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{{Short description|Commercial building in Manhattan, New York}}
{{use American English|date=January 2024}}
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{{Infobox building
| name = Modulightor Building
| logo =
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| image = Modulightor Building 2024.jpg
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| image_caption = The building in 2024, after its additions
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| architectural_style = [[Modernist architecture|Modernist]]
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| address = 246 East 58th Street,<br />[[Manhattan]],
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| start_date = 1989
| stop_date = 1994
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| renovation_date = 2007–2016
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| owner = Paul Rudolph Institute for Modern Architecture
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| architect = [[Paul Rudolph (architect)|Paul Rudolph]]
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The '''Modulightor Building''' is a commercial building in the [[Midtown East]] neighborhood of [[Manhattan]], New York City, United States. The first four stories, designed by the architect [[Paul Rudolph (architect)|Paul Rudolph]]
The building was constructed for Modulightor, a company that Rudolph co-founded to sell light fixtures
The building is named for the Modulightor lighting company, which Wagner and Rudolph had cofounded in 1976. Rudolph and Wagner acquired the building in February 1989 and Rudolph worked on it over the next four years. The third- and fourth-floor duplex unit originally comprised two apartments, which were rented in 1996 to [[MTV]] founder John Lack and his daughter in 1996. After the Lacks moved out in 1999, Wagner moved into the building in the early 2000s, and Luckenbill subsequently combined the two duplex apartments, which were used by the Paul Rudolph Foundation. Squeo drew up plans for the fifth and sixth stories starting in 2007, and these stories were opened to the public in 2016. After the Paul Rudolph Foundation was evicted in 2014, the Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation (later Institute for Modern Architecture) moved into the building, acquiring it in 2023.
==Site==
The Modulightor Building is at 246 East 58th Street in the [[East Midtown]] neighborhood of [[Manhattan]] in
[[Paul Rudolph (architect)|Paul Rudolph]], the Modulightor Building's developer, had bought the building specifically because of the presence of several design showrooms in the area,<ref name="NYCL pp. 8–9">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2023|ps=.|pp=8–9 }}</ref> which had been unofficially known as the Design District since at least the 1960s.<ref name="NYCL p. 9">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2023|ps=.|p=9 }}</ref><ref name="The New York Times 1967 w770">{{cite web |date=August 27, 1967 |title=Showrooms Grow In Design District |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/08/27/archives/showrooms-grow-in-design-district-a-new-district-for-showrooms.html |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The block had once contained many [[row house]]s, which had been developed starting in the mid-19th century and were commonplace along 58th Street and other west-east streets.<ref name="NYCL p. 8" /> These row houses had included an [[Italianate architecture|Italianate]] brownstone at 246 East 58th Street, which was three stories high and dated to the 1850s or 1860s. This rowhouse had been divided into 15 rooms by 1941 and was converted into a commercial building by 1966, with two-story annexes both in the rear and at the front.<ref name="NYCL p. 9" /> Characterized as a "strikingly new and modern building", the structure first housed the Ellsworth & Goldie gallery,<ref name="NYCL p. 9" /><ref name="Gardner 1969 p.">{{cite book |last=Gardner |first=Arron |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=spowAQAAIAAJ |title=Gardner's Guide to Antiques and Art Buying in New York City |publisher=Bobbs-Merrill |year=1969 |page=66}}</ref> then housed fabric retail stores until the 1980s.<ref name="NYCL p. 9" />
==Architecture==
The original section of the building, a mixed-use store and residential building, was constructed from 1989 to 1994 to designs by [[Paul Rudolph (architect)|Paul Rudolph]].<ref name="NYT 2018">{{Cite news |last1=Farago |first1=Jason |date=December 20, 2018 |title=Paul Rudolph at 100: The Mischief Maker in a New Light |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/20/arts/design/paul-rudolph-beekman-center-for-architecture-modulightor.html |access-date=May 22, 2025 |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref><ref name="6sqft">{{cite news |last=Cohen |first=Michelle |date=July 29, 2019 |title=Modernist Must-See: Tour the Upper East Side's Paul Rudolph-Designed Modulightor Building |url=https://www.6sqft.com/modernist-must-see-tour-the-upper-east-sides-paul-rudolph-designed-modulightor-building/ |access-date=May 22, 2025 |work=6sqft |archive-date=January 23, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250123110455/https://www.6sqft.com/modernist-must-see-tour-the-upper-east-sides-paul-rudolph-designed-modulightor-building/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="NYCL p. 6" /> The Modulightor Building was one of the last buildings that Rudolph ever completed in Manhattan; unlike his other projects, it was not particularly well known.