For the � rst time ever, Pratt Institute has partnered

with a local real estate developer to completely out-

� t two model residence interiors with every element in

the two units designed or created by a Pratt faculty mem-

ber, student, or alumnus. � e concept was developed

from an original idea by Pratt professor and alumnus

Bruce Hannah. � e residences are located inside the new

� ird + Bond townhouses at 115 � ird Street in Carroll

Gardens, and were developed by Hudson Companies,

which unveiled the interior designs of the two units with

a celebration on October 15 at the site.

Pratt professor of architecture and alumnus Anthony

Caradonna coordinated the curating, styling, and stag-

ing of the apartments creating holistic interior home

environments that include conceptually innovative and

aesthetically stunning � oor and wall coverings, home

accessories, furniture, textiles, art, lighting elements,

and more—all by Pratt � ne artists, designers, and archi-

tects. � e Pratt-out� tted 3-bedroom duplex and � oor-

through 2-bedroom residences will be on view until they

are sold.

� e Pratt residence interiors represent, integrate,

and celebrate the broad range of internationally recog-

nized art, design, and architecture talents from the Pratt

community while showcasing a full-scale, green environ-

ment in one of the residences. “� ese high-design envi-

ronments represent the extraordinary range of talent of

Pratt’s students, faculty, and alumni,” said Caradonna.

“� e spaces are fully functional, residential interiors that

re� ect a diverse cultural milieu intrinsic to Brooklyn and

its developing urban context,” he added.

� e residences at � ird + Bond are on track to be

the � rst Brooklyn mid-rise, luxury project to achieve

both LEED-Gold and Energy Star Home green building

certi� cations. Designed by Rogers Marvel Architects as

a modern interpretation of the traditional brownstone,

the project showcases 44 units, many with private out-

door space. “We are thrilled to be working and engaging

with Pratt alumni, faculty, and students in this design

process,” said David Kramer, a principal at Hudson. “� e

Pratt and � ird + Bond partnership is a natural—we

both are about great design, sustainability, practicality,

and beauty,” he added.

Some of the furniture and home accessories include

already manufactured designs by established design-

ers including former Pratt faculty Eva Zeisel, industrial

design professor and alumnus Bruce Hannah, architec-

ture professor and alumnus Bill Katavolos, and celebrated

alumni designers Harry Allen and Giovanni Pellone.

� e project began in January 2009, with Caradonna

coordinating three internship courses in undergraduate

architecture, graduate interior design, and graduate � ne

arts with work created speci� cally for the project by cur-

rent students. Professor Francine Monaco from Interior

Design worked with students to create abstract, organic

woven wallpaper with patterns inspired by oysters from

the local Gowanus Canal. Donna Moran, chair of Fine

Arts, worked with students who created the silkscreened

images of Brooklyn architectural themes, storefronts,

roofscapes, and natural elements, which are found on

hand towels, pillow covers, and other linens in the units.

Some elements of the two-bedroom, two-bathroom

� oor-through model residence include eco-conscious

designs made from natural and recycled/recyclable mate-

rials that re� ect a playful and a� ordable modern design

sensibility. Caradonna selected objects that rely on no

waste-design and material strategies made from both

cutting-edge technologies like laser-cutting and inven-

tive traditional design methods.

October 16, 2009

GATEWAYTHE COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER OF PRATT INST ITUTE

VOLUME 20 | NUMBER 2

PRATT SUBMITS CLIMATE ACTION PLAN OUTLINING

STRATEGIES AND SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVES

P ratt President � omas F. Schutte has submitted

an o� cial climate action plan to the American

College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment

(ACUPCC), which documents Pratt’s commitment to

reducing its campus greenhouse gas emissions and

outlines a series of academic initiatives designed to

educate faculty, students, and the local community on

issues related to sustainability.

