Municipal Art Society Celebrates New York City’s Best Urban Design and Public Art

Brendan Gill Prize

Established in 1987 by MAS Board Member Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, the Brendan Gill Prize honors a new creative work that best captures the spirit and energy of New York City. This year’s prize will be awarded to Shervone Neckles for the public artwork, The Land Between Open Water, a powerful tribute to the Siwanoy people and the history of the Bronx commissioned by MTA Arts & Design for the Westchester Sq-East Tremont Avenue subway station.

“At its core, public art has the ability to evoke moments of wonder as we traverse the urban landscape, and at its best, it provides a portal to the unseen. Shervone Neckles’ Land Between Open Water does both: deftly using shadow and light to enliven the everyday for Bronx commuters, while also revealing the hidden layers and histories that lie just underneath the pavement.” — Dario Calmese, jury member, Brendan Gill Prize Jury and founder/CEO, The Institute of Black Imagination

“Shervone Neckles created a powerful public artwork which honors the history and culture of the indigenous Siwanoy people, a band of Munsee-speaking Lenape who lived in The Bronx. ‘The Land Between Open Water’ illuminates and celebrates a significant chapter of our local cultural history. Her immersive work invites us to be more deeply engaged in our city’s vibrant and complex history. Neckles’ installation with its ever-changing shadows and patterns also is a visual delight, and by taking a close and repeated look, we have opportunities to make deeper cultural connections.” — John Haworth, jury chair, Brendan Gill Prize Jury and senior executive emeritus of the National Museum of the American Indian New York, Smithsonian Institution

“I am truly honored to receive the Municipal Art Society Brendan Gill [Prize], which celebrates the many rich layers of history in our vibrant city. New York City is my home. It’s where I grew up, and there’s no better gift than being recognized by my hometown for capturing a part of our origin story. There is something very special about discovering the history of the place where you live and work. That awareness and understanding deepen your sense of belonging to that place; it reminds you that you are part of it and can decide how to help preserve and grow it now and in the future.” — Shervone Neckles, interdisciplinary artist

MASterworks Design Awards

Now in its 25th year, the MASterworks Design Awards recognize projects that exemplify excellence across the municipal arts of architecture, landscape architecture, preservation, and public art. From major civic landmarks to community centers, this year’s projects demonstrate that good design benefits all New Yorkers, contributing to the city’s resiliency, cultural vibrancy, and public health, so that we can work toward a city that is not only affordable, but thriving.

“From the integration of resilient infrastructure to the reimagining of historic landmarks to the thoughtful creation of community centers, I am proud to recognize this broad scale of projects—because good design is more than aesthetics; it is a practical tool that serves and inspires the people who call New York home.” — Keri Butler, president of the Municipal Art Society of New York

HONOREES

Best New Building: The Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center by Studio Gang delivers a 74,000 square foot NYC Parks Department recreation center to the heart of Brooklyn, establishing a social hub with swimming and other sports facilities in addition to educational programming spaces for the East Flatbush and Midwood neighborhoods. The Center’s sculpted form and play with transparency draw community members into the space, supporting health and wellbeing while also illustrating the power of design-build as a model for alternative delivery.

Best New Building: Studio Museum in Harlem by Adjaye Associates is inspired by the masonry architecture of Harlem and its rich artistic and cultural landscape. The design employs a sculptural precast concrete facade to play on familiar architectural tropes of Harlem, such as frames, apertures and doorways. Standing on the Museum’s original site, the building connects Harlem’s cultural legacy to the global art world, reflecting the institution’s mission to support artists of African descent and serve as a civic resource.

Best New Urban Landscape: The Davis Center at the Harlem Meer by Susan T. Rodriguez | Architecture and the Central Park Conservancy replaces an outdated and overbuilt structure with an understated, elegant resource for the local community. In place of the prior Lasker facility, The Davis Center delivers three amenities in one—a pool in the summer, rink in the winter, and green in the spring and fall—restoring the Park’s natural setting while serving Harlem with community-driven programming.

Best New Urban Landscape: Kelly Park Playground, an in-house NYCParks project, reimagines a nondescript hardscape into a dynamic park for the Homecrest neighborhood, providing a balance of areas for open play and specialized use. The park is divided into “children’s zones” and “general public zones” enabling children and their guardians to feel comfortable within the play spaces and providing clear site lines throughout while also offering a multitude of meandering paths and diverse experiences for the community at-large.

“Our latest park amenities are as beautiful as they are innovative, demonstrating how thoughtful design enhances the vibrancy of our public spaces. Our new Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center has a contoured and transparent look featuring mass timber and vibrant colors that welcome visitors — and was created three years faster and ten percent cheaper thanks to design-build. The multi-use Davis Center in Central Park provides a pool and skating rink for the community while restoring the park’s natural setting, while the rejuvenated Kelly Park Playground offers an accessible and engaging playspace for all children,” said NYC Parks Commissioner Tricia Shimamura. “Parks is honored to be recognized by the MASterworks Design Awards, and grateful to our sister agencies and other partners for their collaboration on these projects, which serve as proof that all New Yorkers — regardless of zip code — deserve attractive, high-quality, and affordable amenities.”

Best Restoration: The Frick Collection by Selldorf Architects and Beyer Blinder Belle marks the first comprehensive upgrade of the museum in nearly 90 years, allowing the public to experience more of the original Frick residence while also addressing new programmatic needs with architectural interventions that honor the unique legacy and character of the buildings. Under the leadership of the Frick’s own curatorial team, the restoration of the historic mansion revives Gilded Age splendor while also working within the confines of a tightly constrained footprint to deliver a new exhibition gallery, education spaces, auditorium, and cafe.

