New Museum of Contemporary Art

The 2007 opening of the New Museum of Contemporary Art brought a striking sight to the Bowery district: a seven-story stack of off-white boxes, designed by Tokyo-based architects Kazuyo Sejima and Ryue Nishizawa of SANAA and New York firm Gensler. This breath of fresh air took the place of the once gritty area, and since then, the museum has been joined by many modern structures, swiftly transforming the previously downtrodden avenue into a sleek and vibrant space.