Sotheby’s announces the opening date for its worldwide headquarters as Saturday, November 8th, 2025.
The restorartion, in collaboration with Platt Byard Dovell White Architects (PBDW), embraces a ‘light-touch’ approach, retaining Breuer's original materials and spatial intentions while updating infrastructure to improve accessibility and curatorial flexibility. The character-defining features of the building remain intact, including bush-hammered concrete walls, coffered ceilings, mahogany finishes, and bluestone floors. Yet new interventions, such as a discreetly inserted elevator and revamped lighting systems, prepare the building for diverse programming.
On the gallery floors Herzog & de Meuron reinterprets the irregular window openings as curatorial assets, using them to organize the space and reintroduce a connection with the street.
‘On November 8, we will be honored to welcome the global art community back into this remarkable museum quality space,’ comments Charles F. Stewart, Sotheby’s Chief Executive Officer. ‘On behalf of all of us at Sotheby’s, I extend our gratitude to our partners Herzog & de Meuron for their brilliant work in amplifying the Breuer’s historical and material legacy for the Sotheby’s era. They have devoted the same level of care and respect to the building as you would a great work of art. I’d also like to thank the New York City Landmarks Preservation Committee for their support and praise for our ‘spectacular’ use of the space. We think visitors will agree.’
Main Image: Breuer Building New York, images courtesy of Sotheby’s