In 2007, Schutte became one of the � rst signa-

tories of the ACUPCC and that same year accepted

Mayor Bloomberg’s 30/10 Challenge to reduce green-

house gases by 30 percent by 2017, which is the cen-

tral goal of the Institute’s climate action plan. Other

major plans outlined in the document include the

recent creation of a Center for Sustainable Design

Studies and Research (CSDS), the development of

an all-Institute sustainability minor at Pratt, uti-

lizing the Pratt campus as a model for sustain-

able living, and working with local community

groups to promote energy conservation and other

sustainable living practices.

To achieve the goals of the plan, Pratt created

a unique model among colleges of art and design

nationwide by � lling two full-time sustainability

positions—one administrative director in charge of

campus facilities and one academic director in charge

of educational, research, and enterprise initiatives.

Tony Gelber, administrative director of sustain-

ability, works to ensure that the campus facilities

operate as e� ciently as possible. To meet the goals

of Pratt’s plan, Gelber has inventoried greenhouse

gases for the past three years and is overseeing the

development and implementation of a campus-wide

energy and greenhouse gas reduction project. Debera

Johnson, academic director of sustainability, oversees

and coordinates Pratt’s educational, research, and

enterprise programs as head of the Institute’s Center

for Sustainable Design Studies and Research. CSDS is

a physical space and hub for resources, collaboration,

and research and supports Sustainable Pratt, the Eco-

Reps Program, Envirolution, and the Pratt Design

Incubator for Sustainable Innovation.

As a signatory of the ACUPCC, Pratt receives

support and resources designed to help the school

achieve the outlined climate objectives and has access

to a supportive network of peer institutions that

share insights into best practices. Six hundred � fty

college and university presidents have joined the

ACUPCC, a comprehensive climate change initiative

through which schools are committing to neutralize

greenhouse gas emissions on their campuses, dedi-

cating research and programs to the development of

climate change solutions, and training their students

to address the climate crisis upon graduation. For

more information, visit www.presidentsclimatecom-

mitment.org.

To learn more about Pratt’s academic initiatives

related to the Institute’s climate action plan, please

visit the Center for Sustainable Design Studies and

Research website at http://csds.pratt.edu/.

Living room featuring all Pratt designs

Wire Chair, 1977 (Doughnut Basket

Chair), designed by Bruce Hannah

and Andre Grasso.

Mutant Vase designed by

Giovanni Pellone. CO

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FACULTY AND STAFF FOCUSCATHEY BILLIAN, Adjunct Professor, Art and Design

Since earning your Pratt M.F.A.

in 1978, you have been a N.Y.-

based sculptor working on

large-scale projects at the

intersection of public art and

environmental interpretation as

well as teaching at Pratt for 20

years. What would you like to

see as your legacy?

On campus, I envision an out-

door “lab” site for interdisciplinary

faculty-student projects and events

integrated into our rich landscape.

O� campus, I would like to grow an

ongoing accredited a� liation with

our National Parks to o� er an unprec-

edented art and design opportunity

for students and faculty to contribute

to America’s unique landscapes.

Which of your many public

art projects for the National

Park Service has been the most

eff ective and why?

I would have to say the permanent

15-foot centerpiece for the Acadia

National Park Visitor Center in Maine,

built by a Pratt/MassArt team from

architecture, exhibition design, and

sculpture to convey information and

experiential sensations of the region.

Rangers, hikers, and ocean kayakers

alike use it to grasp the scale and expe-

riences available to the public.

Your award-winning work also is

found in major museum,

corporate, and private collec-

tions, including the Smithsonian

Institution, Library of Congress,

Philadelphia Museum of Art,

Norton Simon Inc., and former

Vice-President Al Gore. What’s

the secret of your achievement?

At the heart of my work is an intimate

connection with the wilderness.

Tell us about your current proj-

ect to reinvent park benches.

I am developing with Milgo, the fab-

ricator, a set of retro� t extensions for

a ubiquitous park bench, transform-

ing it with a winged canopy of struc-

ture, acoustic, and text components. A

“handwritten” poetic phrase changes

each season, animating the sky space

overhead. At the Ban� Centre in the

Canadian Rockies we will create a solar

driven, whispering sound score of bird

songs that gradually slows to a rhyth-

mic tempo of the human heartbeat

at rest. � e recycled bench becomes

a sensory and perceptual instrument,

wrapping the user in an ampli� ed

experience of time and place.

