Originally built in 1938, 50 Rockefeller Center is distinguished by iconic Art Deco architecture and sculpted facades by Isamu Noguchi. The lobby is among the only areas of the Rockefeller Center campus not under historical landmark protection, and received its first refresh in the 1970s. When locally based Studio Mellone was tasked with the redesign of the arrival experience in 2022, the aim was not only to restore Art Deco glamor but to reposition interiors with New Yorkers in mind. “We wanted to create a new lobby that somehow felt that it had always been there without looking like a copy of the past,” says Studio Mellone founder and principal Andre Mellone. “The best lobbies for us evoke a mix of contradictory emotions, relaxation and alertness, serenity and focus. That was what we were going for.”
Gone are original cove ceilings along with checkerboard stone floors replaced with black terrazzo panels inlaid with crisscrossing brass inspired by fellow Rockefeller Center lobbies. Textural Indiana limestone walls also reference the site’s architectural legacy. “We wanted to create a feeling of ‘closeness’ to the building, almost like turning it inside out allowing the public to feel the stone up-close,” Mellone adds. Furniture from Green River Project is installed upon an arty gold and dark green rug illuminated by bespoke metal light fixtures by Apparatus. Color is also amplified via oversized custom bronze urns heaping with magnolias and contemporary artwork by Florian Schmidt, Alexander Ross, and Axel Gris. In addition to the public lounge, a narrow cafe-style space accessible from 51st Street is populated with modern wood tables and chairs as well as an eye-catching mirror with brass rosettes.
