“The Seagram Building is
one of New York’s truly distinguished structures, by one of the world’s formost
architects – Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.
It is designed with classic simplicity, the tower and plaza being
ordered in a formal, symmetrical plan.
This classicism is most evident in its proportions and construction – a
carefully studied ratio of three to five bays dictates the organization of the
steel cage and forms the basic unit of structure and design. Flanking the central column are two
balanced wings, which sere to enlarge the available office space and provide a
setting for the main vertical shaft
“This extremely
disciplined, rational scheme is executed in materials of exceptional richness
and luxury. The 90-foot deep
plaza, with its twin fountains, is paved with slightly pink granite and
enclosed on two sides with benches, or ‘hedges,’ of green Italian marble. The lobby, approached from beneath a
simple portico, has travertine sheathing the elevator banks, and an Italian
glass-mosaic ceiling in tones of grey and brown; elevator interiors are richly
surfaced with woven bands of bronze and stainless steel. The luxurious restaurant, The Four
Seasons, which is entered at the rear of the lobby, presents the visitor with
an early Picasso ballet backdrop from ‘Le Tricorne’ (1929). The restaurant, designed by Phillip
Johnson, presents two handsomely proportioned and detailed rooms, one of them
paneled in French walnut. Two
constructions, by Richard Lippold, of shimmering brass rods suspended from the
ceiling are perhaps the most successfully integrated sculptures to be found in
a modern interior.”
- “Four Walking Tours of Modern Architecture in
New York City,” The Museum of Modern Art and the Municipal Art Society of New
York, Prepared by Ada Louise Huxtable; Distributed by Doubleday & Company,
Inc., Third Printing 1966.
Image via archdaily.com.
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