Snøhetta gives the 1980s landmark a breath of fresh air

The AT&T Building, designed by Philip Johnson and John Burgee, opened on Madison Avenue to much fanfare in 1984. The building's "Chippendale" top was a focal point for many onlookers. However, recent changes to the Postmodern icon, carried out by Norwegian architecture firm Snøhetta, have shifted attention to the building's street-level spaces - particularly the newly transformed garden to the west of the building.

Johnson-Burgee's original design for the building included an open arcade on its east, north, and south facades, as well as a galleria covered by a glass barrel vault on the west. In 1991, Sony purchased the building and enclosed the galleria with glazing, retail space.

550 Madison, formerly known as the Sony Building, has undergone a major renovation that has transformed the space into a modern, open-air retail and office complex. The renovation, designed by architecture firm Snøhetta, has retained the retail space at the front of the building while also returning the galleria to a covered, open-air space.

In order to create this new design, Snøhetta demolished a low annexe that had previously housed a Sony store and enlarged the plaza to 21,000 square feet, an increase from the previous 13,000 square feet. The new design features a garden space topped by a curved glass canopy supported by steel columns.

According to Craig Dykers, a founding partner of Snøhetta, "We removed a lot more than we added" in the renovation process. The result is a modern, open-air space that is sure to be a popular destination for both tourists and locals alike.

Breaking the long, linear space into a series of circular "rooms" creates a more intimate setting with curving wood tables and stone planters. The addition of 50 trees and 200+ flowering shrubs, grasses, bulbs, and forbs gives the garden a more natural feel. The west side of the garden features a granite crescent with a heated bench curving around a freestanding "hearth". The pavilion in the corner is complete with food kiosks and an elegant restroom with gender-neutral toilet stalls.

"The space isn't just a galleria, an atrium, or a garden - it's a bit of all three," says Dykers. More than half the space is devoted to plantings, which will be irrigated by rainwater collected from the canopy and stored in cisterns. By opening the space up on the north and south sides, the firm hopes to better connect it with the rest of the neighbourhood and make this part of Midtown Manhattan more vibrant.

The architects of Snøhetta made extensive changes to the inside of the tower as well. Although their initial plan - to remove the rose granite base and replace it with a wavy glass curtain wall - was met with uproar from preservationists and ultimately rejected, they were still able to install extensive glazing in the back wall of the building, overlooking the garden. By rotating the elevator core 90 degrees, they created an axis from the main entrance on Madison Avenue through the lobby, where a new arched window offers views out to the planted plaza.

Employers and building owners are hoping to create healthier work environments and attractive outdoor spaces to convince workers to come back to the office. The new 550 Madison is a test of how effective such efforts will be.