Atelier Ten Receives Four 2026 AIA NY Design Awards

Atelier Ten is pleased to announce 4 award wins at this year’s AIA New York Design Awards.

The Davis Center at the Harlem Meer, Honor Award
The new Davis Center at the revamped Harlem Meer creates a community hub that reconnects Harlem with the rest of Central Park. Atelier Ten developed passive strategies to optimize the pavilion and surrounding site for energy efficiency, water conservation and thermal comfort in New York’s four seasons. Informed by extensive community engagement, the Davis Center prioritizes year round access to nature, recreation and wellness. Atelier Ten worked with the team to optimize the building massing for thermal comfort throughout the year. The new recreation facility is tucked into the landscape, extending the park over the roof and providing thermal mass and passive cooling.

Disney New York City Headquarters, Robert A. Iger Building, Merit Award
Atelier Ten delivered the sustainability vision for the new all-electric Disney NYC HQ building in New York City. The LEED Platinum building occupies a full city block and unites several Disney-owned businesses under one roof. As one of the largest, fully-electric office buildings in New York City, the project exemplifies Disney’s corporate commitment to decarbonization, community health and occupant wellbeing. Atelier Ten established ambitious project goals for energy, water, daylight, and healthy materials. Our recommendations delivered exceptional results in design—estimating 33% energy cost savings for Core & Shell and 23% for Interiors.

Garden House at The Packer Collegiate Institute, Merit Award
As New York’s first mass timber school, the Garden House combines natural materials and passive systems to create a healthy, human-centered environment for early learning. The all-electric addition to the renovated nineteenth-century brownstone incorporates high-performance insulation, daylight-responsive lighting, and efficient HVAC systems. Atelier Ten worked with WXY and The Packer Collegiate Institute to bring the sustainability vision to life in both the school’s 2022 Facilities Master Plan and in the Garden House. Through careful material selection, reduced material quantities, and reuse strategies, the project significantly lowered embodied carbon emissions. Atelier Ten led daylight analysis to optimize the school for comfort and visual quality. Light wells bring daylight into below grade spaces and lighter interior finishes amplify the natural light. Interior blinds mitigate glare during peak sun hours.

South Battery Park City Resiliency Project, Merit Award
Designed to protect New York City from future storms and sea level rise, the South Battery Park City Resiliency Project, along with other Lower Manhattan Resiliency Projects are a model for resilient urban planning. Atelier Ten led the design team through the Waterfront Edge Design Guidelines (WEDG) and ILFI Zero Carbon certification processes to create an elevated waterfront esplanade featuring a zero-carbon pavilion. Atelier Ten established a framework focused on resilience, ecology, accessibility, and carbon reduction which informed key design strategies. The project integrates a flood barrier, low-carbon concrete, stormwater capture and reuse, salvaged materials, heat-reflective paving, dark sky-compliant solar lighting, four ecological zones with native plantings, efficient irrigation reducing water use by over 30%, and an educational marine habitat.