Best Restoration: The Waldorf Astoria New York by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill reclaims the original 1931 Schultze and Weaver design from a period of fragmented modernization. As part of the reimagining from hotel to residences, the landmarked lobbies, corridors, and ballrooms have been restored, reestablishing the building as an Art Deco icon upgraded for 21st century use.

Best Adaptive Reuse: The Refinery at Domino by Practice for Architecture & Urbanism (PAU) and Field Operations navigates a complex landmarked site that was constructed as three conjoined structures full of quirks and misalignments. The project transforms the historic sugar refinery into a mixed-use destination by nestling a contemporary curtain wall within the historic masonry facade—a “bottle in a ship”—with a gap in between the old and new that enables daylight, plantings, and views of the original brick facade.

“I am deeply grateful to MAS for bestowing this honor to PAU for our design of Domino, and to so many of our luminously talented friends for their brilliant work. These awards are uniquely transcendent because they recognize far more than the talents of individual designers and firms—they honor the role architecture plays in the renewal and stewardship of our metropolis, and as such they not only elevate design, but celebrate the city.” — Vishaan Chakrabarti, FAIA, founder and creative director, PAU | Practice for Architecture and Urbanism

Best Adaptive Reuse: The Manhattan Pet Adoption Center by Studio Joseph transforms a deteriorated one-story garage into a bright and welcoming community facility that offers a safe haven for dogs, cats, and rabbits awaiting adoption. The colorful steel rainscreen facade illustrates how creative, cost-effective measures can have an outsized impact on our public realm and community spaces.

Best New Urban Amenity: The DUMBO Archway Plaza Bleachers by AECOM modernizes the DUMBO plaza and surrounding streetscape into a contemporary and vibrant urban square by introducing multi-tiered sculptural seating as part of a “folded boardwalk” of bleachers. Inspired by the historic waterfront, the design integrates DUMBO’s industrial heritage into a public amenity that supports a wide range of programming needs and is flexible for performances, gatherings, and general use day and night; demonstrating how small-scale interventions can enliven our public spaces for all.

Best Environmental Innovation: Gowanus Lowlands by SCAPE, Gowanus Canal Conservancy, and NYC Department of City Planning demonstrates how a network of public spaces along the Gowanus Canal can transform the area into an ecologically rich and community-focused canal district. Spurred by the 2019 Gowanus Lowlands Master Plan, these three initial sites—designed to embrace the canal with terraced landforms and floodable tidal shelves—represent a first step toward a connected and restored public realm while also demonstrating exemplary collaboration across City agencies.

Best Public Art Restoration: Exodus and Dance Frieze by Richard Barthé at the Kingsborough Houses undertaken by Jemco Electrical Contractors, EverGreene Architectural Arts, and the New York City Housing Authority is an inspiring culmination of a years-long effort to restore the WPA-era cast-stone frieze from 1939 that had become weathered from decades of harsh conditions and exposure. The restoration project honors the lived history of Kingsborough Houses residents who advocated for the frieze’s preservation, reconnecting the community to its cultural heritage. It also catalyzed NYCHA’s first-ever oral history program, including an artist-in-residence, creating a model for integrating art, history, and programming into the public housing portfolio.

Special Recognition: Gotham Park:The New York City Department of Transportation’s revitalization of Gotham Park brings new life into the forgotten four-acre world beneath the Brooklyn Bridge, including the famed Brooklyn Banks. The brick slopes and curves originally designed for drainage became a rolling landscape adapted into a skateboarding destination. Now, after more than a decade behind barricades, Brooklyn Banks and the surrounding Gotham Park once again function as a daily resource for thousands of New Yorkers, hosting free wellness classes, fostering intergenerational stewardship, and providing a heartbeat of activity for the neighborhood. Gotham Park demonstrates how reimagined infrastructure can become an essential civic amenity.

“Gotham Park is incredibly honored to receive this recognition from the Municipal Art Society. From our very first Jane’s Walk in 2023, Gotham Park has tried to dream about what is possible when thoughtful design and community vision come together to transform overlooked infrastructure into vibrant public space for all New Yorkers. People design cities, but after that, cities design people – what kind of world do we want to build for the next generation of New Yorkers? Gotham Park’s answer is a world of “joy, discovery and resiliency.” — Rosa Chang, co-founder and president, Gotham Park

Special Recognition: PENN 2 by MdeAS Architects and Plaza 33 by MNLA represent steps toward a much-needed transformation of the public realm in and around the Penn Station district. The PENN 2 reconstruction repurposed an existing office tower, avoiding demolition and thereby preserving 54.1 million kgCO2e of embodied carbon and cutting energy use by 28%. At Plaza 33, an expanded, accessible plaza with added seating and green space and partial pedestrianization transform the public realm into a safer, more inviting community hub for Midtown Manhattan.

“The MASterworks honorees demonstrate the extraordinary breadth of design shaping New York City, from the careful restoration of historic landmarks to bold new landscapes and adaptive reuse projects. What stands out amongst all projects is their commitment to civic life. Each project shows how thoughtful design can strengthen communities, reveal the city’s layered history, and create public spaces that are both resilient and deeply engaging for New Yorkers.” — Isabel Castilla, jury member, MASterworks Design Award Jury and associate partner, Field Operations

“The best of architecture is scripting a story of place, community, history, and delight – with vision. In many ways, these awarded projects provide a strong script for our city’s evolving narrative.” — Everardo Jefferson, jury member, MASterworks Design Award Jury; principal and founder, Caples Jefferson Architects PC.

Press Contact: Genevieve Wagner (gwagner@mas.org) cc: Rebecca Macklis (rmacklis@mas.org)