Three new additions to the city’s landscape received top honors in this year’s American Institute of Architects Institute Honor Awards for Architecture.
The judges said the National September 11th Memorial Museum, the LeFrak Center ice rink at Prospect Park and the new John Jay College of Criminal Justice building at 11th Avenue and 58th Street were among several other buildings and structures that opened in 2014.
Here’s some of the accolades that the three institutions received.
National September 11th Memorial Museum: After years of design and construction, the museum finally opened in May and the AIA’s jury said the architect Davis Brody Bond achieved a look that honored the memory of those who died.
The jury noted that the foundations of the original towers “create a deeply felt, intuitive connection to the event,” and the descent into the museum’s lower level, which is filled with artifacts, “facilitates each individual’s response to the 9/11 story.”
LeFrak Center at Lakeside Prospect Park: The rink, which is ice during the winter and roller during the spring and summer, gave parkgoers a new attraction without detracting from the other parts of the green space, according to the jury.
“The stonework grounds this facility as a landmark within the park, while the openness of the design itself allows for complete amalgamation with the views and the experience of nature,” the jury wrote.
John Jay College of Criminal Justice: The CUNY school’s 625,000-square-foot building doubled the space of its old facility and created a sleek, modern look.
In addition to the transparent glass and aluminum panels, the building also has green roof.
“Prominently located in midtown Manhattan, the college creates a strong civic presence in a section of the city that is experiencing a renaissance,” the jury said.