<ref name="nyt-2004-07-08">{{Cite news |last=Giovannini |first=Joseph |date=July 8, 2004 |title=An Architect's Last Word |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/08/garden/an-architect-s-last-word.html |access-date=May 22, 2025 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511182031/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/08/garden/an-architect-s-last-word.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Rudolph designed only two other residential structures in Manhattan:<ref>{{cite web |last=Tzeses |first=Jennifer |date=May 20, 2016 |title=Halston's Former $28 Million New York Townhouse Is Fashion-Forward Inside and Out |url=https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/halston-former-new-york-townhouse |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=Architectural Digest |archive-date=May 29, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230529155259/https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/halston-former-new-york-townhouse |url-status=live}}</ref> his own residence at 23 Beekman Place and the Halston townhouse at 101 East 63rd Street.<ref name="Gunts 2023 t131">{{cite web |last=Gunts |first=Edward |date=December 21, 2023 |title=Modernist structures by Paul Rudolph and Ulrich Franzen are now landmarks |url=https://www.archpaper.com/2023/12/modernist-structures-paul-rudolph-ulrich-franzen-new-york-city-newest-landmarks/ |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=The Architect's Newspaper |archive-date=January 18, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250118013419/https://www.archpaper.com/2023/12/modernist-structures-paul-rudolph-ulrich-franzen-new-york-city-newest-landmarks/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Barbanel |first=Josh |date=November 3, 2011 |title=Jet-Setting to a Time Past |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203716204577014081891515716 |access-date=May 22, 2025 |work=Wall Street Journal |language=en-US |issn=0099-9660 |archive-date=December 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231211130740/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203716204577014081891515716 |url-status=live}}</ref> Mark Squeo, who had collaborated with Rudolph in the 1990s,<ref name="Ginsburg 2023 e083">{{cite web |last=Ginsburg |first=Aaron |date=October 3, 2023 |title=Paul Rudolph's modernist Modulightor Building may become NYC landmark |url=https://www.6sqft.com/paul-rudolphs-modernist-modulightor-building-may-become-nyc-landmark/ |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=6sqft}}</ref> designed the upper stories, which were built in the 2010s.<ref name="NYCL p. 6" /><ref name="Gunts 2023 t131" />
Rudolph experimented with various features in the design of the Modulightor Building, using details popularized by such architects as [[Frank Lloyd Wright]], [[Ludwig Mies van der Rohe]], or [[Le Corbusier]].<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 12">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2025|ps=.|page=12 }}</ref> Even though Rudolph had completed the building not long before he died, he used it to test out various theories regarding the use and configuration of space.<ref name="nyt-2004-07-08" /><ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 12" /> Rudolph's colleague Ernst Wagner, a Swiss man who had been a longtime resident of the building,<ref name="Devlin 2017 p. 230" /><ref name="NYCL p. 10" /> said that the design reflected the fact that the Modulightor Building was "very much a building Paul built for himself".<ref name="p207655256">{{Cite news |last=Kipling |first=Kay |year=2005 |title=Portrait of an architect |work=Sarasota Magazine |page=152 |volume=27 |issue=3 |id={{
=== Exterior ===
==== Facade ====
The main [[Elevation (architecture)|elevation]] of the facade is to the north, along 58th Street.<ref name="NYCL p. 6" /> Both the main facade and the rear facade are composed of overlapping, interlocking rectangles made of white I-beams.<ref name="NYCL p. 6" /><ref name="nyt-2004-07-08" /><ref name="NY2000">{{cite NY2000|pages=938, 940 }}</ref> According to the [[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission]] (LPC), the interlocking nature of the beams gives the facade a quality similar to a [[jigsaw puzzle]],<ref name="NYCL p. 6" /> contrasting with the row houses that adjoining it.<ref name="Wainwright v727">{{cite web |last=Wainwright |first=Oliver |date=November 19, 2024 |title=Celebrated, reviled, reborn: Paul Rudolph, the brutalist architect with a party streak |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2024/nov/19/us-architect-paul-rudolph-exhibition-metropolitan-museum-new-york |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=the Guardian}}</ref> The western facade is a white [[party wall]] with narrow windows on the fifth and sixth stories, while the eastern facade has narrow windows on the fourth floor, fifth floor, and rooftop deck.<ref name="NYCL p. 7">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2023|ps=.|p=7 }}</ref>
