Archinect - News

Pratt Institute is searching for a new Chairperson for Graduate Architecture

2024-12-18T08:56:00-05:00

Following our previous look at an opening for a Preservation Architect at Architectural Preservation Studio, DPC, we are using this week’s edition of our Job Highlights series to explore an open role on Archinect Jobs for a Chairperson of Graduate Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Urban Design at The Pratt Institute School of Architecture.

The role, based in New York, calls for a “dynamic and visionary leader with outstanding communication, listening, and organizational skills who will build upon the strengths of the existing programs to serve as Chairperson for the Graduate Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Urban Design (GA/LA/UD) department.” The successful candidate will provide academic, curricular, and administrative leadership, as well as work with faculty to establish a vision for the department and each program. Among the required qualifications is a professional degree in architecture and at least five years of college-level teaching experience.

Related on A...

Get Lectured: Pratt Institute, Fall '24

2024-09-16T08:19:00-04:00

The Pratt School of Architecture has shared its public lecture information as part of our Fall 2024 Get Lectured look at what’s in store for the new academic year.

The action begins with a panel discussion on the life and work of pioneering architect Debora Reiser on September 12th, followed by another concerning the 17 U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on September 18.

Another conversation with Lydia Kallipoliti on September 19th on 'Our Dirty Footprint' precedes the start of Climate Week NYC, which ends in the September 30 conversation 'Design Advocated' featuring Michael K. Chen and five other practitioners. Alejandro Echeverri presents a lecture on equitable design efforts in his hometown of Medellín on October 10. Following that, a conversation on the intersection of artificial intelligence and Indigenous design between Dr. Harriet Harriss and Vicki Weiner takes place on October 29.

Next, a lecture from Keller Easterling will be presented by the Master of Landscape Arc...

Pratt Institute Partners with Creative AI Academy to Revolutionize Corporate Learning with Cutting-Edge Digital Credentials

2024-09-13T08:30:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by Pratt, an Archinect Partner School

New York, NY – August 2, 2024 – Pratt Institute’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies has announced an exciting new partnership with Creative AI Academy, a leader in AI-driven design education. This collaboration marks a significant advancement in corporate learning and training by integrating Pratt Institute’s prestigious credentials with Creative AI Academy’s bespoke curriculum development.

Pratt Institute, known for its rigorous academic standards, will issue digital credentials that validate the skills gained, while Creative AI Academy, with its industry-leading expertise in AI and design, will craft the tailored training programs to ensure they meet the specific needs of corporate clients. The innovative AI focused curricula, meticulously developed and delivered by Creative AI Academy, will provide cutting-edge learning experiences that meet the evolving needs of today’s businesses.

Pratt Institute, con...

Pratt's School of Architecture Fall programming features RUR, Deborah Berke, Curry J. Hackett, and return of Climate Week NYC

2024-09-06T12:48:00-04:00

This Fall semester at the Pratt Institute School of Architecture, check out the slate of upcoming events and speakers coming to Brooklyn as part of our look at what our Archinect Partner Schools have planned.

The term begins with a timely reflection on the influential seven-decade career of the late pioneering female architect Debora Reiser on September 12th at 6:15 pm in Higgins Hall. Featuring Jesse Reiser and Nanako Umemoto, Deborah Berke, and others, the event will stage a series of five-minute talks in celebration of her life in architecture and is followed by the kick-off of Climate Week NYC.

Deborah Berke. Photo: Winnie Au, courtesy Deborah Berke Partners.

That includes a September 23rd panel discussion hosted by the MS in Sustainable Environmental Systems and a September 28th walking tour of North Brooklyn. September will also see the start of Adaptations 2.0 Island(ing), which features a September 24th panel discussion from the Admiral's House on Governors Island. Pratt's ...

