Central to the work of Robert A. M. Stern is a commitment to architecture that reinterprets the past to serve contemporary life. Buildings and Towns explores the application of that principle to a wide range of building types, including libraries, university buildings, cultural centers, offices, health care facilities, courthouses, and recreational complexes completed throughout the world over the past twenty years. The sequel to the highly successful Robert A. M. Stern: Buildings (1996), this volume also incorporates master plans for towns and campuses.

Among the sixty-five featured projects are the Miami Beach Public Library, the new campus for the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, multiple projects for Disney including the Ambassador Hotel in Japan, and a range of apartment towers culminating with 15 Central Park West, the largest residential structure in New York City, opening in fall 2007.