Bear Stearns World Headquarters, 383 Madison Avenue (1994-2002)
When Childs started designing a new home for the financial services firm, Bear Stearns, he began by taking the firm's rigid building requirements -- extra windowed offices for executives; large, open spaces for traders; and substantial basement space for a pre-existing subway line -- and molded them into an unusual "geometric form clad in masonry," in the words of SOM. The result was an octagonal tower that rises like a "classical column" out of a square base and slowly diminishes as it grows taller, an allusion to classic New York skyscrapers like the Empire State and Chrysler buildings. This unique 45-story tower pleased neighbors by creating an elegant profile and blocking less light than traditional skyscrapers.

© Jeff Goldberg/Esto. Reproduced with the permission of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.