Pratt SoA Dean Quilian Riano outlines plan to address space challenges with proposed new building

2024-05-30T14:43:00-04:00

In a new letter to faculty members at the Pratt School of Architecture, second-year Dean Quilian Riano has outlined the need for some $71 million worth of deferred maintenance and other upgrades to the 155-year-old Higgins Hall in keeping with the new Local Law 97 mandate for net zero operating capacity by 2050. This includes $57 million for maintenance and upgrades, plus an additional $14 million to increase the electrical capacity.

Local Law 97 requires new energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions limits, with a goal of a 40% reduction by 2030 and achieving net zero by 2050. Additionally, Higgins Hall has maxed out its Floor Area Ratio (FAR) and electrical capacity.

As a result, Riano said, the school must expand into a new building to accommodate its growing student body. A Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEI) will now be issued to developers. This process will explore leveraging Pratt Institute’s air rights to build housing, including affordable housing, and deliver ...

Pratt Institute launches new Center for Climate Adaptation aimed at researching resiliency solutions for island cities

2024-03-13T14:28:00-04:00

Pratt Institute has announced the creation of the new Center for Climate Adaptation (CCA). The initiative is part of its alignment with The New York Climate Exchange, a consortium of research institutions that will use Governor’s Island as its hub for climate change investigations and education. David Erdman, an associate professor in the Graduate Architecture and Urban Design (GAUD) program, will lead the center as its first Director.

Pratt says the new CCA is aimed partially at protecting global island cities such as New York and Singapore. The focus expands on the United Nations Archipelago Agenda and will include experts taken from every subfield of architecture and urban design. Pace University and Singapore University of Technology and Design have signed on as academic partners in the initiative as well.

The school's President, Frances Bronet, stated: “The Center combines our deep engagement with the local community and global networks, and our collaborative approach to critic...

Get Lectured: Pratt Institute, Spring ‘24

2024-02-01T12:46:00-05:00

The Pratt Institute School of Architecture has shared its public lecture series details as part of our Get Lectured look at the different events taking place on campus this Spring term.

The semester continues with the previous term’s theme of "cohabitations." The school shares: "Cohabitations is both a descriptive adjective, a qualifying adverb and a transitive verb that calls us all to action. We hope that in reflecting on this term this year, we foster spirited discussion and exchanges across our community and the communities in which we find ourselves as cohabitors."

Los Angeles-based studioSUMO founder J. Yolande Daniels starts things off with her February 1 lecture, followed by Michael Maltzan’s delivery of the annual Syrop Lecture on February 15. Professor Giuliano Fiorenzoli speaks next on February 22, preceding a visit from SITE's James Wines on March 21. REX founder Joshua Ramus will come to campus after Wines to discuss the new Perelman Performing Arts Center and other pro...

Pratt Institute announces first 'Diverse Voices Creating Just Futures' cluster hire aimed at institutional change

2023-12-05T17:04:00-05:00

Today, the Pratt Institute has announced the launch of a new cluster hire initiative aimed at recruiting diverse faculty to each of the five degree-granting schools on its Brooklyn, New York campus.

Through “Diverse Voices Creating Just Futures,” Pratt believes it will create transformational learning experiences for all students as was outlined in the All-Institute Learning Goals from 2021.

Five new tenure-track assistant professors will be appointed to schools of Architecture, Art, Design, Information, and Liberal Arts and Sciences, respectively. There, they will focus on a broad range of special academic program areas, including Film/Video, Undergraduate Architecture, Interior Design, and the History of Art and Design. Pratt says the cohort will be brought together and provided with support for their scholarly and creative endeavors, in addition to being able to collaborate with each other on multidisciplinary research and other special projects.

Related on Archinect: Quilian Ri...

Applying to Pratt Institute's School of Architecture Graduate Programs? Check out upcoming open house and info sessions!

2023-10-17T12:50:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by Pratt Institute School of Architecture, an Archinect Partner School

The M.ARCH, MLA, MSARCH, & MSUD programs at Pratt are dedicated to the pursuit of design inquiry across complex and evolving fields of study. Our goal is to cultivate our students’ ability to ask challenging questions that deepen their understanding of building and living environments. Together, we work across design practices, professions, and disciplines to meet the challenges and opportunities of our times.