[[File:Exterior Front Detail - Modulightor Building Paul Ruldolph.jpg|thumb|Detail of the main entrance]]
The main elevation is about {{convert|3|ft}} deep and includes concrete panels for reinforcement.<ref name="Paul Rudolph Institute for Modern Architecture n772">{{cite web |title=Our Office |url=https://www.paulrudolph.institute/our-office |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=Paul Rudolph Institute for Modern Architecture |archive-date=January 23, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250123122458/https://www.paulrudolph.institute/our-office |url-status=live}}</ref> The I-beams were manufactured to three different widths. The vertical beams are largely {{Convert|4.25|in}} deep, except for those at the far western and eastern edges, which are {{Convert|8.25|in}} deep; the horizontal beams are {{Convert|6.25|in}} deep.<ref name="NYCL p. 12">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2023|ps=.|p=12 }}</ref> Though the rectangles generally contain glass windows, a few openings on the facade are filled with concrete blocks, and other openings contain wooden doors.<ref name="NYCL p. 6" /> There is an entrance on the left (east) side of the facade, which is screened by a gate with vertical metal bars; the left wall of this entrance has a lattice with plants, while the door itself is topped by a planting box. Another entrance on the right (west) side of the facade leads to a showroom at the ground level, with a recessed glass door and a marble pavement. The center of the first-floor facade has a tripartite display window.<ref name="NYCL p. 6" />
The rear elevation has fewer I-beams than the main elevation, although the windows are larger. The lowest two stories have not been modified since the 1960s.<ref name="NYCL p. 12" /> These stories span the lot's width; there is a skylight above the second floor.<ref name="NYCL pp. 6–7">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2023|ps=.|pp=6–7 }}</ref> The third floor, designed by Rudolph, has a steel-grated wood deck spanning the lot's width, with mechanical equipment on one end and a [[hot tub]] on the opposite end. There is a door at the deck's eastern end, which ascends to a door with a [[transom window]] above it; a [[greenhouse]] is located to the west of this door.<ref name="NYCL p. 7" /> The fourth floor of the facade was also designed by Rudolph.<ref name="NYCL p. 12" /> The two stories above, which were built during Squeo's redesign, contain four metal balconies of different sizes.<ref name="NYCL p. 7" />
==== Roof ====
There is a rooftop deck with gray tiles, which is surrounded by glass-and-metal [[parapet]]s to the north and south. The rooftop deck connects with one of the balconies in the rear, and a skylight is raised above the western part of the roof deck. The front portion of the rooftop deck has
=== Interior ===
As designed, the showroom of the Modulightor company was intended to be on the first floor, while the story immediately above was to be Rudolph's office.<ref name="Devlin 2017 p. 230">{{cite book |last=Devlin |first=Polly |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SY8pDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT230 |title=New York Behind Closed Doors |publisher=Gibbs Smith |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-4236-4732-4 |page=230 |archive-date=January 16, 2024 |access-date=May 22, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240116025406/https://books.google.com/books?id=SY8pDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT230 |url-status=live}}</ref> The third and fourth floors were to contain two [[duplex apartment]]s<ref name="Devlin 2017 p. 230" /> (later combined into one).<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 11">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2025|ps=.|page=11 }}</ref><ref name="Kasingsing i153" /> Another apartment was added on the fifth and sixth floors in the 2010s;<ref name="6sqft" /><ref name="Institute o972">{{cite web |date=June 6, 2001 |title=1988.01 Modulightor |url=https://www.paulrudolph.institute/198801-modulightor |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=Paul Rudolph Institute for Modern Architecture |archive-date=November 21, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241121014906/https://www.paulrudolph.institute/198801-modulightor |url-status=live}}</ref> these were part of Rudolph's original plans but not completed during his lifetime.<ref name="Kasingsing i153" /><ref name="NYCL p. 11" /> The Modulightor shop is connected to the upper floors via a stair in the rear.<ref name="Architectural Press Limited 2004 p." />
{{As of|2024}}, the building holds Modulightor's fabrication center in the basement and on the first floor.<ref name="Cereal d504">{{cite web |last=Gallow |first=Lauren |date=September 25, 2021 |title=The Modulightor Building |url=https://readcereal.com/modulightor/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927161834/https://readcereal.com/modulightor/ |archive-date=September 27, 2021 |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=Cereal Magazine}}</ref> The store sells lighting fixtures, including lamps similar to those
