News
Press Release: QueensWay Plan Winner of Two Design Awards
March 12th, 2015
New York, NY – Two leading design organizations this week recognized the firms behind the QueensWay for their work on the project’s conceptual design plan – the QueensWay Plan. DLANDstudio Architecture + Landscape Architecture and WXY architecture + urban design received a Merit Award from the American Society of Landscape Architects, New York Chapter (ASLA-NY), and a Merit Award for Urban Design from the American Institute of Architects, New York Chapter (AIA-NY).
The Annual Design Awards held by ASLA, New York recognizes design excellence in the field of landscape architecture, and AIA-NY’s annual Design Awards recognizes outstanding architectural design.
The Trust for Public Land and Friends of the QueensWay congratulated the design teams for their award winning work on behalf of the project.
The Trust for Public Land’s Marc Matsil said: “We are proud to have worked along side DLANDstudio and WXY on the QueensWay Plan, and congratulate them on these two very distinguished awards. It’s a great honor to be recognized by your peers, and we look forward to their work helping to pave the way towards building New York’s next great park.”
Friends of the QueensWay said: “We congratulate DLANDstudio and WXY for these well-deserved awards. We witnessed firsthand their incredible talent, professionalism and expertise and there is no question that the future success of the QueensWay – and its extraordinary public benefits – will be the result of their impressive work.”
The QueensWay Plan was the result of a yearlong community engagement process, which resulted in a study that serves as a blueprint for the QueensWay. The 3.5 mile long QueensWay will follow abandoned railroad tracks and will provide safe, easy access to Forest Park; new recreation opportunities for the 322,000 people living within a mile; a boost to local businesses, and a high-profile showcase for the most culturally diverse borough of New York City.
Susannah Drake, FASLA AIA Founding Principal Dlandstudio PLLC Architecture and Landscape Architecture, said: “The QueensWay is a grass roots initiative that leverages the many strengths of surrounding neighborhoods with a new park that is all about connecting diverse communities to share great food, culture, recreation and nature.”
Adam Lubinsky, Managing Principal of WXY architecture + urban design, said: “It was an honor to work with the Trust for Public Land, the Friends of the QueensWay and our design partner DLANDstudio in unlocking the potential of one of New York’s hidden gems. The QueensWay will be a place unlike any other in the five boroughs, and will open up Queens to a variety of new experiences and opportunities.”
The QueensWay has been endorsed by a large number of community groups, civic-organizations and Queens elected officials, including Congressman Joseph Crowley (D-Queens, the Bronx); Congresswoman Grace Meng (D-Queens); New York State Senator Toby Ann Stavisky (D-Flushing); New York Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi (D-Queens); and New York City Council Member Karen Koslowitz (D – Queens).
For more information and the view the QueensWay Plan in full, visit www.thequeensway.org.