The Real Deal New York

From the April issue: A building does not necessarily have to be “huggable” to merit preservation. That’s how Peg Breen, president of the New York Landmarks Conservancy, makes the case that certain modernist buildings deserve landmarking consideration — even if some see them more as eyesores than as architectural treasures. “The Seagram building, the Lever House — some of these buildings are not as huggable as the older Beaux-Arts structures,” Breen said, referring to two iconic 1950s office buildings on Park Avenue. “But you have to look at their importance in the architectural continuum, and how well-designed it is for what it is. Different periods of buildings go in and out of style. You don’t not save a building because it’s not pretty.”