==== Third- and fourth-floor duplex ====
[[File:MODULIGHTOR - Duplex Apartment.jpg|thumb|The duplex's south living room]]
The third- and fourth-floor duplex apartment spans about {{Convert|3000|ft2}}.<ref name="NY2000" /> It has four bedrooms, four bathrooms, two balconies between the floors, two living rooms, and a kitchen divided into northern and southern sections.<ref name="NYCL (2025) pp. 6–7">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2025|ps=.|pages=6–7 }}</ref> The duplex is decorated in a white color palette throughout, with white built-in furniture.<ref name="Cereal d504" /><ref name="p232261825">{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Chad |date=January 26, 2005 |title=Everything emptying into white |work=The Village Voice |page=14 |id={{
On the third floor, the northern and southern living rooms are connected by a north–south hallway along the eastern side of the house, which leads to an elevator and the main stairway to the ground. The L-shaped north living room wraps around a bathroom to the east.<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 28">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2025|ps=|page=28}}, diagram.</ref> The southern wall of the north living room has a door to the hallway, while the eastern wall has a metal fireplace mantel and wooden cabinets. There are shelves and a sofa on the western wall (adjoining a staircase to the northern balcony), while the northern wall adjoins a terrace.<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 6" /> On the western side of the house, the two sections of the kitchen are separated by a wall with a door.<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 28" /> The northern half includes a refrigerator and oven, while the southern half contains a stovetop, fume hood, and sinks; both sections include shelves, cabinets, and white counters.<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 6" /> The south living room is also L-shaped, wrapping around a bathroom to the east.<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 28" /> Within the south living room, another staircase near the kitchen ascends to the southern balcony. The eastern wall has a metal fireplace mantel and wooden cabinets; the southeast corner has a window and desk; and the western side has a steel beam above two sofas.<ref name="NYCL (2025) pp. 6–7" /> Along the southern wall of the south living room is an alcove, which has a double-height ceiling and a door leading to the rear garden.<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 7">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2025|ps=.|page=7 }}</ref>▼
[[File:Interior Apartment Staircase - Modulightor Building Paul Ruldolph.jpg|alt=One of the staircases from the third to fourth floors. The stairs appear to float, and there are shelves with objects behind the stairs.|left|thumb|upright|The third and fourth floors are connected by [[cantilevered stairs]], which have treads that appear to float.<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 12" />]]▼
▲On the third floor, the northern and southern living rooms are connected by a north–south hallway along the eastern side of the house, which leads to an elevator and the main stairway to the ground. The L-shaped north living room wraps around a bathroom to the east.<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 28">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2025|ps=|page=28}}, diagram.</ref> The southern wall of the north living room has a door to the hallway, while the eastern wall has a metal fireplace mantel and wooden cabinets. There are shelves and a sofa on the western wall (adjoining a staircase to the northern balcony), while the northern wall adjoins a terrace.<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 6" /> On the western side of the house, the two sections of the kitchen are separated by a wall with a door.<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 28" /> The northern half includes a refrigerator and oven, while the southern half contains a stovetop, fume hood, and sinks; both sections include shelves, cabinets, and white counters.<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 6" /> The south living room is also L-shaped, wrapping around a bathroom to the east.<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 28" /> Within the south living room, another staircase near the kitchen ascends to the southern balcony. The eastern wall has a metal fireplace mantel and wooden cabinets; the southeast corner has a window and desk; and the western side has a steel beam above two sofas.<ref name="NYCL (2025) pp. 6–7" /> Along the southern wall of the south living room is an alcove, which has a double-height ceiling and a door leading to the rear garden.<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 7">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2025|ps=.|page=7}}</ref>
