I don't think it looks cheap or anything. Physically deteriorated, certainly, but I've always thought this building had a strong Frank Lloyd Wright feel to it, similar to his old Johnson Wax Building. Standing next to contemporary buildings the red brick certainly stands out in 2019, but there's a charm in the way they used that material throughout modernism.
The grey paint is just obviously a result of the owners wanting to make it look newer, but it throws away any architectural distinctiveness as a result. It's going to look like a giant monolith or something once it's all done haha. If the goal is higher end tenants, I can understand the corporate decision by wanting a building that looks modern. But the greatest buildings are what they are through that virtue alone. The Chrysler Building wouldn't have the tenants it does if at some point they decided it's dated, and stuck some aluminium cladding on in the 1970s or something. Just as well, you can have a building like this updated and renovated without having to completely paint the thing grey.
The grey paint is just obviously a result of the owners wanting to make it look newer, but it throws away any architectural distinctiveness as a result. It's going to look like a giant monolith or something once it's all done haha. If the goal is higher end tenants, I can understand the corporate decision by wanting a building that looks modern. But the greatest buildings are what they are through that virtue alone. The Chrysler Building wouldn't have the tenants it does if at some point they decided it's dated, and stuck some aluminium cladding on in the 1970s or something. Just as well, you can have a building like this updated and renovated without having to completely paint the thing grey.