Awards2
MacArthur Fellow | Kate Orff, Founding Principal
“Creativity, potential, and a promise for future accomplishments” are the criteria for the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship, also known as a “genius grant.” The Fellows are meant to touch on social challenges and bring exceptional innovation and experimentation to inspire diverse people and places.
Kate Orff joined the MacArthur Fellowship Program’s Class of 2017, becoming the first landscape architect in the Foundation’s 36-year history to be honored with the award. She brings fresh ideas towards new forms of public space, reviving hidden ecological systems and encouraging urban residents to become active stewards in their environment.
National Design Award
In 2019, SCAPE was honored with a National Design Award in landscape architecture by the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Launched by the White House in 2000, the award recognizes excellence and innovation across design fields, and celebrates design as a vital humanistic tool in improving quality of life.
During National Design Week in Fall 2019, SCAPE designers participated in a number of programs at the Smithsonian Design Museum centered around the interactive design of public spaces in New York. On October 17, the SCAPE Principals attended a gala and awards ceremony.
Selected Awards
2023
- ASLA-SERC: Merit Award – General Design, Town Branch Commons
- ASLA-KY: Honor Award – Constructed Work, Town Branch Commons
- ASLA-NY: Merit Award – General Design, Town Branch Commons
- ASLA-NY: Honor Award – Analysis & Planning, Financial District and Seaport Climate Resilience Master Plan
- ASLA-NY: Merit Award – Community Impact, Alafia
- AIA-NYS: Honor Award – Urban Design & Planning, Financial District and Seaport Climate Resilience Master Plan
- ASLA-NJ: Merit Award – Landscape Architectural Planning & Analysis, Resilient New Jersey: Raritan River and Bay Communities
2022
- AIA-NY: Merit Award – Urban Design, Alafia
- LC-ASLA: Merit Award – General Design: Unbuilt Work, Airline Highway Park
- LC-ASLA: Merit Award – Analysis & Planning, McCoy’s Creek Recreation and Restoration Plan
- LC-ASLA: Honor Award – Communications, Our Future Coast
- AIA-NY & ASLA-NY Transportation & Infrastructure Awards: Honor Award – Planning, Financial District and Seaport Climate Resilience Master Plan
- The Architect’s Newspaper: Best of Design, Merit Award – Urban Design & Master Plan, Financial District and Seaport Climate Resilience Master Plan
- Federal Highway Administration (FHWA): Environmental Excellence Award, Town Branch Commons
2021
- AIA Tri-State: Silver Medal – Regional & Urban Design, Greenpoint Library and Environmental Education Center
- SARA National: Design Award of Merit – Urban Design, Spring Creek Connector
- SARA-NY: Merit Award – Urban Design, Spring Creek Connector
- Fast Company: Innovation by Design Award Finalist – Spaces & Places, Greenpoint Library and Environmental Education Center
- AIA-NYS: Merit Award – Institutional, Greenpoint Library and Environmental Education Center
- ASLA-SoCal: Honor Award – Analysis & Planning, Hayward Regional Shoreline Adaptation Master Plan
- ASLA-NY: Honor Award – Analysis, Planning, Research & Communications, Chattahoochee RiverLands
- ASLA-NY: Merit Award – Analysis, Planning, Research & Communications, Our Future Coast
- ASLA-NY: Merit Award – General Design, Greenpoint Library and Environmental Education Center
- ASLA-FL: Honor Award – Analysis & Planning, McCoy’s Creek Recreation and Restoration Plan
- ASLA-KY: Merit Award – Analysis & Planning, Chattahoochee RiverLands
- Boston Society of Landscape Architects (BSLA): Merit Award – Analysis & Planning, Climate Ready Dorchester
- NYCxDesign: Greater Good Award – Social & Environmental Impact, Greenpoint Library and Environmental Education Center
2020
- The Architect’s Newspaper: Urbanist of the Year Award, Kate Orff
- APA-GA: Outstanding Planning Document, Chattahoochee RiverLands
- American Web Design Award, Our Future Coast
- NYC Public Design Commission (PDC): Award for Excellence in Design, Red Hook Library
- Georgia Water Coalition: Clean 13 Award, Chattahoochee RiverLands
- ASLA-NY: Merit Award – General Design, Midtown Center Plaza
2019
- National Design Award, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
- The Architect’s Newspaper: Best of Design, Honor Award – Unbuilt (Cultural), Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts
- The Architect’s Newspaper: Best of Design, Honorable Mention – Unbuilt, First Avenue Water Plaza
