'Masterworks' of Architecture, Urban Design Honored

A mixed bag of styles and projects are being honored today with the Municipal Arts Society's annual MASterwork Awards, including two office towers designed by architectural titans, the Floating Pool in Brooklyn, and a restored synagogue that was converted into a Lower East Side museum.

The president of the Municipal Arts Society, Kent Barwick, who will announce the winners today, said this year's prizes were awarded to projects that are situated in places that just a few years ago would not have been viable sites for development. "And that says a lot about the architectural and design energy and vitality and where it is appropriate to build things," he said.

Launched in 2001, the MASterwork Awards recognize excellence in architecture and urban design. This year's judges included the chief executive of Tishman Speyer, Jerry Speyer; the founding partner of Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners, John Belle; the executive director of the American Institute of Architects' New York Chapter, Fredric Bell; a partner in SHoP Architects, Gregg Pasquarelli, and a partner in Li/Saltzman Architects, Judith Saltzman.

The winners for Best New Buildings were Renzo Piano's New York Times Building on Eighth Avenue and Frank Gehry's IAC Building on the far West Side. The New York Times Building was recognized for its "innovative green technology and public space for commercial office towers," while the IAC Building was lauded for its "billowing white sails along the Hudson River" that serves as "a beacon for the architectural renaissance of the West Chelsea waterfront."

In the category for Best Historic Restoration, the Diane von Furstenberg Studio Headquarters — a six-story building wedged between two historical, landmark facades on 14th Street and Washington Street in Manhattan's meatpacking district — was recognized for "restoring the façades and cast-iron columns of the buildings."

The Eldridge Street Synagogue, which has been restored and reopened as the Museum at Eldridge Street, was recognized for its "expert craftsmanship" and the "painstaking care" exercised to restore the 19th-century synagogue into a museum that maintains the "original design and function while preserving the effects of time."

The winners for Best Neighborhood Catalyst, described by Mr. Barwick as projects that "bring value to undervalued assets," included the Floating Pool, which spent last summer at the Brooklyn Bridge Park, and the New Museum. The pool was acknowledged for "drawing in visitors from the borough and beyond," while the New Museum was touted as a "catalyst for the burgeoning contemporary art scene on the Lower East Side."

Mr. Belle, who said the winners were reflective of what he described as "explosive" development that is occurring across New York City, was particularly impressed with the Floating Pool.

"What a great idea to take an amenity to communities that did not have the luxuries that more affluent people had, like access to the swimming pool. In the 1920s and 1930s, there were active program of public works, one of which was swimming pools," he said.

In a statement, Mr. Speyer said the jury engaged in an "extremely animated exchange" and also noted the diversity of the submissions, which, "in and of itself, is a great thing for New York," he said.

The awards ceremony will take place the evening of May 15 at the IAC Building.