Lubrano Ciavarra Design

What becomes a legend most? At the Richard Avedon Foundation, established in 2005, a year after the photographer's death, the unquestionable star of the ethereal 2,100-square-foot interior is a crisp grid wall housing boxes of negatives and prints. (Think Claudette Colbert in her Blackglama mink and Andy Warhol revealing his torso gunshot wounds.) Around this storied archive, Anne Marie Lubrano and Lea Ciavarra placed a small gallery, workstations, and a conference room, all wrought in shades of photographic black, white, and gray. Right next door is the Museum of Modern Art, which began collecting Avedon back in 1959.

LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon

DESIGN VOA Associates.

STANDOUT A curved wall's LED-lit perforations evoke the energy needed to run 26.2 miles.

Lindblad Expeditions, New York

DESIGN TEK Architects.

STANDOUT The entry tunnel, clad in eco-friendly bamboo, recalls a ship's hull on its side.

Lime Rock Partners, Houston

DESIGN DMJM Rottet.

STANDOUT Geological formations inspired the striated, textured materials and the sculptural ceiling.