Jacob K. Javits Convention Center

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Upon its opening in 1986, this I. M. Pei–designed, 840,00-square-foot event and convention space became known as one of the city’s premier eyesores. At the time, a jet-black steel skeleton supported a dark, mirrored-glass skin that restricted natural light inside. But a five-year, $463 million renovation, completed in 2014, saw 300,000 square feet of new floors installed, the space-age inner frame repainted white, and every single pane of glass on the exterior replaced with a translucent, more energy-efficient variety. The result is a facility that looks something like a modern airport, with sweeping latticework arches and white metal supporting cylinders overlooking acres of floor space bathed in natural light. The renovation also involved the installation of a seven-acre “green roof,” one of the largest in the country, which can absorb up to 6.8 million gallons of rainwater annually. — Jack Holmes

The highlight of I. M. Pei's architectural statement is his bravura design for the southernmost atrium: a vast open space that at its highest point rises 150 feet over antlike convention-goers.