Renderings showing subtle design changes planned for the Waldof Astoria; Credit SOM
Last month, the “unofficial palace of New York", the Waldorf-Astoria closed its doors to the public to move ahead with an ambitious renovation that would re-position the hotel property’s 1,413 rooms into a mix of 840 upgraded hotel suites and 321 condos. Now, the proposed changes to the building’s landmarked exterior and interior will come before the Landmarks Preservation Commission tomorrow. Per an exhaustive presentation document —prepared by the design architect, Skidmore Owings and Merrill (SOM)— the alterations will be respectful and true to the original architects’ (Schultze & Weaver) design intent.
Waldorf Astoria exterior via SOM's LPC presentation
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The project is being spearheaded by the building’s new owner, China-based Anbang Insurance Group, who purchased the Waldorf for a record $1.95B in 2015. Anbang has been fully cooperative in maintaining the Waldorf’s beloved interiors and working with the Commission to get the interiors landmarked. Anbang chairman, Wu Xiaohui, promised the Waldorf’s renovations to introduce “world-class amenities and finishes to reflect its culture and social status.”
After providing an insightful visual of the Waldorf's history (definitely worth a look-through), SOM presents the subtle changes planned for its exterior. Its masonry façade will be completely cleaned which, as the the document points out, was consciously made up of a limestone-clad base and pure gray brick to seamlessly match the stone below. Small additions on the 38th-floor setback and several exposed cooling towers/bulkheads will be removed. The cooling towers will be discreetly housed on the 20th floor, and 32 new open windows will ventilate the spaces.
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5,380 window profiles will be restored, 140 new punched windows will be installed and 141 of its ornate spandrel sections will be reestablished. An alteration that may be controversial to the Commission is enlarging the windows along 8 upper levels of the tower. The drawings show the team wants to increase the windows by a foot in height —providing a 15% increase in window area and a 21% reduction in spandrel area.
Lastly, the team proposed a one-story roof addition between the building’s twin pinnacles. Aligning to the Commission’s preferences, the addition will be virtually invisible from street level. The porte-cochere elevations and entrances will be enclosed with ornate grillwork; the bronze ground-level entryways, marquees, lanterns will be restored/refined; and the Lexington Avenue marquee will be completely replaced.
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While the Waldorf’s Art Deco-styled exterior has been a city landmark since 1993, only last month was the building’s storied collection of interiors designated. According to 6sqft, the newly landmarked spaces span the ground, first, second, and third floors and include the West Lounge (formerly Peacock Alley), the Grand Ballroom and balconies, the Ballroom Entrance Hall (formerly Silver Gallery), Basildon Room, Jade Room, Astor Gallery. For the most part, Anbang/SOM’s changes call for the restoration of the original spaces. Stylistically-analogous lighting, carpets, and original flooring will be installed throughout.
The Waldorf-Astoria hearing will take place on the 9th floor of the Municipal Building at One Center Street, and begin approximately at 1:45 PM.
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