Does nature really need such

artifi cial enhancement?

Nature doesn’t need enhancement;

it needs protection. We city dwellers

need a � lter to lose our internal noise

and address our often fragile, some-

times fractured relationship with

the natural world. New information

brought to the bench site changes

how we pause and observe the still

moment. Retro� ts by their nature

allow for temporary elements that

can change with the seasons to add

multiple perspectives.

As a child, what did you want to

be when you grew up?

A soaring tree.

KEVIN GATTA, professor, Graduate Communications

Design, authored the high school text Communicating

� rough Graphic Design (Davis Publications, 2010) on

computer-based graphic design programs.

FRIMA FOX HOFRICHTER, chair, History of

Art and Design, provided consultation on Judith

Leyster’s 400th birthday exhibition at the National

Gallery of Art (NGA), Washington, D.C., organized

by Arthur K. Wheelock Jr., curator of Northern

Baroque painting. Hofrichter authored the 16-page

exhibition booklet, available free at the entrance.

She and Wheelock will lecture on the Dutch Golden

Age painter at the NGA on Sun., Oct. 25 at 2 PM.

JENNA LUCENTE, visiting instructor, Associate

Degree AOS/AAS program, exhibited new paintings

from Sept. 12 through Oct. 11 at the Woodstock

Artists’ Association and Museum, Woodstock, N.Y.

JENNY LYNN MCNUTT, associate adjunct

professor, Foundation, is exhibiting Nektar, an

installation of new sculptures at Reeves Reed

Arboretum, Summit, N.J. � is installation is part

of the ongoing project about the honeybee, “Precise

Breathing or Why I Call My Baby Honey” for which

she received a Faculty Development Grant. One

of the sculptures is scheduled to be installed in

the Pratt Sculpture Park this fall. McNutt spent

August at � e Julia and David White Artists’

Colony in Costa Rica and participated in a Funny Face

frivolity and auction mayhem to bene� t Coney Island

U.S.A. at the Jonathan O’Hara Gallery in Manhattan

on Sept. 16.

ADELE ROSSETTI MOROSINI, adjunct assistant

professor, Math and Science, will exhibit in “Botanicals:

Environmental Expressions in Art” at � e Alisa and

Isaac M. Sutton Collection at the Hunt Institute for

Botanical Documentation, Carnegie Mellon University

from Oct. 22, 2009 through Jan. 2010.

DOMINIQUE NAHAS, adjunct associate profes-

sor, Fine Arts, lectured at the William King Museum:

Center for Art and Cultural Heritage in Abingdon, Va.

on Aug. 29.

ROB O’NEILL, assistant professor, Digital Arts,

authored an Open Pipeline article (on open source

specification for an animation production pipeline)

for Computer Graphics World magazine’s August

2009 issue.

GEORGE HIROSE, adjunct associate professor,

Film/Video & Photography, exhibited Blue Nights,

eight new photographs at Ernden Fine Art in

Provincetown, Mass. from Sept. 4 through Oct. 3.

FACULTY AND STAFF NOTES

WORLD HISTORY PROGRAM

CO-SPONSORS MID-ATLANTIC

WORLD HISTORY ASSOCIATION

CONFERENCE

Pratt faculty members led a panel discussion titled

“World History at an Art and Design Institution,”

at the Mid-Atlantic World History Association’s

annual conference, Oct. 16–17, co-sponsored by

the World History Program in the Department of

Social Science and Cultural Studies. In conjunc-

tion with the conference theme, “Time and How it

Frames the World,” historians John Langdon and

Edward Judge delivered a keynote address on Oct.

16 in Higgins Hall. Participating faculty members

included Sameetah Agha, Paul Dambowic, David

Goodman, Nina McCune, and Peter Nekola.

On September 24, Pratt’s Graduate Communi-

cations Design Program honored Adjunct Associate

Professor MARILYN LYONS with a retirement

party at Pratt Manhattan. Lyons has taught at

Pratt for 37 years and will be greatly missed!

