524 Myrtle Ave., Floors 4+5
New Home of the Department of Digital Arts
(2010)

The Department will feature state of the art Digital Studios, a green screen/mocap facility, experimental media space, audio recording studio, graduate studio spaces and a 2D/3D printing facility.

The building, to be located on the currently vacant site at 524 Myrtle Avenue, one block from the main campus, will be a 120,000-square-foot, mixed-use structure. The building will incorporate several green features including a landscaped roof to help insulate the building and prevent water runoff, photovoltaic solar panels, and a geothermal climate control system. The North façade is highly insulated and finished in brick and glass, in order to complement the 19th century commercial architecture of Myrtle Avenue without imitating it. On the South side, a glazed wall with ultra high-performance clear and translucent glass and solar shading is designed to bring daylight into the building year round, while keeping summer heat out.

The new building will house the Department of Digital Arts as well as administrative offices and will further extend Pratt’s presence on Myrtle Avenue, where Prattstore is located at the corner of Myrtle and Emerson.

Programs and offices to be located in 524 Myrtle include student services, which will include the offices of admissions, financial aid, the bursar, and the registrar; The Pratt Center for Community Development, formerly PICCED ; the offices of the Institute’s Division of Development; the Department of Digital Arts and the Digital Arts Lab; and studios for graduate students.

The design firm selected by Pratt for the project, Studio A and WASA, is a multi-disciplinary architectural and engineering firm. The firm’s director of sustainable design and the point person for this project, Tony Daniels, is one of New York City’s best known experts in sustainable architecture.