The northern and southern halves of the fourth floor each have two bedrooms and a bathroom; these are connected by a north–south passageway to the east, which lead to the elevator and main stair.<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 29">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2025|ps=|page=29}}, diagram.</ref> The LPC labels them as north bedroom 1, north bedroom 2, south bedroom 2, and south bedroom 1 from north to south.<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 7" /> There are two [[light well]]s overlooking the third floor, one adjoining each pair of bedrooms.<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 29" /> North bedroom 1 spans the building's width and has a door to a small exterior terrace at its northeast corner, a door to the north bathroom at its southeast corner, and a stair to the northern balcony. Both the north and south number-2 bedrooms are located near the center of the house, with shelves on their western walls. Each bedroom adjoins a stairway, which leads to the light well and balcony on its respective side of the house, and can also be accessed from the passageway.<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 7" /> South bedroom 1 spans the building's width and has a door to the south bathroom at its northeast corner, a link directly to the fourth-floor passageway,<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 29" /> and a door at the southeast corner descending to the third-story alcove and the rear garden.<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 7" /> The bathrooms
▲[[File:Interior Apartment Staircase - Modulightor Building Paul Ruldolph.jpg|alt=One of the staircases from the third to fourth floors. The stairs appear to float, and there are shelves with objects behind the stairs.|left|thumb|upright|The third and fourth floors are connected by stairs, which have treads that appear to float.<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 12" />]]
▲The northern and southern halves of the fourth floor each have two bedrooms and a bathroom; these are connected by a north–south passageway to the east, which lead to the elevator and main stair.<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 29">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2025|ps=|page=29}}, diagram.</ref> The LPC labels them as north bedroom 1, north bedroom 2, south bedroom 2, and south bedroom 1 from north to south.<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 7" /> There are two [[light well]]s overlooking the third floor, one adjoining each pair of bedrooms.<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 29" /> North bedroom 1 spans the building's width and has a door to a small exterior terrace at its northeast corner, a door to the north bathroom at its southeast corner, and a stair to the northern balcony. Both the north and south number-2 bedrooms are located near the center of the house, with shelves on their western walls. Each bedroom adjoins a stairway, which leads to the light well and balcony on its respective side of the house, and can also be accessed from the passageway.<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 7" /> South bedroom 1 spans the building's width and has a door to the south bathroom at its northeast corner, a link directly to the fourth-floor passageway,<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 29" /> and a door at the southeast corner descending to the third-story alcove and the rear garden.<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 7" /> The bathrooms to the north and south can be accessed from their respective number-1 bedroom or the passageway, and they contain cabinets, a sink, a tub, and a toilet.<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 7" />
==History==
The building is named for the Modulightor lighting company, which Wagner and Rudolph had cofounded in 1976;<ref name="NYCL p. 10">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2023|ps=.|p=10 }}</ref><ref name="Rohan 2014 p. 209">{{cite book |last=Rohan |first=Timothy M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MkmPAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA209 |title=The Architecture of Paul Rudolph |publisher=Yale University Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-300-14939-5 |page=209}}</ref> the firm built prototypes of lamps and other lighting fixtures designed by the two men.<ref name="House of Light 2006">{{Cite web |date=Mar 2006 |title=House of Light |url=http://modulightor.com/installations/house-of-light-article/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201023181255/http://modulightor.com/installations/house-of-light-article/ |archive-date=
=== Original structure ===
[[File:Modulightor Building 2006.jpg|thumb|The facade seen in 2006]]
The four-story building was constructed for Modulightor. It has seen commercial and residential uses, and later housed a gallery on its top floors.<ref name="NYT 2018" /><ref name="6sqft" /> Originally, Donald Luckenbill oversaw the project between 1989 and 1990;<ref name="NYCL p. 11">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2023|ps=.|p=11 }}</ref> Luckenbill reflected that Rudolph had conducted hundreds of studies of the building's facade.<ref name="nyt-2004-07-08" /> Mark Squeo took over the design after 1990.<ref name="NYCL p. 11" /> Rudolph frequently added, adjusted, or removed features during the building's construction, which led to persistent shortages.<ref name="p207655256" /><ref name="Wainwright v727" /> The Paul Rudolph Institute's president Kelvin Dickinson described the Modulightor Building as a passion project of Rudolph's, estimating that Rudolph ran out of money three times.<ref name="Barron 2025" /> Wagner later recalled Rudolph telling him, "Ernst, I remain an architect", despite Wagner's trepidation about Rudolph's persistence.<ref name="p207655256" />
