Awards + Medals

The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (JKO) Medal is awarded annually to individuals and organizations that have made an extraordinary impact on the quality of New York’s built environment. The award was established in 1994 to honor Mrs. Kennedy Onassis and her passionate efforts to preserve great architecture in New York City.

The Brendan Gill Prize is given each year to the creator of a specific work—a book, essay, musical composition, play, painting, sculpture, architectural design, film or choreographic piece—that best captures the spirit and energy of New York City.

The prize was established in 1987 in honor of Brendan Gill by friend and fellow MAS board member Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis along with board members Helen Tucker and Margot Wellington.

Selected each year by our esteemed jury, the MASterworks Awards pay tribute to projects that make a significant contribution to New York City’s built environment. From some of the city’s most iconic buildings to inconspicuous local gems, our list of past winners includes the likes of New Lab, the Fulton Center, McCarren Pool, TKTS Booth, the High Bridge, and the Museum at Eldridge Street.

2018 MASterworks Awards

This year’s winning projects were selected by an esteemed jury featuring Dan Allen (Principal, CTA Architects P.C. & President, Historic Districts Council), Amy Freitag (Executive Director, J.M. Kaplan Fund), Amit Khurana (Founding Partner, Sumaida + Khurana & MAS Board of Directors), Alexandra Lange (Architecture Critic, Curbed), and Enrique Norten (Director/Founder, TEN Arquitectos). All nominated projects must be located in New York City and have been substantially completed in 2017.

The 2018 MASterworks Awards will be presented on April 11 at Celebrating the City, our annual awards ceremony.

Learn more about the 2018 Winners and reserve tickets –>

The Jane Jacobs Medal is awarded annually to individuals whose work creates new ways of seeing and understanding New York City, challenges traditional assumptions, and creatively uses the urban environment to make New York City a place of hope and expectation. The Rockefeller Foundation awards the medal. It is administered by MAS through a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation. The award was created in 2007.