BOSS, or Built Object for Safety and Security is a magnet design/build project inspired by experiences working with the building industry. Scheduled to begin in the 2011 academic year, the sponsoring industries assigned teams to interact with the students, consult them on their product line and later donate materials for project realization. During the fall semester of 2011, the UG Architecture Department, Industrial Design Department and the Interior Design Department joined forces across Pratt Institute’s Campus to design and develop the project.

The idea behind the project’s theme stem from the desire to improve the appearance of the existing, generic, guard booths that populate the main campus and their performance as the workplace for the security guard. Pratt Institute, as country-wide renown design school, could express what goes on behind the walls of the classrooms, the studios and workshops; research, creativity, experimentation, etc…
The project seemed timely, the preoccupation with minimal space imbued with performance and reduced footprint also aligned with concerns about energy and the environmental impact of building.

After analysis and investigation, the students worked together with the sponsoring industries, familiarized themselves with materials and techniques, and later incorporated them into their design. When the final design was approved, the production stage of the project was presented as an academic internship for students, an opportunity for students to participate and learn about the construction phase of architecture. The project is currently being readied for installation at Pratt’s campus.