Information Sessions

Pratt Institute Graduate Architecture and Urban Design (GAUD) Information Session

Date: Wednesday, October 18, 2023 | 6:00-7:30 pm ET (Zoom)
Details: This virtual information session hosted by Pratt GAUD will give prospective students interested in the Master of Architecture, Master of Landscape Architecture, MS Architecture, and MS Urban Design programs the opportunity to learn more about the programs and application requirements. Each session includes an ov...

Get Lectured: Pratt Institute, Fall '23

2023-08-29T11:56:00-04:00

*Editor's note: The date for Neil Brenner's seminar has been updated.

With classes back in session, it’s time once again for our Get Lectured series to look at what’s happening this semester at the Pratt Institute School of Architecture in Brooklyn.

Events this year are organized to answer the essential question: “How do we live together and share our built environment?” under the uniting theme of “cohabitations.”

The school shares: “Across the SoA, our students, staff, and faculty work deeply in looking at the design, planning, and management of affordable and equitable housing, structures that serve the public, as well as how to improve public space design and use — all while considering environmental justice and social equity. cohabitations is a school-wide provocation to bring together the work of our community — across our four departments of the School of Architecture — around this question.”

The Fall term begins on Thursday, September 14, with a lecture from former Columbia GS...

Alexa Kasdan appointed Executive Director of the Pratt Center for Community Development

2023-07-31T12:27:00-04:00

The Pratt Center for Community Development has appointed Alexa Kasdan as its new executive director, effective September 1, 2023. Kasdan will bring to the role “two decades of experience in participatory research and policy advocacy to the role, along with the ability to leverage strong partnerships within the philanthropic community.”

As executive director of the Center, Kasdan will oversee the institution’s professional staff and coordinate with Pratt Institute faculty, students, and staff to “facilitate community-led planning, applied research, and public policy advocacy to help local organizations challenge and overcome systemic inequities.”

Kasdan's academic qualifications include a master's degree in public policy from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and a bachelor’s degree in political science and African-American studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her policy and research career began at Community Voices Heard (CVH), working with women of color and low-i...

2023 summer programs from Archinect School Partners offer pathways to an architectural education

2023-05-31T13:03:00-04:00

Interested in exploring a career in architecture and design but want to develop foundational skills and grow your design portfolio? Below are featured architecture summer programs from our Archinect Partner Schools that are still accepting applications!

These nine summer programs are offered for kids, high school students, recent high school graduates, and adults. The courses and workshops listed below offer participants, even those without prior design experience, access to the fundamentals of an architectural education. Our list also includes programs for those with existing backgrounds adjacent to architecture looking to explore specific topics with a design emphasis.

SCI-Arc presents...

DID 2022 cohort works on "Make it COOL" shade structures on SCI-Arc campus. Image courtesy of SCI-Arc.

Design Immersion Days (DID) - Los Angeles, CA (In-Person)
Dates: June 10 – July 14

Details: "Design Immersion Days (DID) is an immersive four-week summer program that introduces high school stud...

This summer explore Pratt Institute's Architecture Immersion Studio

2023-05-18T09:00:00-04:00

This post is brought to you by Pratt Institute, an Archinect School Partner

This summer, Pratt Institute's Immersion Studio welcomes students and professionals to explore a career in architecture! This architectural fundamentals course is taught by the Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Design faculty and is geared toward professionals and students interested in attending graduate architecture school.

Through a series of virtual studio sessions and lectures, the course introduces students to a series of design approaches to conceptualize architectural investigations using the most current techniques, including visualization.

Images courtesy of Joelle Danant, Pratt SCPS.

Students typically receive one-to-one technical instruction, such as digital modeling, drawing representation, and rendering. The work will culminate in a virtual design exhibition with invited Pratt faculty and will be documented in an individually developed portfolio that prepares students to apply for grad...

