The Master of Architecture program trains students to become leaders in the professional practice of architecture with innovative methods of design research and inquiry.Â
Students: Sophy Feldman & Rowan Price Instructor: Alexandra Barker SP23 Studio 4
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Master of Architecture at Pratt
The MARCH curriculum embraces an integrative approach to design that weaves together technical knowledge and creative practice, building science and environmental stewardship, and professional responsibility and equity. We actively engage the pressing climatic and social challenges of our era through rigorous inquiry. Through case studies that leverage the city as our classroom, students develop innovative design strategies that convey a thorough understanding of the way in which architecture shapes the built environment and its communities. As architects, our inquiry extends across all scales of the built environment, from individual buildings to neighborhoods, cities, and all the way to global systems and ecosystems. What connects our intervention across this broad range of scales is our deep commitment to design work that prioritizes the well-being and safety of all life forms.
The Master of Architecture (M.Arch) is a three-year NAAB-accredited, STEM-certified professional program. Our 84-credit, three-year track is designed for students who have completed a bachelor’s degree, including majors other than one of the architectural design professions. The program is also available in a 56-credit, two-year Advanced Standing track for students with bachelor’s degrees from four-year Architecture or Engineering programs.
The M.Arch program is structured with a core curriculum of design, history-theory, technology, and media courses, followed by an advanced curriculum of applied research and elective courses. The entire curriculum is designed to equip students with the professional knowledge required for becoming a successful architect.
We believe in an integrative approach to architecture. Our curriculum is designed to provide students with a deep understanding of the diverse practices and modes of inquiry that converge in the architectural discipline and profession.
In the first three semesters, the core curriculum is structured to coordinate learning across design, technical, historico-theoretical, and media courses. In the fourth semester, this coordinated learning culminates in the Integrative Studio. Unique to the GAUD, the Integrative Studio combines the teaching of architectural design, building systems, and regulatory compliance into a single course. Collaboration is a fundamental aspect of the Integrative studio: students work on a single architectural project in teams, supported by GAUD faculty and a cohort of technical consultants from leading New York City firms. During the last two semesters, our M.Arch program further compliments the Integrative Studio with an advanced curriculum of studio and elective courses. In these advanced courses, students engage in directed research projects alongside a diverse group of faculty members from Pratt Institute and the architectural profession at large.
Our integrative approach begins, does not end, with our program. By integrating different modes of architectural knowledge and practice, and engaging audiences both within and outside the architectural professions, our M.Arch program equips graduates with the unique ability to intervene in the complex systems shaping the building and living environment.
Integrative Design:
Our M.Arch students are trained to make complex design decisions that integrate architectural ideas with structural, building, and regulatory systems. Their integrative thinking advances environmental stewardship, social equity, and community resilience in all aspects of design work.
Environmental Design Practice:
Our M.Arch students are trained to embrace their responsibility as stewards of the environment. Their work reflects a deep awareness of architecture’s impact on the living and building environments by integrating research on fragile ecosystems, ecologically responsive technologies, and sustainable materials.
Inclusive and Equitable Design:
Our M.Arch students are trained to view equity, diversity, and inclusion as an integral aspect of design. They understand their responsibility to consider diverse needs, values, and physical abilities in design practices, and act on that understanding by integrating an ethos of equity and inclusion in their architectural solutions.
Design Knowledge:
Our M.Arch students are trained to think critically about architecture’s role in the world. They use cutting-edge design methods, media, and technologies to advance architectural knowledge within the discipline and in culture more broadly.
Collaborative Design:
Our M.Arch students are trained to practice creative leadership that benefits their clients, communities, and society at large. Their design work builds relationships, from collaborations with consultants and industry experts to outreach with community partners and stakeholders.
Design Learning:
Our M.Arch students are trained to ask thought-provoking questions throughout their careers and their lives. They value forms of inquiry and collaborative exploration that deepen their understanding of architecture’s connections to complex systems, including bodies of historical-theoretical knowledge, socio-economic forces, environmental dynamics, and cultural contexts.
