On Tuesday, the Society of American Registered Architects (SARA) New York Council announced the winners of this year’s 14th Annual Professional Design Awards.

Selected from over 100 submitted projects by an esteemed jury including Astrid Lipka, Illya Azaroff, Yen Ha, Lyn Rice, Elizabeth R. Lieber, and AN’s co-founder and publisher Diana Darling, the winning designs were singled out for their positive impact on the city’s public realm.

This year’s Medallion of Honor was given to the Friends of the Highline, who were lauded for their successful effort to create the city’s new “park in the sky.”

Morphosis’ Cooper Union Academic Building was named winner of the 2009 Visionary Architecture Award for its innovative design, incorporating the academic programming – art, architecture, and engineering – into the physical structure of the building, and the use of new materials and technology, including a metal mesh and glass skin.

One Bryant Park, designed by Cook+Fox and developed by the Durst Organization received the Project of the Year, awarded to a project that exceeds the common expectation for a building, not only in structure but also in social responsibility. Designated LEED Platinum and currently the largest green building in the United States at 2.2 million square-feet, One Bryant Park features an advanced mechanical system with a three-and-a-half year payback, a grey water collector, and a 4.6 mega-Watt-Co-Gen plant and an Iceberg refrigerant system.

In addition, Awards of Excellence, Merit, and Honor where given out in the categories of Housing, Commercial, Interior Design, Educational/Institutuional, Rehabilitation/Remodeling, The Arts, Urban Design Studies, and Student work. 

SARA’s complete list of all project winners can be found here.