Red Birds by Jenna Lucente

Jeff Bellantoni, Concetta Stewart, Marilyn Lyons,

Peter Barna, and Kevin Gatta DIA

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Buddha by George Hirose

300909_Gateway_v20no2_RF2.indd 3 10/15/09 11:55:15 PM

View Gateway online at http://www.pratt.edu/pr-comm#To submit information for Gateway, please contact Mara McGinnis at mmcginni@pratt.edu

Mara McGinnis EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC RELATIONS AND COMMUNICATIONS

Diana Pau PHOTO MANAGER

Adrienne Gyongy WRITER/COPY EDITOR

Kate Ünver COORDINATOR

Amy Aronoff, Chanice Greenberg, Charlotte Savidge CONTRIBUTORS

GATEWAYOFFICE OF PUBLIC RELATIONS

AND COMMUNICATIONS

DIVISION OF DEVELOPMENT

PRATT INSTITUTE

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

LAUREN TURNBULLSenior Year Film Major

AIGA honored four Pratt students this year alongside all Worldstudio Scholarship winners at

the Design Legends Gala at the Waldorf-Astoria on September 17. CommD sophomore DIEGO

TORRES was honored with a Coyne Family Foundation Award for Illustration; graduate stu-

dent JINY UNG won a Mohawk Fine Papers Award; freshman KHRYSTYNA CHEHLATA won

a Young Photographer’s Alliance Award; and graduate student NICOLE NOLAN won a Young

Photographer’s Alliance Honorable Mention. Divers, a digitally animated short film by PARIS

MAVROIDIS, M.F.A. Digital Arts ’09, will be screened in the Children’s Special Programme

of CINANIMA 2009. The 33rd International Animated festival will take place from November

9–15 in Espinho, Portugal. Graduate CommD student YOON KYUNG EOM won first place in

the European and International round of the 2009 Design Against Fur poster competition and

$1,500. This marks the second year a Pratt student has won first place in the Design Against

Fur competition. Graduate student MAOWEI YU was selected as a finalist for the 2009 Adobe

Design Achievement Awards. Graduate CommD student MARISTELLA GONZALEZ’s poster

design will be published in Taschen’s upcoming book Design for Obama. Posters for Change: A

Grassroots Anthology. First-year students in Prof. IRINA DANILOVA’s 4-D Design Foundation

class debuted a collection of works at Videominuto 2009 in Italy on September 19. Participants

included RACHEL SHUMEL, BEN LANKTON, GABRIELLE GODINO, WILLIAM YANG,

DANA DECAMP, YOON YOUNG HA, and JAMES EMERY. ALEXANDRA SZYMCZAK

won the second annual student-designed recyclable D’ag Bag competition, a $1,000 scholar-

ship, and a $500 D’Agostino gift certificate for her Leafy Greens design.

STUDENT NOTES

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PRESIDENT’S CIRCLEAPRIL 1 THROUGH JUNE 30, 2009

$25,000+

Katharine L. McKenna, ’84

(Trustee) and Mark S. Braunstein

Irene C. Shea ’34

$10,000-$24,999

Gary S. Hattem ’75 (Trustee)

$5,000-$9,999

Mike Pratt (Trustee)

$2,500-$4,999

Deming P. Holleran and

Romer Holleran

Robert H. Welz ’51 and

Mary Louise Welz

$1,000-$2,499

Sebastian L. Ambrogio ’76 and

Cynthia B. Ambrogio

Jack Borgos ’43 (dec.) and

Liliane Borgos

Madeline Burke-Vigeland ’81 and

Nils Vigeland

Mary J. Ellis ’49

Henry W. Grussinger ’48

Myron Harpole

Yuhmin Hwang (Parent)

Thelma K. Stevens ’54 and

Jay P. Stevens

Theresa M. Moran ’87 and

Christopher Moran

Alessandro Papa (Parent)

You spent part of your summer biking across

Massachusetts for climate change. Tell us more.

