2009 DESIGN AWARDS WINNERS PRESS RELEASE

The Society of American Registered Architects New York Council is proud to announce the winners of the 14th Annual Professional Design Awards.

This year’s winners display a wide spectrum of talent and passion with different ways to engage design and with the common thread that all have contributed to our neglected res publica.

The Friends of the Highline have been awarded the Medallion of Honor.

For not only did they succeed in preserving an historic structure; they have created a new public “park in the sky” which has spurred the rezoning of West Chelsea, precipitating it’s transformation from a barren industrial wayside to a verdant, vibrant and popular cultural, commercial and residential area.

The New Cooper Union Academic Building designed by Morphosis has been awarded the Visionary Architecture Award.

This building is not only groundbreaking in its design and use of new materials and technology; Morphosis has created a new paradigm for academic buildings that engage the environment both within and without. The design and structure embody a new spirit of collaboration, which is beginning to be evident in the professions and is physically expressed in the intermingling of architects, engineers, and artists who will inhabit this new structure.

One Bryant Park designed by Cook+Fox and developed by the Durst Organization has received the Project of the Year Award.

This building is the physical manifestation of the Durst’s commitment to the public and their environment. The public’s relationship with this structure is beautifully choreographed whether they originate from Grand Central or Times Square or Bryant Park itself. The developers commitment to the environment is recognized by this buildings LEED Platinum rating and the fact that it is currently the largest green building in the United States at 2.2 million Square feet.