Robert A. M.  Stern, a New York architect who built museums, schools, houses and libraries, died on Nov. 27 at his home I Manhattan. He was 86.

Mr. Stern’s crowning creation opened in 2008 and was known only by its address, 15 Central Park West — a coupling of grandeur from the past sand the clean lines of an ultramodern high-rise. All the apartments were sold before construction was finished.

In 1977, he founded Robert A. M. Stern Architects, which employed a staff of up to 300. His honors included the Vincent Scully Prize in 2008, the Richard H. Driehaus Prize in 2011, and the Louis Auchincloss Prize in 2019.

Mr. Stern reflected on his teenage years walking around Lower Manhattan and observing the beauty to be found at street level. “Of course, I loved the tops of the buildings,” he told The New York Times, “but I really loved the bottoms: the great entryways, the rich marbles and granites.”

Pedestrians today, he lamented, have their eyes glued to their phones. “They’re not looking around,” he said. “When I was growing up, all I ever did was look around.”