www.architecturalrecord.com/articles/7574-myrtle-hall

Myrtle Hall

November 15, 2011

Brooklyn, New York

Owner: Pratt Institute

Completion Date: December 2010

Program: A six-story, 120,000-square-foot mixed-use building that houses Pratt Institute's digital arts department and the digital arts lab; student services, including the admissions and financial aid offices; the nonprofit housing advocacy group Pratt Center for Community Development; and a natural foods supermarket on the ground floor. Located outside the campus's gates to the north, Myrtle Hall includes galleries, studios, classrooms, a student lounge, and offices for the administration.

Design concept and solution: Working with a long, narrow site on a busy commercial street, the architects sought to reconcile two different contexts: Myrtle Avenue's late-19th-century storefronts on the building's north side, and Pratt's main campus to the south. WASA/Studio A designed two interlocking steel-framed volumes to smooth the transition from urban street to academic setting. In a contemporary take on Myrtle Avenue's smaller-scale brownstones and brick buildings, they limited the north volume to four stories and clad it in panelized masonry. The southern volume, at six stories, opens the building onto the campus with a transparent louvered curtain wall. In between, a four-story glazed central atrium connects the volumes, offering views straight through the building. The atrium doubles as a gathering space and as galleries for student work. For the interiors, the architects chose durable and neutral materials that would spotlight the artwork on display. They used polished concrete floors throughout, along with glazed interior walls to bring light into the center of the building.

Total construction cost: $45 million

Location: 536 Myrtle Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11205

Architect:
Wank Adams Slavin Associates, LLP (WASA/Studio A)
740 Broadway
New York, NY 10003
Phone: 212-420-1160
Fax: 212-420-8323

People

Owner:
Pratt Institute

Architect:
Wank Adams Slavin Associates, LLP (WASA/Studio A)
740 Broadway
New York, NY 10003
Phone: 212-420-1160
Fax: 212-420-8323

Personnel in architect's firm who should receive special credit:

Jack Esterson, AIA – Design Partner-in-Charge
Gerald Ruck – Project Manager
Sheldon Catarino – Project Manager preceding Gerald Ruck
Ben Armas – Project Architect
James Belluardo – Project Architect
Hojoon Chung, Project Architect
Tony Daniels, Project Architect
Christina Danton, Project Architect
Hazel Ephron, Project Architect
Evan Greenberg, Project Architect
So Yeon Kim, Project Architect
Sarah Moylan, Project Architect
Giovanni Rabusin, Project Architect
Yen Wu Shih, Project Architect

Structural Engineer:
Rodney D. Gibble Consulting Engineers
19 West 21st Street, Suite 501
New York, NY 10010
212.989.2853 t
212.989.4017 f
Rodney Gibble
rgibble@rdgengineers.com

Contractor:
Triton Construction Company
100 Quentin Boulevard, Suite 200
Garden City, NY 11530
516.780.8100 t
516.780.8108 f
Lance Franklin
lfranklin@tritonconstruction.net

MEP:
Lizardos Engineering Associates
240 West 35th Street, Suite 304
New York, NY 10001
212.967.7651 t
212.967.7654 f
Joseph Mizrahi
Joseph.Mizrahi@leapc.com

Landscape Architect:
Mathews Nielsen Landscape Architects, P.C.
120 Broadway, Suite 1040
New York, NY 10271
212.431.3609 t
212.941.1513 f
Signe Nielsen
snielsen@mnlandscape.com

Sustainable Design:
Steven Winter Associates
307 7th Avenue, Suite 1701
New York, NY 10001
212.564.5800 t
212.741.8673 f
Andrew Zumwalt-Hathaway
ahathaway@winter.com

Civil Engineer:
Langan Engineering & Environmental Services
21 Penn Plaza, 360 West 31st Street, 8th Floor
New York, NY 10001
212.479.5400 t
212.479.5444 f
Michele O’Connor
mocconnor@langan.com

Geotechnical Engineer
Pillori Associates, P.A.
1 Harmon Plaza, 2nd Floor, Suite 4
Secaucus, NJ 07096
201.558.0065 t
212.558.0067 f
office@pilloriassociates.com

Environmental Engineer:
Warren & Panzers Engineers, P.C.
228 East 45th Street, #10
New York, NY 10017
212.922.0077 t
212.922.0630 f
Chet Bijoor
info@warrenpanzer.com

Elevator Consultant:
Joseph Neto & Associates, Inc.
1065 Ave of the Americas, Suite 820
New York, NY 10018
212.596.4690 t
212.596.4689 f

Lighting Consultant:
Kugler Ning Lighting Design, Inc.
49 West 38th Street
New York, NY 10018
212.382.2100 t
Jackson Ning
contact@kuglerning.com

Photographer(s):
Alexander Severin, aseverin@razummedia.com
Alexander Severin/RAZUMMEDIA

CAD system, project management, or other software used:
Revit

Products

Structural system: Canatal Industries (structural steel fabricator)

Exterior cladding
Masonry: Glen-Gery Brick

Metal/glass curtainwall: FM Enterprises Inc.

Concrete: RNC Industries (concrete contractor); Zito & Zito (concrete floor finishing)

EIFS, ACM, or other: Total Wall EIFS

Architectural Metal Fabricator: Milgo Bufkin (exterior metal cladding)

Roofing
Built-up roofing: Siplast

Metal:Milgo Bufkin

Other: Xero Flor (green roof overburden)

Windows
Aluminum: FM Enterprises Inc.

Glazing
Glass: Viracon, Inc.

Glass Balconies/Lobby Stair Handrail: CR Laurence

Doors
Entrances: FM Enterprises / J.E. Berkowitz

Metal doors: Weinstein & Holtzman

Special doors (sound control, X-ray, etc.): Overly (sound control)

Interior Glass Doors: Leed Himmel

Hardware
Locksets: Schlage

Hinges: Stanley / Pemko

Closers: Falcon / Jackson / Dorma

Exit devices: Falcon

Pulls: Rockwood

Security devices: : Amerock / Salice / Doug Mockett

Interior finishes
Acoustical ceilings: Armstrong

Suspension grid: Armstrong

Interior Glass Office Partition Fabricator/Erector: Walsh Glass and Metal

Cabinetwork and custom woodwork: JDR Fixtures, Inc.

Paints and stains: Sherwin Williams

Plastic laminate: Corian / Formica

Floor and wall tile: Daltile (restrooms); Meld USA (entrance lobby)

Resilient flooring: Forbo

Carpet: Interface

Furnishings
Office furniture:Knoll

Reception furniture: Gunlocke / Herman Miller / Hayworth / KI

Fixed seating:KI

Chairs: Knoll

Tables:Knoll

Upholstery: varies

Lighting
Interior ambient lighting: Mark Lighting / Lightolier / Edison Price / Barbizon / Crownlite

Downlights:DK

Exterior:Architectural Area Lighting

Controls:Crestron

Conveyance
Elevators/Escalators: Start Elevator, Inc. / Hollister-Whitney

Plumbing
Kohler / American Standard / Toto