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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}}</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}}</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}}</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}}</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}}</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
=== Exterior ===
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==== 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={{pq|232261825}}}}</ref><ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 6">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2025|ps=.|page=6}}</ref> The rooms are interconnected spaces that blend into one another,<ref name="Metropolis h651">{{cite web |last=Artemel |first=A.J.P. |date=November 3, 2022 |title=Remembering Paul Rudolph, the Lonely Modernist, at 100 |url=https://metropolismag.com/profiles/paul-rudolph-centenary/ |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=Metropolis}}</ref><ref name="p232261825" /> which according to the LPC were intended to make the spaces appear larger than they actually were.<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 12" /> They have decorations such as floating house plants,<ref name="Wainwright v727" /><ref name="Tadepalli i765">{{cite web |last=Tadepalli |first=Apoorva |date=December 11, 2017 |title=Inside Paul Rudolph's Iconic Modulightor Building in NYC |url=https://www.untappedcities.com/inside-paul-rudolphs-iconic-modulightor-building-nyc/ |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=Untapped New York}}</ref> suspended staircases with floating treads,<ref name="Wainwright v727" /><ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 12" /><ref name="Cereal d504" /> banisters, and bookshelves.<ref name="Cereal d504" /><ref name="Metropolis h651" /> The staircases, balconies, and glass walls in these rooms may be inspired by the designs of the [[Pavillon de l'Esprit Nouveau]] model home and [[Unité d'Habitation of Berlin]], both designed by Le Corbusier.<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 12" /> There are also decorations such as metal beams and grated sections of floor,<ref name="NYCL (2025) pp. 6–7" /> in addition to lighting made by Modulightor.<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 6" /> When Wagner and Rudolph occupied the building, the duplex was decorated with objects such as African sculptures, Japanese figurines, Turkish machine parts,<ref name="Architectural Press Limited 2004 p." /><ref name="Cereal d504" /> gold chargers, and masks.<ref name="p232261825" />
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>
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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
=== Original structure ===
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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://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Architecture_of_Paul_Rudolph/MkmPAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%2522modulightor%2522 |title=The Architecture of Paul Rudolph |date=July 10, 2014 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=978-0-300-14939-5 |page=223}}</ref> Rental income from these apartments was used to help pay off the building's mortgage.<ref name="Rohan p. 223" /> The Modulightor store's space was completed in 1996.<ref name="NY2000" />
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}}</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 ===
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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 two of the building's apartments.<ref name="NYCL p. 11" /> This work involved removing a wall between the northern and southern duplex units,<ref name=":0" /> as well as adding shelves similar to those at 23 Beekman Place, which were used to store Rudolph's work.<ref name="Institute o972" /> The enlarged duplex was completed in 2003,<ref name="nyt-2004-07-08" /> and the structure was known as the Modulightor Building by the next year.<ref name="NYCL p. 11" /> The duplex began hosting events as well.<ref name="NYCL (2025) p. 14" /> For example, Wagner opened his apartment to the public once a month starting in 2005,<ref name="p232261825" /> and [[Open House New York]] began hosting annual events there that year.<ref name="nyt-2005-10-09" /> The Rudolph Foundation also opened the building during the evenings starting in 2007, allowing people to view the lighting designs.<ref name="p229060699">{{Cite news |last=Kaufman |first=David |date=September 7, 2007 |title=Inside intrigues |work=Financial Times |page=1 |id={{pq|229060699}}}}</ref>
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 | last=Kasingsing | first=Mel Patrick | title=Monument Man: Paul Rudolph Institute for Modern Architecture | website=Kanto – Creative Corners | date=May 4, 2021 | url=https://kanto.ph/spaces/paul-rudolph/ | access-date=May 22, 2025}}</ref> Following the completion of the building's top floors in 2016, they were opened to the public.<ref name="NYCL pp. 11–12">{{harvnb|Landmarks Preservation Commission|2023|ps=.|pages=11–12}}</ref> The fashion house [[Bottega Veneta]] hosted a fashion show there in early 2017,<ref>{{cite web |last=Minton |first=Melissa |date=January 5, 2017 |title=Bottega Veneta's Latest Campaign Features Lauren Hutton, Joan Smalls, and an NYC Landmark |url=https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/bottega-venettas-summer-2017-campaign |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=Architectural Digest}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Hyland |first=Véronique |date=January 4, 2017 |title=At 73, Lauren Hutton Is the Star of Bottega Veneta's New Campaign |url=https://www.thecut.com/2017/01/lauren-hutton-bottega-veneta-summer-2017-campaign.html |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=The Cut}}</ref> and the upper stories hosted the Archtober festival that October.<ref name="NYCL pp. 11–12" /><ref>{{cite web |last=Wachs |first=Audrey |date=September 28, 2017 |title=AN will bring you a building every day for Archtober 2017 |url=https://www.archpaper.com/2017/09/archtober-2017-building-of-the-day-tours-full-list/ |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=The Architect's Newspaper}}</ref> An exhibition called ''Paul Rudolph: The Personal Laboratory'' was hosted on the upper stories in 2018 to celebrate Rudolph's 100th birthday.<ref name="NYT 2018" /><ref name="Metropolis h651" /><ref name="Bernstein v596">{{cite web |last=Bernstein |first=Fred A. |date=October 15, 2018 |title=Paul Rudolph’s Legacy Lives on Through His Outstanding Buildings |url=http://galeriemagazine.com/paul-rudolph-architect-100-birthday/ |access-date=May 22, 2025 |website=Galerie Magazine}}</ref>
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}}</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}}</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 | last=Levingston | first=Miranda | title=The Inside Of This UES Apartment Could Be NYC's Next Landmark | website=Upper East Side, NY Patch | date=December 12, 2024 | url=https://patch.com/new-york/upper-east-side-nyc/inside-ues-apartment-could-be-nycs-next-landmark | access-date=May 22, 2025}}</ref><ref name="Ginsburg 2024">{{cite web | last=Ginsburg | first=Aaron | title=The duplex apartment in Paul Rudolph's Modulightor Building may be landmarked | website=6sqft | date=December 12, 2024 | url=https://www.6sqft.com/the-duplex-apartment-in-paul-rudolphs-modulightor-building-may-be-landmarked/ | access-date=May 22, 2025}}</ref> The duplex had not been eligible for landmark designation before then, as New York City designated landmarks were required to be at least 30 years old.<ref name="Ginsburg 2024" /> On May 6, 2025, the LPC designated the duplex as an interior landmark.<ref name="Levingston r951" /><ref name="Barron 2025">{{cite web | last=Barron | first=James | title=A Landmark Celebrates an Architect Many Have Forgotten | website=The New York Times | date=May 7, 2025 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/07/nyregion/landmark-paul-rudolph-architect.html | access-date=May 22, 2025}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite web | last=Ginsburg | first=Aaron | title=City landmarks duplex apartment in Paul Rudolph's Modulightor Building | website=6sqft | date=May 6, 2025 | url=https://www.6sqft.com/city-landmarks-duplex-apartment-in-paul-rudolphs-modulightor-building/ | access-date=May 22, 2025}}</ref>
== 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 critical commentary. Giovannini
== See also ==
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