Lever House considered the 1st modernist skyscraper in New York was commissioned by Charles Luckman who was President (and trained as an architect).  Rather than make a wedding cake tower as the 1916 New York Zoning Code required for tall buildings, Gordon Bunshaft's act of genius was to set the the building back and only utilize a quarter of the available site area.  Other Innovative features included the curtain wall, lack of retail on the ground floor, plaza art program and other employee amenities.  It has been renovated several times (all by SOM).