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 critical commentary. Giovannini praised the fact that Rudolph had managed to create a complex interior from commercially available materials,<ref name="nyt-2004-07-08" /><ref name=":0" /> while Menking likened the interiors to London's [[Sir John Soane's Museum]], saying the design blurred the traditional boundaries between rooms, much like Frank Lloyd Wright's work.<ref name="Architectural Press Limited 2004 p." /><ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 13">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2025|ps=.|page=13}}</ref> A [[Village Voice|''Village Voice'']] reporter wrote in 2005 that the interior of the duplex "offers a glimpse of what might have been if we hadn't gotten lazy and gone all reactionary with our houses", noting that its interlocking spaces were not child-friendly.<ref name="p232261825" /> The next year, ''Elements of Living'' magazine described the top floors as "a brilliant orchestration of spatial layers and reflective materials that combine to create a series of magical lighting composition".<ref name="House of Light 20062">{{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=2020-10-23 |access-date=2025-05-22 |work=Elements of Living |page=1}}</ref> ''The New York Times'' called it a "white-on-white wonder",<ref name="nyt-2005-10-09" /> while ''Metropolis'' likened the interior to a white-clad forest or cave.<ref name="Metropolis h651" /> ''[[Cereal (magazine)|Cereal Magazine]]'' characterized the interior as a "complex arrangement of solid planes and framed, negative spaces".<ref name="Cereal d504" /> Conversely, Martin Filler of ''[[The New York Review of Books]]'' described the design as a symptom of Rudolph's "incorrigible urge to overcomplicate things" in his later career, despite liking the architect's early work.<ref>{{cite web |last=Filler |first=Martin |date=July 22, 2020 |title=Martin Filler |url=https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2015/02/05/hard-case-paul-rudolph/ |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=The New York Review of Books |archive-date=November 14, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241114140341/https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2015/02/05/hard-case-paul-rudolph/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 17">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2025|ps=.|page=17}}</ref>