Upcoming academic events and exhibitions from Archinect Partner Schools in NYC, LA, New Orleans, and virtual

2023-05-17T14:12:00-04:00

As architecture schools everywhere prepare for end-of-year reviews, final exhibitions, and commencement ceremonies, below is a selection of upcoming events from a few of our Archinect Partner Schools.

Pratt Institute School of Architecture hosts...

Image courtesy of A Rising Tide.

Celebrating Asian & Pacific Islander Design
Date: Thursday, May 18, 6–8 pm
Details: "Join A Rising Tide, and AAPI Design Alliance for an event during NYCxDESIGN to celebrate Asian and Pacific Islanders in design. Hosted by the Pratt Institute School of Architecture, this event, timed to coincide with Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, will feature short presentations by emerging API design firms and a networking hour for interior designers, architects, makers, and landscape architects. Reception will feature API-founded drink and snack companies." Pratt SOA is one of the event's sponsors. Read more here.

New York Institute of Technology School of Architecture and Design presents...

Image cour...

Quilian Riano named dean of Pratt School of Architecture

2023-05-08T20:47:00-04:00

The Pratt Institute’s School of Architecture has just announced the appointment of urban designer and academic Quilian Riano as its new Dean.

Riano, who has been serving as the school’s Interim Dean since last August, will officially step into the role on May 8th. He joined Pratt’s faculty as an Assistant Dean in 2021 after previous teaching positions at Kent State University, Columbia, Syracuse, and Boston’s Wentworth Institute of Technology, among other campuses. Riano is also a board member of the Architectural League of New York, and holds degrees in architecture from both the Harvard GSD and University of Florida.

An advocate for design equity, social justice, and fair labor practices within the architecture industry, Riano was an active writer, collaborator, and former senior editor for Archinect in its early days. Some of his writings include his popular blog post "Design and Agency" and his 2016 feature "Gaming the System: role-playing spatial and political change," among ...

Get Lectured: Pratt Institute, Spring '23

2023-03-15T15:40:00-04:00

Our Archinect Get Lectured series continues today with a look at the remaining events taking place this spring at the Pratt School of Architecture.

The semester has already included presentations from Kenneth Frampton on February 1 and several symposiums such as the Black Live(s) and Black Space(s): Care, Community Housing event on February 23, the Investing in Black Brooklyn event on February 27, Branching the Civic event on March 9, and Community Planning and Progress toward Economic Democracy symposium on March 10.

A book talk on the topic of water politics in Francoist Spain featuring author Ana Amado will take place on March 20 followed by the Condensations: Designing in Water Conference from March 23 thru March 25.

Events continue with the GCEP Spring Lectures series, which takes place thru March and April. Speakers like Nando Rodriguez of the New York-based nonprofit Brotherhood SisterSol, writer Mike Lydon of Street Plans, and Leslie Davol, the co-founder and Executive Direct...

Pratt School of Architecture announces Harriet Harriss will be stepping down as Dean

2022-07-26T15:40:00-04:00

Pratt Institute Provost Donna Heiland has announced the departure of Harriet Harriss as the School of Architecture's dean in an email sent to the Pratt community. Harriss was the second female dean to lead the school after Frances Halsband, who served from 1991–94.

While a response from Harriss hasn't been provided to the public, Provost Heiland commented: "I write to share the news that, after three years leading the School of Architecture, Dean Harriet Harriss will — prior to the fall semester — transition into a leave to pursue research and will subsequently join the faculty," adding, "This transition will allow her [Harriss] to focus on advancing her expertise in the intersection of climate justice pedagogy, practice, and policy in service to the School's strategic agenda and strength in this area."

At the beginning of her tenure as dean in 2019, I had the chance to chat with Harriss for Archinect's Deans List series. We discussed her pedagogical stance on architectural educatio...

Pratt Institute names Stephen Slaughter new chair of undergraduate architecture

2022-01-13T13:30:00-05:00

The Pratt Institute has named Stephen Slaughter as their new chair of undergraduate architecture. Slaughter, who is currently a visiting associate professor at Pratt’s Graduate Architecture and Urban Design Program, will assume the role on July 1st 2022.