The facade panels at the front and rear were being installed by mid-1992, and the beams on the facade were being painted by early 1993.<ref name="NYCL p. 11" /> A temporary [[certificate of occupancy]] was granted for the building's first basement, the ground-story retail space, and an office mezzanine in May 1993. In June of the following year, another certificate of occupancy was granted for both basement levels and the four above-ground stories.<ref name="NYCL p. 11" /><ref name=":0" /> The temporary certificate of occupancy provided for two duplex apartments on the third and fourth floors—one each on the south and north sides of both floors.<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 11" /> By that July, Rudolph had completed plans for the duplexes<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 11" /> and began leasing out these apartments.<ref name="NYCL p. 11" /><ref name="Rohan p. 223">{{cite book |last=Rohan |first=Timothy M. |url=https://
Rudolph hosted lectures and meetings with architects in the duplexes after the building was completed.<ref name="Tadepalli i765" /> Rudolph was diagnosed with [[mesothelioma]], or asbestos cancer, toward the end of his life<ref name="Muschamp 1997">{{Cite news |last=Muschamp |first=Herbert |date=August 9, 1997 |title=Paul Rudolph Is Dead at 78; Modernist Architect of the 60's |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/08/09/arts/paul-rudolph-is-dead-at-78-modernist-architect-of-the-60-s.html |access-date=May 22, 2025 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512084632/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/08/09/arts/paul-rudolph-is-dead-at-78-modernist-architect-of-the-60-s.html |url-status=live}}</ref> and was seriously ill by 1996.<ref name="NYCL p. 11" /> That year, [[MTV]] founder John Lack agreed to rent both duplexes.<ref name="Institute o972" /><ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 14">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2025|ps=.|page=14 }}</ref> Lack agreed to pay $6,000 per month, living in the southern duplex, and his daughter took over the northern duplex.<ref name="Institute o972" /> Rudolph attempted to give his home at 23 Beekman Place to the [[Library of Congress]] so the library could preserve his documents after he died, but the Library of Congress instead sold the Beekman Place apartment.<ref name="Barron 2025" /> Instead, in April 1997,<ref name="Institute o972" /> Rudolph bequeathed a partial ownership stake in the Modulightor Building to Wagner.<ref name="NYCL p. 11" /><ref name="Barron 2025" /> Rudolph ultimately died that August.<ref name="Institute o972" /><ref name="Muschamp 1997" />
=== After Rudolph's death ===
[[File:Kitchen Dining Apartment - Modulightor Building Paul Ruldolph.jpg|thumb|The third- and fourth-story duplex's kitchen]]
Wagner began seeking a buyer for Rudolph's other residence at 23 Beekman Place in 1998,<ref name="Institute o972" /><ref name="nyt19981203">{{Cite news |last=Brown |first=Patricia Leigh |date=December 3, 1998 |title=Toil and Trouble In Plexi-Land |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/12/03/garden/toil-and-trouble-in-plexi-land.html |access-date=May 22, 2025 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511165543/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/12/03/garden/toil-and-trouble-in-plexi-land.html |url-status=live}}</ref> though it would not be sold for two years.<ref name="Institute o972" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Reed |first=Danielle |date=May 4, 2000 |title=Witkoff plots plans for Hell's Kitchen |pages=377 |work=New York Daily News |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77462784/witkoff-plots-plans-for-hells-kitchen/ |access-date=May 10, 2021 |archive-date=May 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511211948/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/77462784/witkoff-plots-plans-for-hells-kitchen/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Meanwhile, Lack and his daughter moved out of the Modulightor Building around 1999.<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 14"/> After a prolonged disagreement over Rudolph's [[will and testament]], Wagner helped establish the Paul Rudolph Foundation {{Circa|2001}}<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 14"/> or 2002.<ref name="NYCL p. 11" /> Wagner moved to the building in either 2000<ref name="nyt-2005-10-09">{{Cite news |last=Fernandez |first=Manny |date=October 9, 2005 |title=Architectural Riches, Usually Hidden, Open for Show |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/09/nyregion/architectural-riches-usually-hidden-open-for-show.html |access-date=May 22, 2025 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> or 2002, and Luckenbill subsequently combined
