David Adjaye

British starchitect David Adjaye designed 130 William Street, a 66-story tower in the Financial District—his first NYC skyscraper—which topped out in May 2019 and launched sales in August 2018. “I sought to celebrate New York City’s heritage of masonry architecture, referencing the historical architecture once pervasive upon one of the city’s earliest streets,” Adjaye said in a statement at the time of the topping out.

J. Max Bond, Jr.

J. Max Bond Jr. was, during his career, considered the most influential black architect in New York City, and played an instrumental role in the design of several notable structures—none more famous than the National September 11 Museum. Bond was part of the well-known architecture firm Davis Brody Bond Aedas at the time of his death in 2009, and oversaw the museum’s design as part of his tenure there. The museum opened in 2014.

Rodney Leon

In 2004, architect Rodney Leon won a competition to design this national monument, which is located on the site of the oldest and largest known excavated burial ground in North America for enslaved and free Africans. Dating back to the 17th century, the burial ground was only discovered in 1991 in the midst of construction work on an office tower. Leon’s design features a 25-foot granite monument and is made with stone from South Africa and North America to symbolize the two worlds coming together.

J. Max Bond, Jr.

Though the Studio Museum is now closed—a new facility, designed by David Adjaye, is forthcoming—its former 125th Street HQ was renovated by J. Max Bond, Jr., and opened to the public in the 1980s.

Ifill Johnson Hanchard

Black architecture firm Ifill Johnson Hanchard, led by Percy C. Ifill, designed several noteworthy New York buildings, the best-known of which is the the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building, located on 125th Street in Harlem. The building, which opened in 1973, faced criticism for its African mask-inspired facade, and was met with mixed reviews upon its completion. It was renamed for Adam Clayton Powell Jr., who represented Harlem for decades first in the New York City council and then in Congress, in 1983.

Roberta Washington

Astor Row refers to a group of 28 houses on the south side of West 130th Street between Fifth and Lenox Avenues. They were built in the late 19th century by the Astor family. The city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission designated them NYC landmarks in 1981, particularly for their unique wooden porches. Roberta Washington’s firm worked to restore 20 of these porches in the 1990s and made a big effort to replicate the original materials.

Vertner Woodson Tandy

Architect Vertner Woodson Tandy holds the distinction of being the first registered African American architect in the state of New York. His most famous work, the Villa Lewaro in Irvington, New York, was designed for Madame C.J. Walker. But Woodson also left his imprint on New York City: Around 1948, Tandy designed the Ivey Delph Apartments, a six-story rental building in Hamilton Heights that is distinguished by its expansive balconies with curved iron railings. The building has retained its original facade and in 2005, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

John Lewis Wilson, Jr.

Architect John Lewis Wilson, Jr. was the only black architect on the seven-man team appointed to design the Harlem River Houses. The complex was constructed in 1937 and was one of the city’s first two housing projects that were funded by the federal government in an effort to provide black New Yorkers with better-quality housing. In 1975, the 574-apartment campus became a New York City landmark and in 1979, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

David Adjaye

Before working on high-profile commissions like the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., David Adjaye designed a comparatively low-key development in Harlem’s Sugar Hill neighborhood. The futuristic building at St. Nicholas Avenue and West 155th Street is home to 124 affordable apartments, a preschool, and Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art & Storytelling.

Yolande Daniels

Architecture firm StudioSUMO, of which Yolande Daniels is a founding partner, worked on this museum between 2004-2006. It occupies the lower floors of 80 Hanson Place in Fort Greene, which is also home to local arts non-profits. One of the most notable design features of the museum is the reception area, featuring thousands of stacked pieces of wood that create a map of 24 time zones, representing cities that are important to the African Diaspora.