Pratt Press Release[1]

7/27/2019 Pratt Press Release[1]

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New addition to the Prattsville Art Center

Aimed at bringing new energy and community to Prattsville and surrounding areas, the art center will offer artresidencies and workshops; focus on role of arts in redevelopment and investment.

Project Scope

In a collaborative effort between Prattsville residents, architects and town planners, the new Prattsville ArtCenter will be the new cultural hub for the town and surrounding area, bringing together selected artists, writers,musicians and creative thinkers, as well as graduate art students and faculty from New York University, together

with residents of the historic Catskills town which was heavily damaged by Hurricane Irene in 2011. This majorplanning effort will make visual art the cornerstone of the rebuilding effort.

The project consists of restoring an existing building (listed on the Greene County Historical Register) in additionto building a new, eco-friendly state-of-the-art rear building housing artist residencies and programs. The newPrattsville Art Center will bring arts and culture to a rural area that has previously had little access to theseservices, and hopefully a new energy and a sense of community to a town whose livelihood and local economyhas struggled to recover since Irenes devastating floods.

Once established, the new buildings will create a cultural destination within the region in order to attract visitors,generate new business and promote its rebirth -- even possibly spurring additional redevelopment within thearea.

The goals of The Prattsville Art Center are linked to what the National Endowment for the Arts Director, RoccoLandsman, has called creative placemaking. In other words, leveraging the arts to create livable, sustainableneighborhoods with enhanced quality of life, increased creative activity, distinct identities, a sense of place, andvibrant local economies that capitalize on existing local assets. As Prattsville is already engaged in a communityplanning process, bringing artists into this discussion will enable local residents to draw on their expertise tothink in new and creative ways about the potential and direction of their town.

Planning

The existing 2,000 sq-ft building -- which will partially accommodate the program of the Art Center and currentlyi t f i th d fl ll i t t f d l t l b dl

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Design Highlights

Built in wood and steel on a concrete foundation, the new building will be a freestanding, three-story structurebuilt on the site of a decaying barn, presently nestled in the narrow plot of land of the backyard. Its most strikingdesign feature will be its elevation from the ground on pilotis, or stilts, creating a ground-floor loggia an openair space for socializing and leisure.

The decision to elevate the new building on pilotis arose for two reasons: A) This project is focused onmaximizing the space of very limited plots of land, therefore the architecture develops vertically on stilts as aresponse to preserve as much as possible the existing on-site backyard; B) It also meets the local hurricane and

flood-building codes requiring new construction to be elevated from the ground.

The design take into consideration the existing barn and revisits its vernacular form in a contemporary idiomthrough minimizing and stylizing the lines of its architecture and advancing its design through innovativeconstruction methods, including prefabrication and energy-efficient building technology.

The new building, slated to house art studios and a residency for visiting artists, is designed to be a modern,live-work environment filled with natural light and an open, column-free interior for maximum flexibility where artand architecture complement each other.

The building is built in a very simple, revealing steel frame structure that accentuates its lightness and holdstogether all the other architectural elements made of wood and glass panels.

A large solarium on the rooftop level extends and maximizes the ground space for recreational or private outdoorrelaxation and reconnection to nature. The interiors have a modern layout with special attention to circulation inorder not to interfere with the building's private spaces. The inhabitants movement will flow easily throughout,connecting the rooftop solarium to the ground-floor loggia, where socialization and interaction with guests andthe community are welcome.

1. The access to the building is located on the southeast side corner of the ground floor loggia and isenclosed by glass walls in order to maintain lightness and transparency. This entry hall also housesthe staircase connecting the three floors to the rooftop.



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Reminiscent of the shape of the barn, the exterior is clad in a skin of cedar siding, forming an outer envelope forthe building to provide a barrier from sometimes harsh weather. The large, operable glass windows that wrap thefacades open wide to further the interior-exterior fluidity and frame the scenery while connecting the inhabitant tosurrounding nature.

Parts of the exterior are rain-screens made from operable louvers that filter light, enclose the interiors, and alsoreduce wind load and cooling energy demand by avoiding superfluous solar heat gains without compromisingthe benefits of daylighting. Wintertime use of solar shading devices offers the potential for the benefits of thermalresistance in their closed position. Another compelling reason for using them is the architectural appearance

which it is a positive aesthetic enhancement.

The facades are articulated by the operable sliding wooden panels of the solar shading system and revealing --when opened -- the glass skin of the building underneath. They also function to make the building as translucentor opaque to its surroundings, depending on the desired level of privacy. The shudders totally close and securethe building, and to protect it from various weather conditions. It's like a showcase glass box filled with lightwhile contained by a wooden skin that it alternately "sheds" or redresses itself according to the inhabitants'needs.

The result is a dynamic faade where the exteriors are continually in use; screens and windows open and close,slide and shut. Sunlight, so essential to the creation of art, becomes an essential tool to control via the variouswindows, louvers and panels.

The design is deliberately essential and green in its purpose in order to avoid any waste or excessive use ofmaterials. It is going to be built where possible -- with recycled materials such as reclaimed lumber and aselection of insulation materials and insulated glazing.

The Courtyard

Prattsville has several outdoor spaces, however, there is no indoor or sheltered gathering space. The creation ofa courtyard between the old and new buildings is part of the plan for the center, acting as a public square orpiazza-inspired gathering point for recreational and cultural activities for the whole community. It will also serveas a physical link between the old building and the new.



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site plan

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Second floor - Studios


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Southeast facade

Documents

Pratt Press Release[1]