TPG Architecture is developing a reputation at 7 World Trade Center. For prospective tenants of the David Childs–designed tower, the 29-year-old studio has become a go-to choice for interior fitouts.

Crowded into one floor of an old classroom building until 2007, New York University’s philosophy department had quarters far less grand than its top-notch reputation. Its new home, fashioned by Steven Holl Architects (SHA) inside a nearby 30,000-square-foot landmark building, finally matches the faculty’s accommodations with its renown.

AvroKO’s meteoric rise to fame is the stuff of design-industry lore. Headed by former college chums Kristina O’Neal, Greg Bradshaw, William Harris, and Adam Farmerie, the multidisciplinary collaborative has a reputation for both innovation and utter fearlessness.

For cleaving meat and processing food products, the cavernous loft buildings of Manhattan’s Meatpacking District were made to order.

Elegant limestone and brick facades conceal dramatic entry sequences, grand staircases, and rich millwork—these are the historic residences of Manhattan’s Upper East Side.