Open Call for Nominations: 2023 MASterworks Awards

Announcement
PlanningPolicyPreservation

Pay tribute to New York City projects that show excellence in architecture and design

June 5, 2023

New York City is filled with architectural beauty and brilliantly designed spaces and buildings. This month, New Yorkers can nominate the best new projects that enhance the city’s public realm for the 2023 MASterworks Awards, held annually by the Municipal Art Society of New York, (MAS).

Established in 2001, the MASterworks Awards pay tribute to projects completed in the previous year that exemplify excellence in architecture and urban design. The call for nominations for the 2023 MASterworks Design Awards is now open to the public.

“Our distinguished jury depends on nominations from the very New Yorkers who know their own neighborhoods best,” said Elizabeth Goldstein, President of the Municipal Art Society. “Each of us has a favorite local building or plaza or nook in a park that makes living in our city such a magical experience. What was your favorite new project of 2022?”

Projects can be nominated in up to two of the following categories:

  • Best New Building, for outstanding architectural design;
  • Best Urban Landscape, for a new or revitalized open space that contributes to livability and resilience;
  • Best Restoration, for a project that expertly enhances the original qualities of a significant historic building or structure;
  • Best Adaptive Reuse, for a project that demonstrates exceptional creativity in adaptive reuse of an existing building or structure;
  • Best New Infrastructure, for distinctive design in public service projects; and
  • Best New Urban Amenity, for an addition to the built environment that contributes to a more livable city.

Nominations were open through Wednesday, July 12th. Email us at events@mas.org with any questions.

Press Contact

Matt Sollars
matt@anatgerstein.com

  • Northeast Bronx YMCA Project Team. Credit: Scott Frances.
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  • Little Island Project Team. Credit: T. Schenck.
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  • Photo Credit: Bruce Damonte.
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  • Credit: Quennell Rothschild & Partners.
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  • Brooklyn Public Library, Central Library Master Plan: Phase 1 Project Team. Photo: Greg Richards.
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  • Photo: Dave Burk & Aaron Fedor © Empire State Development | SOM.
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All nominated projects must be located in New York City and have a completion date during 2022. Nominations should include projects that have made a significant contribution to New York City’s built environment.

The Municipal Art Society’s diverse list of past winners ranges from iconic buildings to hidden neighborhood gems. In 2022, multiple boroughs were represented, from Hudson River Park’s trendy Little Island winning Best Urban Landscape, to Queens’ own classic Fountain of the Fairs Mist Garden taking the title for Best New Urban Amenity.

Every year, MAS convenes an esteemed jury of architects, designers, preservationists, scholars, and critics to select the winners of the MASterworks Awards. This year’s distinguished jury includes:

  • Wellington Chen, Executive Director, Chinatown Partnership
  • Wendy Evans Joseph, MAS Board of Directors and Studio Joseph
  • Signe Nielsen, Founding Principal, Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects (MNLA)
  • Aniket Shahane, Principal of Office of Architecture (OA) and Senior Critic at Yale University School of Architecture

ABOUT MAS

The Municipal Art Society of New York (MAS) lifts up the voices of the people in the debates that shape New York’s built environment and leads the way toward a more livable city from sidewalk to skyline.

MAS envisions a future in which all New Yorkers share in the richness of city life—where growth is balanced, character endures, and a resilient future is secured. Over more than 130 years of history, our advocacy efforts have led to the creation of the New York City Planning Commission, Public Design Commission, Landmarks Preservation Commission, and the Tribute in Light; the preservation of Grand Central Terminal, the lights of Times Square, and the Garment District; the conservation of more than 50 works of public art; and the founding of such civic organizations as the Public Art Fund, the New York Landmarks Conservancy, P.S. 1, the Historic Districts Council, the Park Avenue Armory Conservancy, and the Waterfront Alliance.

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