When It Works in New York, Architects Take It on the Road Rendering by Crystal Digital Technology Robert A. M. Stern is designing a neighborhood in Xiamen, China that bears a resemblance to 15 Central Park West in Manhattan WANDER around any number of cities, and you can see on signs and awnings just how much people want to bask in the reflective glow of New York. Far from Manhattan, there are countless New York-style delis selling New York-style cheesecake, of course. And now a lot of cities appear to want to brag that they have New York-style architecture. The recession may have slowed the development of luxury towers in Manhattan, but it didn't stop some brand-name architects from signing up overseas clients - particularly in the developing world - who are eager to stamp their distinctive styles on new buildings. Consider Richard Meier, the master of the color white, who of late has been designing the tallest residential tower in Tel Aviv, a hotel in South Korea and two dozen homes in the seaside town of Bodrum in Turkey. Or Robert A. M. Stern, who was commissioned to design a whole neighborhood on an island in China, with eight towers that will look strikingly similar to his limestone monument to Old New York, 15 Central Park West. Why do they come to us? Because of 15 Central Park West," Mr. Stern, 73, said earlier this month from his office on the West Side of Manhattan. The Chinese "don't want to go home at night to their three-bedroom shelf on the 44th floor," he added. They want to live in a place. That's what we do: we're place-makers. That seems true of Mr. Stern's most ambitious overseas project to date, a two-million-square-foot residential development in Xiamen, a coastal city in southeastern China. Robert A. M. Stern Architects designed a mix of high- and midrise apartments, as well as town houses and single-family villas, on the 25-acre site. The pictures and renderings of the project, dubbed "Heart of Lake," suggest a more appropriate name for the development might be "Sternville." Rising above the lower-rise structures will be eight towers - the tallest will have 56 stories - that look like mini-15 Central Park Wests. The style of windows and use of courtyards, even the look of the stone exterior, all seem very familiar (though I was told they are using a Chinese granite in place of the limestone Mr. Stern favored in New York). "We didn't request that style, but it turned out that way," said Shu Wen, the manager of the design department for Vanke in Xiamen. China's largest residential developer, Vanke is building Heart of Lake and says it is pleased with the design. Still, the look and "lifestyle" offered at 15 Central Park West and another luxury high-rise Mr. Stern designed in Toronto, at One St. Thomas Street, clearly were factors in awarding the job to Stern Architects over two other firms, Vanke executives said. Heart of Lake is selling fast. Already three towers have sold out, and the first phase of the project, which estimates suggest will eventually cost up to 5 billion yuan (about $800 million), is to open at the end of this year, Mr. Shu said. Residences range from $464 a square foot, for tower apartments, to $1,636 a square foot for town houses. Each tower will have two penthouses with terraces; one penthouse of about 4,000 square feet recently sold for $3.5 million. The neighborhood will be the highest-end development in Xiamen, with prices about double what residences typically cost there, Mr. Shu said. Heart of Lake's streets will be pedestrian-only - all parking will be underground - and a stately clubhouse for the 3,000 people expected to live there will house the kind of recreational facilities found at 15 Central Park West. Mr. Stern's work on the Midtown tower is paying dividends in other ways. The Win Sing Development Company from Taiwan toured 15 Central Park West and soon afterward hired Stern Architects to design a smaller building in Taipei, Mr. Stern said. Even as sales continue on the Manhattan condo makeover at 18 Gramercy Park - which has brought Mr. Stern together again with the developers of 15 Central Park West - Stern Architects is working in a handful of countries it had never worked in before, including India and Singapore. In 2011, about 25 percent of Stern Architects" work was overseas, up from 15 percent in 2007, the company said. And aside from Xiamen, Stern Architects has been working on eight projects in China, including a residential complex in Shanghai and a mixed-use development in Dalian.