- The Architect’s Newspaper: Best of Design, Honorable Mention – Unbuilt, Tom Lee Park
- The Architect’s Newspaper: Best of Design, Honorable Mention – Unbuilt, Pensacola Waterfront Framework Plan
- ASLA Professional Awards: Honor Award – Analysis & Planning, Public Sediment for Alameda Creek
- ASLA-NY: Honor Award – General Design, First Avenue Water Plaza
- ASLA-NY: Honor Award – Analysis, Planning, Research & Communications, Public Sediment for Alameda Creek
- ASLA-NY: Merit Award – General Design, Madison Avenue Plaza
2018
- The Architect’s Newspaper: Best of Design, Honor Award – Representation (Analog), Public Sediment for Alameda Creek
- AIA California Council: Merit Award – Urban Design, Public Sediment for Alameda Creek
- ASLA-NY: Honor Award – Analysis, Planning, Research & Communications, Gowanus Lowlands
- ASLA-NY: Honor Award – General Design, Hall of Science Discovery Terrace
- ASLA-NY: Merit Award – General Design, New York-Presbyterian & Columbia University Medical Campus Joint Master Plan
- Architect Magazine: Progressive Architecture Award, Helen R. Walton Children’s Enrichment Center
- ACEC-NJ: Engineering Excellence Awards, Grand Honor Award, Hudson River RBD
2017
- MacArthur Fellow, Kate Orff
- ASLA Professional Awards: Honor Award – Communications, Toward an Urban Ecology
- SARA National: Design Award of Excellence, Glen Oaks Branch Library
- NYC Public Design Commission (PDC): Award for Excellence in Design, Greenpoint Library and Environmental Education Center
- AIA-NY: Design Award – Best in Competition, Vagelos Education Center
2016
- The Chicago Athenaeum: Good Green Design Award, Battery Park City Community Center Terrace
- The Architect’s Newspaper: Best of Design, Honorable Mention – Temporary Installation, Town Branch Water Walk
- NYC Public Design Commission (PDC): Award for Excellence in Design, Snug Harbor Music Hall
- SARA National: Design Award of Excellence, The Hudson Riverport
- SARA-NY: Merit Award – Urban Design, The Hudson Riverport
- ASLA-NY: Merit Award – General Design, Blake Hobbs Play-Za
- APA-KY: Special Merit Award for Outstanding Use of Technology – Civic Engagement, Town Branch Water Walk
- Urban Land Institute (ULI): Award for Excellence in Development, Harlem RBI Dream Charter School Roofscape
2015
- American Academy of Arts & Letters: National Planning Achievement Award – Environmental Planning, Living Breakwaters
- ACEC-NY: Engineering Excellence Awards, Grand Honor Award, Living Breakwaters
- ASLA-NY: Design Award, Cove Co-Habitat
- ASLA-NY: Design Award, Glen Oaks Branch Library
- ASLA-NJ: Design Award – Site Design, DMAVA Park
- AIA-NY: Honor Award – Urban Design, Beijing Horticultural Expo 2016 Landscape Masterplan
2014
- Buckminster Fuller Challenge: Winner, Living Breakwaters
- Rebuild by Design Competition, U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD): Winner, Living Breakwaters
- ASLA-NY: Design Award – Collaborative Design, NYC SIRR Coastal Protection Plan
- ASLA-NY: Design Award – Unbuilt, Deconstructed Salt Marsh
- Built by Women NYC (BxW NYC): Winner, 103rd Street Community Garden
- The Chicago Athenaeum: American Architecture Award, Glen Oaks Branch Library
- American Architects: Building of the Year, Glen Oaks Branch Library
- NYC-DDC: Design Excellence Award, Glen Oaks Branch Library
- AIA National: Committee on Architecture for Education (CAE) Design Award, PAVE Academy Playscape
- Learning by Design Magazine: Citation of Excellence, Abraham Joshua Heschel School Play Roof
- AIA-NY: Bronze Award of Honor, Abraham Joshua Heschel School Play Roof
2013
- National Academy of Design: National Academician, Kate Orff
- ASLA Professional Awards: Honor Award – Communications, Petrochemical America
- AIA National: Honor Award, Cornell University Milstein Hall
- AIA Houston: Design Award,
2012
- The Architectural League of New York: Emerging Voices Award, Kate Orff
- Zumtobel Group: Awards for Sustainability & Humanity in the Built Environment, Honor Award – Research
- ASLA-NY: Design Award – Collaborative Design, 103rd Street Community Garden
- ASLA-NY: Design Award – Planning, Analysis, Research & Communications, Confluence: Portal to the Point
2008
- ASLA Professional Awards: Honor Award – Communications, Bird-Safe Building Guidelines
2007
- ASLA-NY: Honor Award – Analysis, Planning, Research & Communications, Bird-Safe Building Guidelines
- The Chicago Athenaeum: American Architecture Award
2006
- City of New York Commission on Art: Award of Excellence, Glen Oaks Branch Library
- AIA-NY: Merit Award, Glen Oaks Branch Library