The Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center is the winner of the 2026 MASterworks Award for Best New Building!
Thank you to the Municipal Art Society of New York and this year’s jury for this special honor, and to our incredible collaborators at the NYC Department of Design and Construction, NYC Department of Parks & Recreation, our team of consultants, and many more who helped make this project possible.
Read more about this year’s MASterworks Design Awards recipients at the @archpaper link in our bio.
📸: Alexander Severin
The Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center is complete! Named for Brooklyn-born activist, educator, and politician Shirley Chisholm—the first Black woman elected to the U.S. Congress—the Center establishes a welcoming hub for fitness, recreation, learning, and gathering in Brooklyn’s East Flatbush neighborhood.
Preserving and extending the site’s existing recreational uses, the building features a transparent main entrance and large arched windows that invite visitors in while bringing natural light into the interior. Lower levels offer spaces for recreation and exercise, including a double-height competition-grade pool and a gymnasium with a walking track. Daylit spaces for community and education programs on the upper floors lead to a wrap-around rooftop terrace and garden. Openings between floors maximize visual and physical connections between programs, establishing a vibrant and airy atmosphere that welcomes everyone.
Thank you to our collaborators @nycddc , @consigliconstruction , @eklapllc , @thorntontomasetti , @wsp.usa , @atelier_ten , @mckissackofficial , @40sixfourarchitects , @code_nyc , and many more who helped make this project possible.
Read more at the link in our bio.
📸: Alexander Severin
Over the weekend we broke ground on the Marlboro Agricultural Education Center (MAEC), a new hub for multigenerational education, job training, and community leadership in nutrition and urban agriculture!
The new building, located in Brooklyn’s Gravesend neighborhood, brings diverse, community-orientated programs to the western edge of Marlboro Houses. Guided by the mission of its nonprofit operator, The Campaign Against Hunger (TCAH), the Center builds on long running efforts across the city to strengthen food autonomy and security in underserved neighborhoods.
Inside, the greenhouse on the upper level will use a combination of hydroponics and aquaponics to grow nutritious leafy greens that will be distributed to neighbors, used in the teaching kitchen, and eventually sold at local farmers markets. Outside, the design strengthens connections with the surrounding neighborhood and campus through generous sidewalk frontage and large windows that reveal the activities within. A central, accessible entrance and public terrace with plantings and seating invites people to explore the building.
Congratulations to all of our partners @ddcnyc@nychagram@consigliconstruction@eponymouspractice@thorntontomasetti@langanengenv@bala_consulting_engineers@renfrodesigngroup@urban_arborists@vdaglobal@lstnconsultants@code_nyc@karp.strategies@agritecture@prospiant_inc on this exciting milestone!
Very #stoked on these photos of our #yogastudio project for @humming_puppy . Big ups to Marshall and Joseph for getting the space shot and actually sending us the photos (lookin at all you architects who say you’re gonna get it shot but never do 🧐). Check out our website for these and more.
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#Architect: Marshall Shuster, @mesarch.studio
#Designer: Karen Abernathy, @kvabernethy
#Photographer: Joseph Stubin, @mega_pickles
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#architecture #engineering #construction #interiordesign #interiorarchitecture #interior #interiors #fitout #remodel #renovation #commercialdesign #nycfitness #groupfitness #yoga #lightingdesign #fitnessstudio #yogastudios #yogaworkshop #vinyasaflow #hummingpuppy #architecturalphotography #hummingpuppynewyork #engineeringispersonal
We have sort of a running joke/challenge in the office to take photos that are good enough to make the cut for our Instagram page while on #TodaysSurvey or #TodaysPunchlist. The basic criteria are: in-focus, mostly level, decent lighting, good composition, and hopefully some interesting part of the project.
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So unfortunately, none of our 3 engineers on site today took an IG-worthy photo... but luckily the #architect, Marshall (@mesarch.studio ), did and hooked us up with this gem, taken while they were testing the #lighting in the #shala at the forthcoming location of @humming_puppy .
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#Designer: @kvabernethy
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#architecture #engineering #construction #interiordesign #interiorarchitecture #interior #interiors #fitout #remodel #renovation #commercialdesign #nycfitness #groupfitness #yoga #lightingdesign #fitnessstudio #yogastudio #yogaworkshop #vinyasaflow #hummingpuppy #architecturalphotography #hummingpuppynewyork #engineeringispersonal
