Breuer Building
Marcel Breuer + Hamilton P. Smith · New York, United States · 1966
Marcel Breuer’s museum building at 945 Madison Avenue is a compact inverted-ziggurat of bush-hammered concrete and dark granite. Upper floors step outward above the street while a narrow bridge-like entrance separates the heavy volume from Madison Avenue. Irregular trapezoidal windows puncture the concrete façade, and a sculptural stair organizes the interior galleries. Opened in 1966 for the Whitney Museum, the building has housed several institutions since, but its architectural identity remains strongly tied to Breuer’s material and spatial language.