MASterworks Awards
For Excellence in Architecture and Urban Design
The Municipal Art Society is now accepting nominations for our 2012 MASterworks Design Awards!
Click here to download the letter and submission forms.
Each year, MAS honors the major players behind the year’s top building projects in New York City. The awards are presented to people and projects that exemplify excellence in architecture and urban design, and that make a significant contribution to New York’s built environment. Nominations are requested for projects completed in 2011 in the following categories:
- Best New Building
- Best Restoration
- Best Storefront Design
- Neighborhood Catalyst
- Best Green Design Initiative
- Best Privately-Owned Public Space
The winners are chosen annually by an esteemed jury of the most respected professionals in the fields of architecture, design, planning and real estate development. This year’s jury members are:
- Jay Cross, President, Related Hudson Yards
- Brandon Haw, Senior Partner, Foster + Partners
- Suzanne Stephens, Deputy Editor, Architectural Record
- Claire Weisz, Principal, WXY Architecture + Urban Design
- Adam Yarinsky, Principal, Architecture Research Office
- Vin Cipolla, President, MAS
Jay Cross, president, Related Hudson Yards, Brandon Haw, senior partner, Foster + Partners, Suzanne Stephens, deputy editor, Architectural Record, Claire Weisz, principal, WXY Architecture + Urban Design, Adam Yarinsky, principal, Architecture Research Office, and MAS president Vin Cipolla.
Nominations will be accepted through March 16th. The nomination form and instructions for submissions can be downloaded here.
We look forward to receiving your submissions! Feel free to contact Paul Kelterborn by phone or email pkelterborn[at]mas.org if you have any questions.
2011 Winners
2011 MASterworks Awards for Best New Building Presented to Hypar Pavilion at Lincoln Center and Sperone Westwater Gallery
Five provocative and innovative architecture and urban design projects have been chosen as winners of The Municipal Art Society of New York’s 2011 MASterworks Awards. Tying for the top honor, Best New Building, are the Hypar Pavilion at Lincoln Center (designed by Diller Scofidio + Renfro in collaboration with FXFOWLE) and Foster + Partners’ (with Adamson Associates, architect of record) Sperone Westwater Gallery at 257 Bowery. Other winners include Queens Theater in the Park for the honor of Best Restoration; Myrtle Hall at Pratt for Best Neighborhood Catalyst, with an honorable mention to the Whitlock Avenue Subway Station; and the High Performance Landscape Guidelines for Best Green Design Initiative.
Organized annually by the Municipal Art Society, the MASterworks Awards recognize projects from the preceding year that exemplify excellence in architecture and urban design, and make a significant contribution to New York’s built environment.
An impressive pool of nominees made for a challenging evaluation process for this year’s jury which included Rafael Pelli, principal, Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects; Deborah Berke, principal, Deborah Berke & Partners Architects; Marc Kushner, principal, HWKN and founder of the website Architizer.com; and Charles Bendit, co-chief executive officer, Taconic Investment Partners.
“From a park in Queens to a fine arts gallery on the Bowery, this year’s winners have taken design to new and visionary heights,” said MAS President Vin Cipolla. “These projects elevate our urban landscape and bring visual excitement and interest to neighborhoods across the city. The Municipal Art Society continues to be impressed by the architectural innovation to be found in every borough.”
Municipal Art Society Chairman David Childs added, “The 2011 MASterworks winners have each contributed to making New York a more livable and sustainable city. We congratulate all of the winners, and architects and designers throughout New York who, every day, demonstrate community pride and commitment to excellence.”
The 2011 MASterworks Awards were presented in four categories:
Best New Buildings:
Two entries tied for the honor of outstanding new design in the Best New Building category: the Hypar Pavilion (Diller Scofidio + Renfro in collaboration with FXFOWLE) and Sperone Westwater (Foster + Partners, with Adamson Associates, architect of record).
The Hypar Pavilion, a free-standing structure on the edge of Hearst Plaza and 65th Street at Lincoln Center, is home to a new public lawn, the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the 11,000-square-foot, two-story Lincoln Restaurant. The jury selected this project because, as part of the remake of Lincoln Center, it contributes life and energy to the plaza. Its sloping grassy roof creates a unique and inviting destination for leisure and observation.
Sperone Westwater is one of New York’s leading galleries with a roster of major international artists. Its relocation from West 13th Street to the Bowery in Manhattan’s Lower East Side represents a significant milestone in the district’s reinvention. Constructed on a very constrained urban lot, Foster + Partners’ (with Adamson Associates, architect of record) street-strong muscular building impressed the jurors as did the way it complements the rhythm of the Bowery. The jury also noted that the room-sized red elevator, visible through the translucent façade, enlivens the street and engages with passersby.
Best Restoration
Queens Theatre in the Park (Caples Jefferson Architects) was announced as the winner in the Best Restoration category. The award recognizes the restoration of a historically significant commercial, residential or institutional building and/or a publicly-accessible lobby. The renovated Queens Theatre in the Parkis a transparent curved wall pavilion and a major addition to the iconic 1964 World’s Fair complex designed by Philip Johnson. The compelling new structure provides a 600-person reception room and, significantly, fits within the constraints of the publicly funded city bid/build process. The jury said that the project gives a shot of adrenaline to the park and energizes this central part of Queens.
Neighborhood Catalyst
The design award for Neighborhood Catalyst – presented to aproject that has been a medium for change in its neighborhood – was presented to Myrtle Hall at Pratt (WASA/Studio A). Five years ago Pratt commissioned WASA/ Studio A to design a large new multi-use center for Digital Arts and various administrative and academic programs. This new 120,000-square-foot building, with its masonry brick, reflects the existing mercantile architecture on Myrtle Avenue. It opens up towards the main campus with a welcoming a four-story glass entry atrium. The panel commended this design as thoughtful and successful as a neighborhood catalyst because of the way it engages with the growing commercial bustle of Myrtle Avenue.
Receiving an Honorable Mention in the Neighborhood Catalyst category was the Whitlock Avenue Subway Station (MTA Architects). The jury thought that this project deserved recognition because it demonstrates how a small design intervention—in this case artfully punching out the walls of a subway platform to offer views of the neighborhood and create places to sit—can have an outsized effect on the experience of being in that space. The jury acknowledged that the MTA deserves recognition for doing a lot with a little.
Best Green Design Initiative
Finally, the High Performance Landscape Guidelines prepared by the Design Trust for Public Space in partnership with New York City Department of Parks and Recreation was awarded MASterworks’ Best Green Design Initiative award. While not an architectural project, theGuidelines offer a comprehensive manual for the design and construction of sustainable parks and open space. The panel said in developing the Guidelines, the Design Trust for Public Space and the Parks Department have created a model that can be instituted and replicated citywide, with the potential of having a widespread effect on the built environment.
About the MASterworks Awards
Organized annually by The Municipal Art Society and sponsored by international banking and investment group Helaba, Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen, the MASterworks Awards recognize people and projects that exemplify excellence in architecture and urban design, and make a significant contribution to New York’s built environment.
MASterworks Awards honor architecture projects completed within the last year in the following six categories:
* Best New Building for outstanding new design
* Best Restoration for the restoration of a historically significant commercial, residential or institutional building and/or publicly accessible lobby
* Best Storefront Design for innovative design that contributes to street life
* Neighborhood Catalyst for a project that has been a catalyst for change in its neighborhood
* Best Privately-Owned Public Space for an outstanding public space created as part of a private development
* Best Green Design Initiative for the renovation of a building that integrates sustainable design principles