I was a part of a team of seven who traveled over 700 miles

in seven weeks from the northwest point of Massachusetts

to towns around Boston and the North Shore to build a net-

work of supporters of 100 percent clean energy. Every day, we

went door to door to discuss climate change with residents.

We hope to take the thousands of signatures collected to the

Massachusetts legislature, where a resolution for 100 percent

clean electricity can be made into law.

What inspired you to become an advocate for

the environment?

My parents work for the government so I have had the oppor-

tunity to live among a wide variety of ecosystems and cul-

tures. Poverty and environmental degradation had a large

a� ect on me as I witnessed the hardships of obtaining food,

water, and shelter. � is e� ect was heightened after I took an

ecology class with Professor Christopher Jensen. It mobilized

me to take action.

How does environmental advocacy tie into your

work as a film student?

I work with several aspects of new media, including � lm,

photography, and animation. One of my favorite things

about sustainability is that it is inclusive by nature—you

don't have to be a scientist or policy maker to talk about

these issues. Art and sustainability both rely on abstract

thinking to build creative solutions. I aspire to utilize my

artistic talents to raise awareness and inspire others to take

action as well.

What are your future plans?

My � lm thesis touches upon the notion of seed diversity and

climate change issues. I hope to attend graduate school to

study communicating the science of sustainability to visual

and haptic thinkers. I nearly failed chemistry in high school!

We have the digital mediums now to democratize informa-

tion and make science accessible to everyone with di� ering

learning styles.

You are president of Pratt Envirolution. What is that?

Pratt Envirolution is a club focused on building a network of

environmentally aware and community oriented student activ-

ists. We have a number of goals this year, one of which includes

getting a free materials exchange room where students can

drop o� unwanted or unused materials and pick up what oth-

ers have left.

You are also a Pratt Eco-Rep. Would explain your role

in the program?

Our duties as Pratt Eco-Reps are to identify an area of

improvement on campus, create a proposal for addressing

the problem, and implement the plan. � e Eco-Rep Program

is less about educating the community and more about iden-

tifying potential problems and brainstorming solutions.

Anyone interested in greening up should contact CSDS@

pratt.edu or me at lturnbul@pratt.edu.

DR. SCHUTTE ATTENDS JOURNEY FOR CHANGE EVENTDr. Schutte attended a ceremony in September honoring

the first 30 participants to complete Journey for Change:

Empowering Youth Through Global Service program run

by Malaak Compton-Rock, wife of comedian Chris Rock.

Dr. Schutte gave inspirational remarks to the young people in

the program, which uplifts the lives of at-risk youth through

travel, service, and education.

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300909_Gateway_v20no2_RF2.indd 4 10/15/09 11:55:21 PM

GATEWAYPRATT INSTITUTE

200 WILLOUGHBY AVE. BROOKLYN, NY 11205

BROOKLYN CAMPUS

200 WILLOUGHBY AVENUE

PRESIDENT’S OFFICE GALLERYMain Building, First FloorMonday–Friday, 10 AM–4 PM

GEORGE HIROSE PHOTOGRAPHYOCTOBER 5, 2009–FEBRUARY 19, 2010

� e adjunct associate professor exhibits images

from his new book BLUE NIGHTS: Photographs by

George Hirose, introduced by the late Norman Mailer

(Provincetown Arts Press, 2008).

RUBELLE AND NORMAN

SCHAFLER GALLERYChemistry Building, First FloorMonday–Friday, 9 AM–5 PM

FOUNDATION FACULTYTHROUGH OCTOBER 28

� e Foundation Faculty exhibition will feature painting,

drawing, printmaking, sculpture, design, and video by

members of Pratt’s faculty for freshman-year students.

MANHATTAN CAMPUS

144 W. 14TH STREET

PRATT MANHATTAN GALLERYSecond Floor

Tuesday–Saturday, 11 AM–6 PM

DESIGN JAZZ: IMPROVISATIONS ON THE URBAN STREETSEPTEMBER 25–NOVEMBER 7, 2009

Pratt Manhattan Gallery will present a two-part

exhibition documenting theoretical and creative

approaches to design and the interpretation of urban

streets as well as documenting the process of a local

realized design project. Jazz trio “Big Words” will

perform as part of the exhibition’s public reception

on Friday, October 9 at 6 PM.

