So here's another Skyscraper makeover for you- the Verizon Building of Bryant Park, NYC, designed by Kahn and Jacobs.
Here's how it looked originally:
Here's how it looks now:
So which do you like? Before or after?
Personally I'm a bit conflicted on this one. Pics taken shortly before the reclad show how grungy the marble of the original facade had gotten, and maybe it was time for something fresh, perhaps something that wouldn't show city grime as badly, or was easier to maintain. And maybe the glass was looking dated.
But I did like those pinstripes, they gave the building character and made a flat facade interesting.
I think this makeover would have looked better had they combined elements of the before and after- that spiffy new green glass combined with a reclad of the pinstripes- perhaps brushed or textured aluminum. That way the facade wouldn't look quite so much like a plain green wall- it needs a little something to give it contrast, or visual interest.