From the article:
The goal of the project, says architect Victor Vizgaitis of Sasaki, was to “capture the past, celebrate authenticity, but create a bridge between the past and the future for Havas.”
I see NONE of that. Turning air vents into light fixtures and skylights into wall art is not authentic. Exposing structural elements that were never meant to see the light of day is not celebrating the past, it's insulting it.
The pipe in this storage room shelving fixture isn't original... just an effort to capture the building's raw, industrial character, says architect Victor Vizgaitis.
The raw, industrial character... of a glamarous department store?
Thinking about it more, what they did was just
stupid. You've got a beaux-arts palace that they shoehorned some industrial-chic modernist interior into. Hindsight is 20/20 of course, but Vornado should have NEVER been permitted to tear out the original interior. Did they even salvage the woodwork (which was apparently still all there under the later renovations) or did it just hit a dumpster? A more refined, classical interior would have worked so much better here. Modern furniture and fixtures, sure, whatever. But paneling and some well detailed millwork would have been a gazillion times better.
To add insult to industry, that ghastly white-washed wood cafe is named Burnham's, after the original architect. That's like how they named Storrow Drive after the family who fought so hard to prevent it's construction.
Also, WTF is up with the lobby? It reminds me of the fake Egyptian stuff they did in the 20s. It's supposed to pay homage to the exterior (which makes no sense... it's an interior space), but it doesn't do that well either.
Sorry, I keep editing this and ranting because the more I look at these pictures and read the designers intent, the more I hate it.