AFTER HOURS CABARET AT THE GALLERY

CCPS GALLERY

Pratt Manhattan Gallery will present “Pratt Falls:

Political Satire at Pratt Manhattan,” a cabaret of

performances to be held on Friday, October 9 and

16 and Tuesday, November 3 in conjunction with

“Design Jazz” and produced by Larry Litt. All events

begin at 7 PM and are free and open to the public.

PUBLIC ART FESTIVAL AND

PANEL DISCUSSION� e windows of Pratt Manhattan Gallery will be

decorated by artist Michael Willett as part of the Art

in Odd Places “SIGN” festival that explores the odd,

ordinary, and ingenious spectacle of daily life from

October 1–16. � e gallery also will host a panel dis-

cussion, titled “At Odds: � e Law and Public Art,” in

conjunction with the festival on � ursday, October

15 at 7 PM. � e panel discussion is free and open to

the public.

COURTHOUSE PHOTOGRAPHER STEVEN HIRSCH DISPLAYS WORK

� is exhibition of photographs by CCPS instructor

and accomplished photojournalist Steven Hirsch

documents the confessional stories of willing partici-

pants leaving the Manhattan Criminal Court at 100

Centre Street in downtown New York. Each photo-

graph will be juxtaposed with an uncensored written

account as transcribed by Hirsch, who has removed

each of his interview questions to present the trans-

gressions of the accused in an uninterrupted � ow.

JAGUAR CHIEF DESIGNER VISITS PRATT

On Oct. 7, Giles Taylor, chief designer at Jaguar, met

with students in the ARC building and gave a presenta-

tion of the 2010 prototype for the Jaguar XJ. � e event

was coordinated by Professor Martin Skalski, who

teaches transportation design in Industrial Design.

EXHIBITIONS AND EVENTS

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Alumna LYNN ZELEVANSKY, B.F.A. ’71, one of the

world's leading curators of contemporary art, assumed

her new position as director of the Carnegie Museum

of Art in Pittsburgh this summer after 14 years at the

Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). � e

Pratt photography major had launched her career as a

curatorial assistant at the Museum of Modern Art, N.Y.

in 1987 and has since curated numerous exhibitions.

“Beyond Geometry: Experiments in Form, 1940s

to 1970s,” an exhibition she organized at LACMA

in 2004, won the � rst place award for best thematic

museum show nationally that year from the U.S.

branch of the International Association of Art Critics.

“Museums need to � nd creative, meaningful ways

to rede� ne what they do to � t the 21st century,”

says Zelevansky, who mounted a major exhibition of

contemporary Korean art at LACMA this summer in

response to the Korean presence in Los Angeles.

Following graduation, Zelevansky began working

as a � ne arts photographer. “� e photography depart-

ment at Pratt was one of the best things that ever

happened to me,” she recalls. “My most memorable

professor was Philip Perkis; the discourse around

pictures was fascinating.”

But Zelevansky soon discovered that she

preferred writing about photographs to making

them and transitioned her career accordingly. “At

some point I was a teaching adjunct at three di� erent

schools and writing about seven reviews a month,”

she says. “I decided to go to graduate school in order

to become fully employable.” Before pursuing her

studies at NYU’s Institute for Fine Arts, Zelevansky

taught photography and criticism classes at Pratt.

She has published widely and taught at universities

on both the East and West coasts.

Her advice to young artists: “It’s hard to sustain

the artist’s life. Meet other artists and become part

of the dialogue. It's a community like any other that

respects and pays attention to those who give back

to it.”

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Model of Homeway: The Great Suburban Exodus by

Mitchell Joachim and Philip Weller of Terreform ONE,

on view as part of “Design Jazz”

Lynn Zelevansky

Lynn Zelevansky

Jaguar chief designer Giles Taylor with

the new Jaguar XJ 2010 model at Pratt DIA

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Enfield, CT

Permit No. 22

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