648 Sotheby’s Madison Avenue

The adaptation of the Breuer Building is guided by a deep respect for its architectural significance and its enduring role as a temple to art. Over the decades, it has housed some of New York’s most significant art collections—from the Whitney to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, to the Frick, and soon, important works slated for auction at Sotheby‘s. The building readily lends itself to this next chapter as an art auction house, with many iconic spaces and programmatic uses remaining intact. The restoration follows a light-touch approach, preserving defining features while introducing subtle upgrades to meet Sotheby’s functional and operational needs while honoring Marcel Breuer’s original design. Each found space is scrutinized and re-evaluated for its architectural and programmatic value, shaping an experience of the building that honors both continuity and transformation. The project underscores the role of preservation in safeguarding a cultural landmark while ushering it into its next era.

The overarching goal of the renovation is to amplify the building’s historical and material legacy while preparing it for use as a premier exhibition and auction venue. Defining elements—such as the bluestone floors, coffered concrete ceilings, sculptural staircase, and bespoke lobby elements and finishes—are preserved, while sensitive interventions enhance accessibility, spatial flexibility, and visitor experience.

Lobby

Breuer’s original lobby materials and atmosphere are retained, with select elements reinterpreted to support new functions. Benches and surface counters are transformed into display platforms and vitrines, creating a dialogue between past and present. Subtle insertions complement the existing palette of mahogany, bronze, and bushhammered concrete. Enhanced exterior lighting—including the canopy’s underside and the building’s facade—restores its social presence as a luminous beacon within the streetscape, echoing Breuer’s original vision.

Galleries

Gallery floors have been reimagined to maximize curatorial potential. A layered lighting strategy combines focused spotlights with ambient illumination, addressing formerly dim interiors and accommodating various media and exhibition scales. Each floor plan responds to Breuer’s distinctive window openings, transforming them into architectural anchors that strengthen the connection between interior and exterior. Previously inaccessible galleries have been reopened and modernized to support a broader range of exhibitions.

The renovation emphasizes long-term adaptability and includes the careful insertion of a new elevator within the service area of the building footprint, enabling faster installation timelines, more diverse programming, and expanded visitor capacity. Flexible gallery infrastructure ensures the building can continue to evolve alongside future curatorial demands.

The transformation of the Breuer building is the result of a close, creative partnership between the design team and Sotheby’s, united by a shared commitment to preserving Breuer’s architectural legacy while reestablishing the building as a renewed cultural landmark in New York City.

Quotes

“After a few intense months of renovation and reconstruction focused mainly on interior spaces, the Breuer Building, an extraordinary icon of postwar modernism, is open again for New Yorkers and visitors as an exceptional space to experience art. Paradoxically, our strongest architectural contribution to this building was to remain quasi-invisible, as if everything had always been there—as it presents itself at the opening today. The beauty and clarity of Breuer’s original work radiates—also in its new function—and ensures its relevance for future generations.” — Jacques Herzog

“In collaboration with our client, Sotheby’s, and our partner architects, PBDW, we embarked on a meticulous restoration of the existing spaces. Our approach emphasizes preservation as a means of renewal, safeguarding this cultural landmark while preparing it for its next chapter. Our goal is to amplify Breuer’s artistic legacy, as well as the building’s material and historical significance, ensuring it functions as a premier exhibition and auction venue.” — Wim Walschap