In his new position, Slaughter will oversee a department of 700 students and 180 faculty, leading a program that has been ranked among the top ten of its kind in the United States every year since 2000 by DesignIntelligence.

“I am thrilled to step into this role at Pratt and look forward to engaging with the community to push forward critical conversations about inclusivity in the fields of architecture and design,” Slaughter said. “Architecture is for everyone and in educating the next generation of architects, I hope to instill this idea. Exuberance, joy, and beauty in design are what I care most deeply about—and that it can be for all.”

Pratt students build structures to visualize the impacts and building potential of plastic waste

2022-01-06T10:45:00-05:00

In an effort to represent the toll plastic waste has on the environment, a group of undergraduate architecture students from the Pratt Institute have constructed a series of inflatable structures that put into physical form the research they say simultaneously demonstrates the potential for its reduction and reuse as a building material.

The project was completed through Pratt’s d.r.a. Lab, which is overseen by professors Duks Koschitz and Robert Lee Brackett III. Together with their instructors, the 5-person team worked to test out different techniques useful in the development of walls, tubes, and domes that can be used in a variety of self-supporting structures. The students were then able to install the structures outside of Pratt’s library in order to display the distinctive role of each design.

The Plastic Confusion. Image courtesy Robert Lee Brackett III.

The first design, titled “Super Maxi” organized a network of portals into a unique viewing platform that offers different ...

Influential New York architect Stephen B. Jacobs has passed away at 82

2021-12-24T16:39:00-05:00

Sad news this holiday as Real Estate Weekly is reporting that industry icon Stephen B. Jacobs has passed away last week at the age of 82.

Jacobs was a Holocaust survivor who went on to become one of New York’s most influential architects.

Born in Lodz in June of 1939, Jacobs was interned at Buchenwald and credited an underground resistance group with his survival.

“I have fleeting memories,” Jacobs said of his experience. “I have memories that are not chronological, particularly the last few weeks because that was a very traumatic and dangerous time because they were trying to liquidate the camp.”

After being liberated, Jacobs moved with his family to Washington Heights in Manhattan, where he went on to study at the Art Students League of New York before eventually enrolling at the Pratt Institute, where he earned his Master’s degree in Architecture in 1965.

Jacobs enjoyed an illustrious and multifaceted career which began in the offices of Whittlesey, Conklin and Rossant and was...

Pratt Institute's Julia van den Hout joins Art Omi as Curator and Program Director

2021-10-22T12:29:00-04:00

The Pratt Institute’s Julia van den Hout has been appointed Architecture Curator and Program Director of upstate New York sculpture center Art Omi.

A dual SVA and NYU alumna, van den Hout is the founder of Orginal Copy and also the co-founder and editor of CLOG, an active online forum with 13 published digital issues. She had previously served as Press Director at Steven Holl Architects until 2014 and has been a visiting professor at Pratt since 2019.

At Omi, van den Hout will be responsible for the curation of the Sculpture & Architecture Park and indoor exhibitions program in addition to overseeing the institution’s two-week Art Omi: Architecture Residency program, which is still currently accepting applications for the upcoming Summer 2022 cycle. (van den Hout had previously curated exhibitions at Omi, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Center for Architecture/AIANY).

“I...

Pratt School of Architecture announces Quilian Riano as its new Assistant Dean

2021-07-07T19:12:00-04:00

Pratt Institute has announced the appointment of its new Assistant Dean Quilian Riano. As an architect, urban designer, researcher, and writer, his work explores architecture's relationship to design justice, anti-racist pedagogy, and urban design strategies that address socio-political issues. Riano’s decade in academia as a teacher in graduate and undergraduate studies in architecture, urban design, and interdisciplinary design has aided in the development of leading studios and design collectives that interrogate architecture and its current pedagogy.

Architecture Lobby members Quilian Riano and Peggy Deamer stage a performance of the organization’s 10-point manifesto at the 2014 AIA National Convention. Courtesy Quilian Riano 2016.

