Barrett Doherty

Known simply as the ‘Garden,’ the 21,300-square-foot green space is located adjacent to the former AT&T office tower, in the location of a formerly enclosed mid-block passageway. The area, open to the public, holds 48 trees, 200 shrubs, 6,300 bulb plants, and 10,000 herbaceous understory plants, as well as public restrooms and three kiosks with food and beverage outlets.

Photograph credit: Barrett Doherty

The Garden is centered around a “tranquil” water feature, and comprises five sections which are themselves anchored by different structures. Distinct “upland,” “lowland,” and “sheltered” garden sections contain a mixture of trees and shrubs, wh...

Snøhetta's proposal for 550 Madison Ave. garden is approved in New York

2020-01-11T09:00:00-05:00

Snøhetta's design for the public garden and revitalization of the Phillip Johnson and John Burgee-designed 550 Madison Avenue building received unanimous approval from the New York City Planning Commission last month. The design transforms the building's public space into an expansive vegetated garden, seeking to encourage the implementation of privately-owned public space (POPS).

Courtesy of Snøhetta and MOARE

“Privately-owned public spaces are a critical part of New York City’s public realm. Urban life thrives in and around spaces that allow us to connect with one another and to nature,” said Michelle Delk, Partner and Director of Landscape Architecture at Snøhetta in a statement.

Courtesy of Snøhetta

Courtesy of Snøhetta and MOARE

The new project will open up the public access to the west end of the building, creating a series of "outdoor rooms" that undulate between quiet, more intimate spaces, and larger, more open areas. Currently devoid of much greenery, the new design proposes...

Snøhetta's updated AT&T Building redesign gets Landmarks Preservation Commission approval

2019-02-13T13:38:00-05:00

The city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission paved the way for Snøhetta to partially redesign Philip Johnson’s Postmodern skyscraper at 550 Madison Avenue Tuesday with a vote backing the contested plan. [...] The biggest change to the property, which was granted landmark status in July 2018, is the privately-owned public space (POPS) at the ground level.

Image: Snøhetta

Snøhetta's original proposal to renovate the, now landmark-protected, 1984 icon of Postmodernism at 550 Madison Avenue was met with fierce opposition from architects, preservationists, and critics.

An updated design that incorporated much of the feedback was released a few months later in December 2018.

Image: Snøhetta

Save, renovate or demolish: Postmodernism's midlife crisis

2018-12-27T21:51:00-05:00

Heading into their fourth and fifth decades, deep into midlife architectural crises, needing face-lifts, they’re now vulnerable and back again in the public eye, eliciting concern and attracting a second look — and sympathy — even from people who never liked them. But will these loved-hated structures be saved, and should they?

Joseph Giovannini writes about the historic vulnerability buildings entering their fourth or fifth decade encounter and how the public distaste may, potentially, turn into a sudden nostalgia for certain veterans of a not-so-distant architectural era.

Citing recent controversial efforts to demolish or renovate PoMo landmarks, like Johnson & Burgee's AT&T Building, Graves’s Portland Building, or Venturi Scott Brown's Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, Giovannini writes: "The irony of purposely ironic buildings that joked with history is that they are themselves verging on history, and history more than beauty is proving their strongest defense."

Check out Snøhetta's updated AT&T Building renovation proposal

2018-12-13T13:53:00-05:00

A year after Snøhetta’s first attempt at renovating Olayan America and Chelsfield’s office tower at 550 Madison Avenue ended in controversy and eventual landmarking, the architects are hoping their second attempt will be smoother.

"The new proposal unveiled Tuesday features three stories of retail at the ground level and a new opening in the rear facade to allow sight lines from Madison Avenue into a new open-air garden that will replace the currently enclosed galleria," reports The Real Deal about Snøhetta's reworked approach after last year's initial proposal to renovate the Philip Johnson and John Burgee-designed 550 Madison Avenue tower—formerly known as the AT&T Building, a 1984 icon of Postmodernism—ignited a passionate debate among architects, preservationists, and critics. The building was ultimately granted landmark protection in July 2018.

