2023 Honor Award
Community Impact
Johnny Hartman Plaza Playful Art Installation
West Harlem, NY
Landscape Architect:
MRC Recreation
Project Team:
Custom Fabrication Incorporated
Annabelle Popa
Hebru Brantley
Amplify
Jennifer Nitzky, RLA, FASLA
The Lego Group
Brotherhood Sister Sol
NYC DOT
Photo Credit(s):
Kevin Killmeier, Custom Fabrication Incorporated

About the Project:
Fly Away Isles was inspired by the playful imaginations of children from a youth community organization through a project sponsored by an international toy company. With a focus on Black and Latinx youth, the non-profit selected is where children claim the power of their history and community to build their future. With a prominent artist, stakeholder organizations invited children to use the ultimate creative medium, building blocks, to express their ideas for how they would help their community play more. Through the collaborative two-way design session, the project developed into a playful art walkway that transformed a city plaza into an immersive playful environment.