In the heart of Manhattan, the renovation of the 1411 Broadway Lobby transforms a once-unremarkable corridor into an art-filled amenity space, preserving the building’s identity while modernizing circulation, improving accessibility, and strengthening connections to the public realm.
Inspired by the Garment District’s rich history and the building’s former role as the World Apparel Center, the design introduces textural, colorful elements throughout. A large-scale kinetic artwork by Yaacov Agam serves as the focal point. The 64-foot-long, eight-foot-tall piece—already a part of the building owner’s collection—was carefully relocated, cleaned, and restored. As visitors move through the space, its shifting triangular geometry and recurring V-shape motif tie together the building’s precast façade piers, façade fins, and revitalized interior into a unified architectural identity.
A continuous 67-foot-long terrazzo countertop bar anchors the space, its varied heights managing the natural slope between Broadway and Seventh Avenue while supporting a full range of daily activity—from laptop work at high-top seating to informal meetings and after-work conversation at lower surfaces. The bar is finished with wood tambour, travertine stone, and blackened stainless-steel details, and includes wheelchair-accessible stations alongside standing and seated options. Two custom banquettes among lush planters offer a more private setting, while inbuilt greenery threads nature from east to west entrance, softening what was once a hard, rectangular, and monotone lobby.
A sinuous, zig-zag arrangement of furnishing elements creates an interwoven, layered experience throughout. Vegan leather upholstery echoes the blues of the Agam artwork and the bright straight-stitches of a deep-blue-toned Chilewich rug—selected for its sustainability and durability—reference Garment District menswear. Warm orange stools provide a complementary counterpoint, while the terrazzo countertop weaves the artwork’s tones into dialogue with the existing stonework.