Image: Snøhetta

"Snøhetta’s design for the rear of the building (west side) would provide the community with a vibrant green space that will be 50% larger than the current public space," reads a project statement on the architects' website.

Image: Snøhetta

"Snøhetta’s updated design will preserve and revitalize the landmark tower, undo past renovations that compromi...

Philip Johnson + John Burgee's AT&T Building is now a designated landmark

2018-08-02T14:20:00-04:00

The designation protects the exterior of the building, including the facades of the office tower, annex, and enclosed covered passageway, and notably preserving its rose Stony Creek granite cladding and the broken pediment at its crown. Going forward, any proposed alterations to the exterior will require approval and permitting by the [NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission].

It's official. The AT&T Building is now a designated landmark. Late last year, Snøhetta's plans to redesign the historic building sparked months of heated debate among architects, preservationists, and critics.

Despite pending landmark status, demolition to the AT&T Building's lobby has begun

2018-01-09T12:55:00-05:00

The Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) has approved interior demolition of the lobby at Philip Johnson and John Burgee’s postmodern tower at 550 Madison Avenue. Though the 1984 tower is up for landmark consideration, the designation would only protect the facade, not the interior. Department of Buildings (DOB) records show demo plans received LPC staff approval on December 15 and permits were issued that same day.

Norman Foster vs. Snøhetta — a battle over Postmodernism

2017-11-10T15:04:00-05:00

A week to the day in which Norwegian design firm Snøhetta released their ambitious designs to modernize Phillip Johnson's Postmodern icon — the AT&T building in New York — Norman Foster has come out and added his name and gravity in support of the building protests against the proposed modifications.

In a short, precise and two-edged statement posted on Instagram no less, Norman Foster defends the project, not for its importance to him, or his interests per se but to Architecture's heritage at large — one that would be potentially soiled with Snøhetta's revamp.

Norman Foster Instagram

‘I was never sympathetic to the short-lived Postmodern movement – and this building in particular. However, it is an important part of our heritage and should be respected as such.'

While no one would declare the building a masterpiece through and through, it has always stood as more than a building, it has come to signify so much more. Johnson's design radically shifted our view of Architecture; it t...

The architectural community responds to Snøhetta's proposed update to Johnson's AT&T building

2017-11-01T15:17:00-04:00

The news of Snøhetta's renovation of Philip Johnson's iconic postmodern AT&T Building has the architectural world abuzz, with many lamenting the controversial overhaul. There is a petition going around to give the building landmark status—only recently made possible due to the structure's age—in an attempt to save the building's signature base from the proposed glass-curtain treatment. There is also a protest that has been scheduled for this Friday, more details on which can be found here.

Beyond organizing action, many have also taken to twitter to offer up their opinions on the new design met with mixed reviews, both in particular and in principle. Below are some of the responses.

In our own comment sections regarding the plans, Archinect readers had this to say:

"WTF Snohetta" –Koww

"It’s not hard to give the building a respectful upgrade—brighten up the windows and lighting which are dark and obstructed now (can do the same with the nice interior space). Not sure wh...

Philip Johnson's iconic postmodern AT&T Building is getting a makeover from Snøhetta

2017-10-30T16:57:00-04:00

Philip Johnson and John Burgee's 1984 AT&T Building, for many, signaled the arrival of Postmodernism onto the world scene. Now known as the Sony Tower, the 37-story skyscraper's deployment of historicity contradicted the glass and metal modernism of its neighbors, signaling a new architectural era that landed it on the front page of the New York Times, and it's architect, Philip Johnson, onto the cover of Time.

After housing one of world's largest companies for decades, AT&T, facing financial troubles, sold the building in 2002 to Sony who once again, sold the building to the real-estate developer Chetrit group in 2013. After deserting plans to convert the office tower into luxury condos and a hotel, Chetrit group sold the tower to Olayan America in 2016, who has since tapped international firm Snøhetta for the building's renovation.

The building has never been designated as a landmark, and whether or not it shou...