Skidmore, Owings & Merrill

Where many might have seen constraints, interiors partner Stephen Apking saw only potential. "We had to make tangible the promise of great things to come," says the Interior Design Hall of Fame member, who transformed 4,700 raw square feet on the 25th floor of 7 World Trade Center into a marketing suite. Curved walls of perforated white powder-coated aluminum guide potential tenants from the entry to reception and beyond. A grid of plasma screens shows live video feeds of ground zero—controlled by the viewer's arm motions through a glowing frame suspended nearby. Impressed? Moody's Investors Service was. It recently leased 15 floors, including the space once occupied by the marketing suite.

Bar at National Ballet School, Toronto

DESIGN Kuwabara Payne McKenna Blumberg Architects.

STANDOUT The ovoid rail promotes the light resting of hands, while the curved support allows unimpeded leg motions.

Jianianhua Center, Chongqing, China

DESIGN Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.

STANDOUT Billboard technology transforms the appearance of the multiuse building's retail block.

HEWI Wall System

DESIGN Graft.

STANDOUT This fiberglass system can be used for anything from seating to shelving.