New York 2020: Architecture and Urbanism at the Beginning of a New Century

‘To have such a biography, on this scale and with this ambition, of the physical form of the greatest city on earth is little short of a miracle.’ – Ric Burns, Filmmaker

The culmination of Robert A.M. Stern’s monumental history of architecture in New York City and a comprehensive record of building over the last twenty-five years

A landmark in architectural publishing, New York 2020 explores the planning and politics of building in New York City during the first decades of the 21st century. This encyclopedic book, as complex and vast as the city itself, references more than 3,000 projects constructed between the year 2000 and the present day. 

Across 1,500 pages, New York 2020 describes and illustrates the ‘supertalls’ now populating our skyline, lush riverfront parks born from derelict waterfront, iconic cultural destinations, and thousands of smaller, unheralded residential and civic projects that enhance the built environment and the urban fabric.

Readers will discover work by leading architects, including Norman Foster, Renzo Piano, Bjarke Ingels, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Selldorf Architects, Frank Gehry, and Robert A.M. Stern Architects; a dazzling array of museums and institutions, including the High Line, Hudson Yards, the new Whitney Museum, and the expansions of MoMA and Lincoln Center; the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site; and more. 

The much-anticipated final volume in architect Robert A.M. Stern’s critically acclaimed New York series, which traces the evolution of the city from the Civil War to present day, New York 2020 tells the story of a remarkable period of urban development, architectural experiment, and seismic cultural shifts.

‘Bringing up to the present one of the most monumental works of architectural history ever created, this stunning compendium of the shapes that have arisen in New York City across the first two decades of the 21st century is a breathtaking tour de force: a unique and indispensable guide to the historical forces and architectural imaginings that transformed the cityscape of New York during a delirious period punctuated by more world historical crises than any comparable twenty year period in the city’s history. At a thousand and half pages, it is also a city in itself, in words, images and ideas, and for any student of New York or any walker in the city, it is a rapturous invitation to wander. To have such a biography, on this scale and with this ambition, of the physical form of the greatest city on earth is little short of a miracle.’ – Ric Burns, Filmmaker

‘Robert Stern and his collaborators have created yet another gorgeous, definitive, delicious and nutritious chronicle as ‘unique, cosmopolitan, mighty and unparalleled’ (quoting E.B. White on New York) as its subject. A book to wander through, learn from, converse with, and treasure.’ – Kurt Andersen, author of Evil Geniuses and Fantasyland

‘Readers will be awed by this stunning view of New York’s relentless dynamism.’ – Publishers Weekly, STARRED Review

‘New York 2020 is a tour de force. Impressive in its comprehensive coverage enhanced by thousands of color photographs, this capstone volume of Robert Stern’s New York series deftly explains how development and preservation have shaped and reshaped the physical landscape in each of New York’s five boroughs.

The broad community of urbanists, architects, and city planners, as well as New Yorkers curious to understand the architectural evolution of their neighborhood, will relish the insightful detail chronicling the city’s ever evolving change.’ – Lynne B. Sagalyn, Earle W. Kazis and Benjamin Schore Professor Emerita of Real Estate at Columbia School of Business and author of Power at Ground Zero: Politics, Money, and the Remaking of Lower Manhattan

‘Architects, planners, developers, and perhaps even politicos will anxiously search the index of this book for their names— and they will find them. New York 2020 is an encyclopedic chronicle of two decades of architecture and urbanism, from Brooklyn Bridge Park to Hudson Yards and the supertalls. The good, the bad, and the, well you know; they’re all here.’ – Witold Rybczynski, author of The Story of Architecture.

‘As the Second Millennium dawned, architectural history collided spectacularly with world history, when terrorists, alive to the symbolic power of the American skyscraper, obliterated New York City’s World Trade Center. It’s at that heart-stopping moment that this sixth and final volume of Robert A. M. Stern’s architectural history of New York takes up the tale, recounting how architects and city planners set about rebuilding and reinvigorating the metropolis in the two decades since. That multi-stranded saga, told by one of skyscraper architecture’s masters and his co-authors, makes this sumptuously illustrated and richly informative book a riveting capstone to an indispensable classic.’ – Myron Magnet, Editor-at-Large, City Journal