As these things go, the uproar that began in 2017 over the proposed transformation of Philip Johnson’s infamous “Chippendale” tower in Manhattan, the first Postmodern skyscraper, has now died down to a whimper, if anything can be heard at all. The initial protests against Snøhetta’s scheme to replace the pink granite facade at the lower levels with a diaphanous glass curtain wall eventually led to the building—designed with John Burgee and completed in 1984—becoming the youngest to receive landmark designation. Over the last three years (and after a hiccup or two), Olayan Group, the current owner of the tower, now known as 550 Madison Avenue, has proceeded to completely reimagine the interiors.

Johnson's pink granite of the original walls are crushed into the terrazzo floor.