Mark Squeo designed an expansion of the building after Rudolph's death.<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 14" /><ref name="Institute o972" /><ref name="Ginsburg 2024" /> He drew up plans for the fifth and sixth floors of the building starting in October 2007,<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 14" /> using Rudolph's preliminary designs for a six-story building on the site.<ref name="Cereal d504" /><ref name="6sqft" /> Actual construction started {{Circa|2010–2011}}; the modifications largely adhered to Rudolph's drawings, with some modifications such as the removal of a triplex penthouse and the addition of balconies.<ref name="NYCL p. 11" /> Wagner evicted the Paul Rudolph Foundation after a disagreement in 2014, and he created a competing organization, the Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation (later the Institute for Modern Architecture<ref name="Institute o972" />), which was headquartered at the building.<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 14" /><ref name="Kasingsing i153">{{cite web |
Unlike many of Rudolph's other designs, the Modulightor Building remained in good condition after Rudolph's death,<ref name="Bernstein v596" /> and Wagner continued to give private tours of the third- and fourth-story duplex.<ref name="Tadepalli i765" /><ref name="Bernstein v596" /> The LPC designated the Modulightor Building's exterior as a landmark in December 2023.<ref name="Senzamici 2023 m840">{{cite web |last=Senzamici |first=Peter |date=December 20, 2023 |title=This Sutton Place Building Is Now A Mid-Century Modern Landmark |url=https://patch.com/new-york/upper-east-side-nyc/sutton-place-building-now-mid-century-modern-landmark |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=Upper East Side, NY Patch |archive-date=January 6, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240106175921/https://patch.com/new-york/upper-east-side-nyc/sutton-place-building-now-mid-century-modern-landmark |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Ginsburg 2023 h465">{{cite web |last=Ginsburg |first=Aaron |date=December 19, 2023 |title=Paul Rudolph's Modulightor Building is now an NYC landmark |url=https://www.6sqft.com/paul-rudolphs-modulightor-building-is-now-an-nyc-landmark/ |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=6sqft |archive-date=March 18, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250318235959/https://www.6sqft.com/paul-rudolphs-modulightor-building-is-now-an-nyc-landmark/ |url-status=live}}</ref> The same year, Wagner gave the building to the Paul Rudolph Institute,<ref name="Institute o972" /> which at the time wanted to convert it to a study center and [[historic house museum]].<ref name="Kasingsing i153"/> The [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] displayed a [[Scale model|model]] of the building in a 2024 exhibition about Rudolph's work.<ref name="Wainwright v727" /> In December 2024, the third- and fourth-floor duplex was nominated for interior landmark status.<ref>{{cite web |
== Reception ==
The Modulightor Building initially received little notice from either the news media or architectural critics, who did not begin seriously reporting on the building until the 2000s.<ref name="NYCL p. 12" /> [[Joseph Giovannini]] of ''The New York Times'' wrote in 2004, "Like Italian architects carving Renaissance and Baroque facades to be revealed in Mediterranean light, Rudolph succeeded in suggesting depth within shallow dimensions."<ref name="nyt-2004-07-08" /> William Menking of the [[Architects' Journal|''Architects' Journal'']], writing the same year, regarded it as a "superb Modernist storefront" that dwarfed contemporary structures such as the [[Lescaze House]], the [[Rockefeller Guest House]], or even 23 Beekman Place in quality.<ref name="Architectural Press Limited 2004 p." /> ''[[Metropolis (architecture magazine)|Metropolis Magazine]]'' described the building's exterior as "an incredible lattice of mullions and frames",<ref name="Metropolis h651" /> while a critic for ''[[The Guardian]]'' characterized it as "a plexiglass and plasterboard palace that feels as if it might reconfigure itself at any moment".<ref name="Wainwright v727" /> Another writer described the Modulightor Building as "a light-filled jewel of a house, an artificial geode, so conceptually integrated that when you're inside the outside world seems ready to invade".<ref name="Devlin 2017 p. 230" />
The interior also received
== See also ==
Line 177:
===Citations===
{{
===Sources===
* {{Cite report |url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/2676.pdf |title=Modulightor Building |date=December 19, 2023 |publisher=[[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission]] |ref={{harvid|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2023}}}}
* {{Cite report |url=http://s-media.nyc.gov/agencies/lpc/lp/2684.pdf |title=Modulightor Building Apartment Duplex |date=May 6, 2025 |publisher=[[New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission]] |ref={{harvid|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2025}}}}
==External links==
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