As the Assistant Dean, Riano will be working closely with Pratt School of Architecture Dean Dr. Harriet Harriss. His focus will be on "all four of the school's departments to help develop and amplify the research-driven, spatial outcomes with real-wor...

Countryside: The Future and the Past

2021-01-26T20:48:00-05:00

It is no exaggeration to say that our present is the future that Dorothea Lange’s images foretold. The crisis of agriculture in the face of toxic capitalism and climatic disaster that is at the center of her famous photographs might also have served to focus and sharpen "Countryside: The Future," where it is occasionally a subject but more often merely an unstated subtext.

In "Countryside: The Future and the Past," Deborah Gans reviews Countryside: The Future, at the Guggenheim Museum, the multimedia culmination of years of interdisciplinary, globe-spanning research led by OMA's Rem Koolhaas and Samir Bantal, director of its think tank, AMO, alongside Dorothea Lange: Words and Pictures, curated by Sarah Hermanson Meister at the Museum of Modern Art, the first solo show devoted to the celebrated documentary photographer in more than half a century.

Although the exhibitions are very different in scale, ambition, and emotional tenor, each is propelled by the efforts of vastly different urban artists and professionals to document and comprehend historical transformations in rural life. Together they offer an intriguing counterpoint: one body of work is determined to remain detached; the other is driven by political commitment.

What will the future of architectural education look like?

2020-10-15T14:47:00-04:00

It's safe to say that nobody knows what the future of architectural education will be. These days it's hard to know what next month will bring us. Few people would argue, however, that academia is ripe for change, as are many facets of modern life that have not evolved at the pace the world has changed in recent decades.

To address this necessary change, we invite you to join us for a special discussion this upcoming Monday, from 1-2 pm EST / 10-11 am PST, featuring a distinguished panel of leaders of architectural education. Deans from across the country will be addressing, head-on, the change they hope to see, and the challenges they currently face to make that change.

To RSVP for this virtual panel, please click the "reserve" button at this link. Space is limited and registration is required to attend.

The Panelists

Hernán Díaz Alonso has been the director of the Southern California Institute of Architecture since 2015, where is held the position of distinguished faculty membe...

Cocoon-shaped lamp made from plastic bags wins Pratt Institute School of Design 2020 Material Lab Prize

2020-08-26T20:00:00-04:00

The inaugural Material Lab Prize is an initiative that aims to foster the study of materials and material reuse. A $1k grant is given to the student that best exemplifies innovative ways to reuse and redesign waste. According to Pratt, "the prize seeks to celebrate and exhibit student work that re-envisions the design process and considers waste streams as a springboard for new design thinking."

"Cocoon" by Sophia Yimeng Sun. Image courtesy of Pratt Institute's Material Lab

This year's grand prize winner was awarded to Sophia Yimeng Sun (MID ’21) and her project "Cocoon." Sun used HDPE plastic bags to create pleated lampshades. She shares with Material Lab that the project, "reuses waste plastic bags, and provokes minds to contemplate how we deal with waste. I named this project COCOON, not only because it visually compliments a cocoon, but also the project is an homage to 'rebirth.'"

(L) "Homeware Using N...

Pratt School of Architecture launches Kathryn and Kenneth Chenault Scholarship to support student diversity

2020-08-04T16:45:00-04:00

Pratt Institute School of Architecture announced in late July the launch of the Kathryn and Kenneth Chenault Scholarship, an initiative started by Pratt Board of Trustee member Kathryn Chenault and her husband Kenneth to "support diversity in the School of Architecture."

The school has selected three incoming undergraduate students to receive funding from the initiative, which has been launched with an initial $1 million endowment.

The three students are:

Fatoumata Diallo from Columbus, OH
Ariana Dillon from Pembroke Pines, FL
Rylee Ferguson from Coppell, TX

Pratt School of Architecture Dean Harriet Harris shares in a statement, "A Pratt education empowers students to use their creativity and talent to make positive change in the world with a curriculum focused on key real-world issues from climate change to growing inequality and a goal of graduating a new generation of socially-engaged, inclusive architects and designers.”

