SOM carries out "complete transformation" of New York's iconic Waldorf Astoria hotel

Global architecture firm SOM has completed the restoration of the art deco Waldorf Astoria hotel in Midtown Manhattan in an attempt to "bridge the gap between the past and future".

The Waldorf Astoria New York reopened earlier this year following eight years of preservation and restoration work on its landmarked 1931 building, which was designed by Schultze & Weaver in the art deco style.

The Waldorf Astoria's Park Avenue foyer — In the Waldorf Astoria's Park Avenue foyer, the original ceiling design was revived and the mosaic floor was restored

Work involved reorganising and updating the public areas – undoing some of the changes made in the 1960s – and transforming the 1,400-key hotel into a mixed-use destination.

Now, 375 hotel rooms occupy floors seven to 15 of the 625-foot-tall (190 metres) building, while floors 19 and up accommodate 372 private residences.

Double-height hotel foyer with travertine staircases and white figurative sculptures — The Eastern Arcade was updated to allow more natural light and provide a grand ascension to the hotel's event spaces

SOM's all-encompassing makeover of the 1.6 million-square-foot building involved returning to the original blueprints and faithfully restoring details that had been gradually altered over the years.

"We delved into the records of the hotel and the archives of The Wolfsonian, which holds thousands of documents produced by Schultze & Weaver at Florida International University," said SOM.

Hotel lobby with large columns and wood panelling — The original symmetry of the central lobby was restored and aging materials were replaced

"These records included the full specification book, original drawings, renderings, and early photographs – offering a clear view into the building's evolution."

On the exterior, the facade's limestone podium and Waldorf Grey brickwork above were cleaned and repaired to look brand new, and mechanical systems that had been added over the years, cluttering the facade, were hidden.

The 1893 World’s Fair clock sits at the centre of the hotel lobby

A second porte cochere was added to separate arriving hotel and residence traffic, while pedestrians can still access the public spaces from Park and Lexington Avenues.

These 62,000 square feet (5,760 square metres) of public space inside were designated as an interior landmark in 2017, so the project required the vast majority to be returned to their original splendour.

Grand corridor with mirrored panels and ceiling murals — The mirrored Silver Corridor was returned to its former glory

Returning the symmetry of the original layout, SOM recreated the expanding and contracting enfilade of spaces from the Park Avenue lobby to Peacock Alley – named after a corridor that joined the two buildings of the first Waldorf Astoria on Fifth Avenue.

In the Park Avenue foyer, artist Louis Rigal's Wheel of Life tile mosaic and wall murals were painstakingly restored, while a discovery from a historic photograph led to the revival of backlit, luminous marble panels on the ceiling.

Grand corridor with elevator bank and murals on the ceilings — The vivid murals were meticulously restored to remove years of dirt and cigarette smoke stains

The East Arcade facing Lexington Avenue was also overhauled to allow in more natural light, and create a more grand procession up to the ornately decorated event spaces.

These rooms – which include the Silver Corridor and the Basildon Room – required a range of experts to remove years of dirt and stains from cigarette smoke from the vivid murals, and then restore their original colours.

Grand room with an ornate ceiling and large chandelier — In the Basildon Room, the original colour scheme was reproduced from a 1930s postcard

A major part of the project was the renovation of the Grand Ballroom, which was upgraded with state-of-the-art technology and redesigned based on the architects' original plans.

"While researching Schultze & Weaver's original design intent, we found that the architects envisioned a ceiling that emanated light from a series of coves — raised high above the floor as to give the ballroom an incredible grandeur," SOM said.

Looking up at an ornate ceiling with silver leaf details — Silver leaf on the ceiling was restored by hand

"But the ceiling's profile wasn't built as intended and 1930s lighting technology did not have the necessary reach to achieve the intended effect."

Contemporary lighting technology allowed the architecture studio to approach the original design intent.

The entire ballroom space is now acoustically isolated from the rest of the building, thanks to the addition of separation joints to the structural steel beams.

Across the building, nearly 5,600 windows were replaced to more closely resemble the originals – based on the only one that remained unaltered, found on the southwest side of the 16th floor.

The windows on the residential levels were also subtly increased in height by one foot to all more light into the living spaces.

Twin copper pinnacles atop the art deco Waldorf Astoria building — The building's twin copper pinnacles now house duplex penthouse residences

Standard hotel guest rooms were doubled in size and suites were also expanded – all featuring interiors by French designer Pierre-Yves Rochon that offer a contemporary take on art deco.

Accessed from their own lobby, the residences range from one- to four-bedroom configurations and enjoy views across the city.

Detail of the Waldorf Astoria facade showing windows — All of the windows across the building were replaced with designs closer to the originals

The twin copper pinnacles that crown the building are now duplex penthouse residences, while the uppermost full floors include a wide range of private amenities designed by Jean-Louis Deniot for residents.

"From the street to the pinnacle, this project is a complete transformation of one of New York's most treasured landmarks," said SOM.

"Our blend of preservation, restoration, and adaptive reuse bridges the gap between the past and future, reestablishing the grandeur of the city's 'unofficial palace' and setting the stage for the building's second century."

The Waldorf Astoria building amongst the contemporary skyscrapers of Midtown Manhattan — The exterior brickwork of the 1931 building was also cleaned and repaired

Art deco celebrated its centenary this year, and Dezeen published a dedicated series of articles that explore the movement's legacy and impact.

The series profiled iconic structures like the Chrysler Building and Eltham Palace and important figures such as Raymond Hood and Erté, and also included handy guides and an A to Z.

The photography is by Dave Burk.

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