Paul Rudolph and Japan’s “Metabolist” architecture movement have interesting connections and parallels.
Louis Kahn and Paul Rudolph
Archetypes of Space: a Poetic View Into Rudolph's Design for the Boston Government Service Center
Saying No to Demolition: the Nivola Family & Museum’s Stand Against Destroying Art (and Rudolph’s Building) in Boston
The state government of Massachusetts wants to sell parts of Rudolph’s Boston Government Service Center—and that would mean the likely destruction of the two symbolic and lively murals by artist Constantino Nivola within the building. The Nivola family, foundation, and museum have come out with powerful statements in support of saving the murals (and the building for which they were designed). Your support could help save them.
New Film Features Paul Rudolph's Boston Government Service Center
Alert: Important Meeting On Future of Rudolph's Boston Government Service Center
Update: Development "Alternatives" Report Released for Rudolph's BOSTON GOVERNMENT SERVICE CENTER
Rudolph: The Green Architect — Part TWO
Rudolph: The Green Architect — Part ONE
Extraordinary Architectural Drawings--Including of Rudolph's Yale A&A Building
Kate Wagner and McMansion Hell: Deeper Into the question of Brutalism (and what it's NOT)
Busting Myths about the Boston Government Service Center and Paul Rudolph: Who Really Designed It?
A Rudolph Masterpiece is Sold—but you still have a Second Chance (with the Replica)
Hollywood Nods to Urban Design (and Paul Rudolph)
New Book on Paul Rudolph - focusing on his Drawings
A Paul Rudolph Holiday Greeting
Concrete for the Holidays (a gift suggestion!)
Halston meets tom ford - what is being done at 101 east 63rd
A House with a History
Paul Rudolph designed the original residence at 101 East 63rd street for Mr. Alexander Hirsch in 1966. He created a Modernist oasis for his client, an intensely private person who wanted a place to escape to while still being in the heart of Manhattan. As Rudolph later described the project in Sibyl Moholy-Nagy’s 1970 book, The Architecture of Paul Rudolph:
A world of its own, inward looking and secretive, is created in a relatively small volume of space in the middle of New York City. Varying intensities of light are juxtaposed and related to structures within structures. Simple materials (plaster, paint) are used, but the feeling is of great luxuriousness because of the space. The one exposed facade reveals the interior arrangement of volumes by offsetting each floor and room in plan and section.
The house later went from being a private refuge to a celebrity hot spot known for its notorious parties when it was sold to the fashion designer Halston in the 1970’s. Halston himself spoke about the space in a recent documentary about his life that was featured on CNN:
I’m Halston and this is my home. The architect was Paul Rudolph and the day I saw it, I bought it. Its the only real modern house built in the city of New York since the second world war. Its like living in a three dimensional sculpture.
His lawyer upon visiting the house quipped, “I’m going to enjoy making money for you Halston because you know how to spend it.”
For more information about the house, you can find drawings and photos of it on our project page here.
A Buyer as Famous as the House
As we reported in a previous blog post back in March, the house was finally sold to fashion designer Tom Ford after being on the market for a number of years. The sale, first reported in an article in Women’s Wear Daily after being the subject of rumors for a few weeks, was reported across social media and the design community. Articles appeared in Garage, Vogue, GQ, Mansion Global, the Daily Mail and New York Times.
Halston had hired Rudolph to renovate the space when he bought it. Wall to wall grey carpet, mirrored and Plexiglas furniture and chain-mail curtains were installed as a result. Members of the design community were pleased to learn that Tom Ford intended to restore the interior to the glamour that many remembered.
A Restoration, or Renovation?
Shortly before the sale was announced, The Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation was approached by Mr. Ford’s architect, Atmosphere Design Group, to obtain copies of Rudolph’s original drawings. We were told ‘the client’ wanted to restore the interiors.
We asked the architect to consider consulting with the Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation during the design process to ensure the design was faithful to Mr. Rudolph’s original vision. They said they would consider it and were never heard from again. Given the architect is generally known for Mr. Ford’s retail store design, we were concerned when we learned a demolition permit was issued in August, 2019.
Our request was not without precedent - the Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation has given advice, free of charge, to owners of Rudolph-designed properties in the past. We were part of the design review of proposed replacement windows at the Mary Jewett Arts Center. We also helped a home owner in New Jersey find an architect to design an addition. In the end, he was able to hire Rudolph’s original project manager to construct the addition in way that fit into the original design.
A Cautious Optimism
We continued to hold out hope that - despite not hearing from the architect - the project was ‘in good hands.’ From online comments and at our public events, people were relieved to hear Mr. Ford had purchased the property as he was known for taking care of homes designed by significant architects, such as Richard Neutra.
Following the CNN documentary, Netflix announced that it too was going to do a story about Halston and were scouting locations to use for filming. Netflix location scouts visited us in the Rudolph-designed apartment at Modulightor and we spoke to them about Mr. Ford’s proposed changes and they said they would call us after seeing the original home for themselves. That was followed by the New York Times publishing the Halston interior as #19 on its ‘25 Rooms that Influence the Way We Design’
As the iconic interior continued to be in the news, we waited to see what was being done to the space.
Then we got a call - “The space is gutted, Its unrecognizable.’
What Will Change and What Will Stay the Same
The foundation immediately made phone calls and was able to obtain a set of the permit drawings. The following is what we learned about the work:
What’s different:
All of the bathrooms are being gutted and some are combined to become larger. Looking at the elevations, we are pleased to learn it will include floor to ceiling mirrors with chrome vanities and toilets in some of them.
The Kitchen will be enlarged (presumably for a menu greater than just ‘baked potatoes’)
The Master Bedroom’s walk in closet is being removed and turned into a separate bedroom
What’s the same:
The main space for the most part is left alone. While this is a relief, it will disappoint anyone who was hoping the hardwood flooring, installed by a previous owner, would be replaced by Halston’s signature grey wall-to-wall plush carpeting.
What could be a concern:
Despite being in a landmark district - and signed off by the Landmark’s Commission as having no affect on the building exterior - the drawings show the original garage door will be removed and replaced.
The drawings call for renovations of the landscaping and roof to be filed separately
The Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation will continue to watch for future applications to see what is planned for these areas that fall under landmarks review and protection.