With talk of diversifying student and faculty representat...

Pratt School of Architecture to offer free “continuing education” courses online

2020-04-24T18:14:00-04:00

In response to COVID-19, the Pratt Institute School of Architecture is partnering with AIA Brooklyn to offer four free AIA-accredited continuing education courses. The course offerings are due to launch on April 29th and will offer "dialogue on current topics like affordable housing during a pandemic as well as in-demand technical training."

"Our intention is to show our solidarity with our extended architecture community by offering free classes to professionals that can be accessed remotely," said Harriet Harriss, dean of the School of Architecture, in a statement. "Thanks to our partnership with AIA Brooklyn, architects can earn the vital credits they need to complete the CPD requirements necessary to maintain registration."

Moreover, Marshal Shuster, director of continuing education at AIA Brooklyn expressed the organization's commitment to advancing the profession through this pandemic and beyond. The course offerings have been dubbed the "Executive Education Series" and focus ...

"Mistresses of Pratt" honors the legacy of female educators at Pratt Institute's School of Architecture

2020-03-14T14:00:00-04:00

Pratt Institute in New York City has launched a new initiative honoring and celebrating the institution's historic legacy of female design leadership. Organized by the School of Architecture, the Mistresses of Pratt program presents "a multifaceted project focused on the contributions to architecture and planning education by female-identifying faculty and alumnae."

Kicking off the initiative at a Dinner Party on March 9th, Dean Harriet Harris shared, "To be mistresses is to reclaim your right to public life—to leadership, to expertise, to autonomy, and to simple equality. Pratt is a school strongly associated with many such women both historically and among us today, and we are here to launch the beginning of what will become an institute-wide Mistresses Archive—an initiative determined to restore Pratt women to their respective disciplinary canons, one school at a time."

Image courtesy of Mistresses of Pratt/Prat Institute School of Architecture

Included among the list of honorees...

Pratt's School of Architecture awarded IDC foundation grant

2019-08-24T15:00:00-04:00

The IDC (Institute of Design and Construction) Foundation has awarded Pratt Institute's School of Architecture with a $130,000 grant. This will be second year that the IDC Foundation has awarded the department with funding. According to a Pratt press release, the IDC's gift "continues to support enhancing education in architectural design, engineering, and building construction through scholarships and fellowships, and student experiences such as study abroad programs for undergraduate and graduate students. Twenty-four Pratt students have already benefited from their first year of funding."

The Institute is the one of five organizations in New York City to receive the grant from the IDC Foundation this year. Schools that have received grants this year include: Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation; New York Institute of Technology School of Architecture and Design; New York University Tandon School of Engineering; and the Cooper Union for...

Ladies in the room: With women at the helm of several architecture schools in the U.S., where does gender disparity go from here?

2019-07-16T10:50:00-04:00

People often ask me if that’s the reason women don’t go into architecture or leave architecture, but I don’t think so. I don’t think there’s one single reason. I think for decades it has been a combination of lots of little reasons - being the only woman in the room, not being respected on construction sites, and add into that working hours, balanced with wanting to be a parent, all those things together have discouraged women. But I do see it changing.

In 2019, the rise of female leadership and representation in architectural academia has become more apparent then ever. In practice and academia, women have risen to position themselves amongst a male-dominated profession. Yale has Deborah Berke, Cornell has Meejin Yoon, Columbia has Amale Andraos, Princeton has Mónica Ponce de León, Harvard has the newly appointed Sarah Whiting, and recently Pratt Institute has announced the deanship of Dr. Harriet Harriss.

With the following institutions showcasing women leading the charge, what exactly does this mean for increasing equity and representation to the profession? In a recent interview, Deborah Berke chats with Forbes about what needs to happen in order for gender disparity to dwindle.

During her interview with Heather Senison, Berke talks numbers and shares why women have turned away from the profession. When asked about architecture schools and if institutions need to do a better job at attracting female leadership and students, Be...