New York - Seagram Building

The Seagram Building is considered the finest of the Modernist style of the fifties: two rectangles of bronze and glass that allow light to pour in. It was designed by Mies van der Rohe. Essentially a classical building, it is set back on a broad plaza bordered by a marble parapet and inlaid with two rectangular pools. The design introduced a new idea: set back the building 100 feet from the street, Park Avenue, to allow a empty, yet tranquil plaza. The rectangular slab itself stands like a monolith from another world: cool, elegant and refined.

Inside is the Four Seasons Restaurant, designed by Philip Johnson.