Welcome to the Archives of the Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation. The purpose of this online database is to function as a tool for scholars, students, architects, preservationists, journalists and other interested parties. The archive consists of photographs, slides, articles and publications from Rudolph’s lifetime; physical drawings and models; personal photos and memorabilia; and contemporary photographs and articles.
Unless otherwise noted, all images and drawings are copyright © The Estate of Paul Rudolph and The Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation. Please speak with a representative of the Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation to get permission to use any drawings or photos. Drawings, sketches and other materials produced by Rudolph’s architectural office at the Library of Congress are maintained there for preservation, but the intellectual property rights belong to the Paul Rudolph Estate and Ernst Wagner, founder of the Paul Rudolph Heritage Foundation.
LOCATION
Address: 322 East 57th Street #4/5B
City: New York
State: New York
Zip Code: 10022
Nation: United States
STATUS
Type: Residence
Status: Built
TECHNICAL DATA
Date(s): 1978
Site Area:
Floor Area:
Height:
Floors (Above Ground):
Building Cost:
PROFESSIONAL TEAM
Client: Dr. Vallo M. Benjamin
Architect: Paul Rudolph
Associate Architect:
Landscape:
Structural:
MEP:
QS/PM:
SUPPLIERS
Contractor:
Subcontractor(s):
Benjamin Residence
The project consists of the interior renovation of unit #4/5B in an existing 21-story co-op apartment building.
Built in 1929 and completed in 1930, the original building was designed by architect Harry M. Clawson of Caughey and Evans, the same architects who designed and built the Hampshire House. Originally built as a 22-story hotel, 322 East 57th Street was converted to a co-op in 1959. The building is known for its 30‐foot‐square living rooms, 26 foot‐high ceilings and neo-Classical limestone facade.
Dr. Benjamin begins demolition of the apartment in February of 1976 before any plans are finished, working with two other architects. By the time Rudolph is hired, Dr. Benjamin has nearly demolished himself into a corner, where he occupies the only area free of major renovation - the wood-paneled library on the second floor. For a year Mr. Benjamin had been living without a kitchen in the apartment.
Dr. Benjamin still owns the apartment as of 2018.
“‘I like what most people would call the coldness of the room. For example, reflective surfaces are intriguingly spatial. I don’t see them as cold.’’”
“‘I feel lucky to have had the opportunity of working in that apartment. How many apartments have such a clear idea of the organization of space? So many high-rise apartments, expensive or not, are collections of cubicles, architecturally the same. The double-height area was more of a space than a room.’’”
“I spent six years in medical school and eight years in architecture school with this apartment. What I learned about renovation is that you have to work to subordinate an existing place to your esthetic intentions. A place that is already there imposes itself on you. You have to accommodate it.”
DRAWINGS - Design Drawings / Renderings
DRAWINGS - Construction Drawings
DRAWINGS - Shop Drawings
PHOTOS - Project Model
PHOTOS - During Construction
PHOTOS - Completed Project
PHOTOS - Current Conditions
LINKS FOR MORE INFORMATION
RELATED DOWNLOADS
PROJECT BIBLIOGRAPHY