Take A Look At How Our Courses Advance Design Research And Thinking
Our faculty are leading practitioners, scholars, and educators, including a distinctive cohort of PhD candidates from top universities who share a common desire to develop each student’s potential and creativity to the fullest. Bringing different views, methods, and perspectives the faculty provide a rigorous educational model in which students make and learn. See all GAUD faculty and administrators.
Pratt’s department of Graduate Architecture and Urban Design (GAUD) balances knowledge and understanding, enhancing your individual capacities to ask often difficult and challenging questions facing the profession and discipline, specifically through design and with audiences outside of architecture and urban design. This program is intended for students holding a four-year undergraduate, nonprofessional degree in any field. Applicants with degrees from a four-year BSc in Architecture or BScEng in Architecture may qualify for advanced standing.
Integrative Studio
Unique to the GAUD, the Integrative Studio is a combined design and integrative building-systems course and brings together a number of related disciplines into a single project, which students develop in teams. An ensemble of technical consultants from world-leading firms in New York City work directly with GAUD faculty and students on their design projects engaging in facade design, structural design, energy design and more.
Directed Research
In your final two semesters, the advanced curriculum is focused on Directed Research studios and electives. Among the studios, you might apply to participate in the Studio of Experiments, which is an opportunity to work closely with a visiting faculty member on a directed research topic set by the department chair. Learn more about Directed Research.
Seminars, Lectures & Events
Immersive seminars, lectures and events accompany each semester. They explore contemporary issues in architectural practice and research, and foster discussion between students and prominent scholars. Exhibitions spotlight exceptional faculty and student work, and the student publication offers students opportunities to engage in theoretical, editorial, and writing activities.
Study Abroad
Immersing yourself in another culture is an incredible experience that can extend the boundaries of creativity. Study abroad programs are an integral part of the university experience, and Pratt has deep connections with university partners around the world. In the first, second, or third year, students may elect to participate in one or both of our international programs. See where you can go.
Learning Resources
We develop disciplinary fluency in our program of study and we celebrate the interdisciplinary nature of design critical to address the plurality and complexity of the environments in which we operate. Learn about resources.
Our Alumni
Pratt’s distinguished alumni are leading diverse and thriving careers, addressing critical challenges and creating innovative work that reimagines our world.
Career Opportunities:
Graduates from the M.Arch program go on to work in leading architectural firms and other creative fields, both nationally and internationally. Take a look at where some of our recent graduates work:
Where They Work
Architect – Morphosis
Junior Designer – BIG Bjarke Ingels Group
Architectural Designer — Foster + Partners
Director – KPF
Senior Associate – SHoP Architects
Architect – Woods Bagot
Lead Designer – Zaha Hadid Architects
Architectural Designer – UNStudio
Assistant Chair, Interior Design – Pratt Institute
Join us at Pratt. Learn more about admissions requirements, plan your visit, talk to a counselor, and start your application. Take the next step.
You’ll find yourself at home at Pratt. Learn more about our residence halls, student organizations, athletics, gallery exhibitions, events, the amazing City of New York and our Brooklyn neighborhood communities. Check us out.
ARCH 805 | Advanced Design Research I: Manhattan Trans(fer) | Fall 2024 | Instructors: Gary Bates | Students: Rida Khan & Nate Cole @ridadequate @njcole20
The studio will address one of the most pressing and complex challenges facing architects today: HOUSING. By reinterpreting phenomenology in the context of housing, we aim to shift focus from the neoliberal emphasis on individualism to a planetary perspective that redefines the human relationship with the environment—LIVING. This exploration will span seven sites, along with the infrastructure connecting them, all owned by the Port Authority of NY and NJ. Among these is the reimagining of the infamous Bus Terminal as part of a narrative for a large-scale TRANSIENT LIVING community. The traditional nuclear-family housing model—centered on configurations like 1BD/1BA, 2BD/1BA, or studio apartments—has increasingly been questioned in a world where contemporary living defies these conventions. Today, living arrangements are unpredictable, blurred, diverse, temporal, and ever-evolving. Architects must adapt to this complexity, designing for a reality that transcends fixed norms and embraces the fluidity of contemporary existence.
#Architecture #MLAStudents #MArchStudents #MSArchStudents #MSAUDStudents
#PrattMArch #PrattInstitute #Design #StudentWork #PrattGALAUD #PrattSOA
LAR-703 | Land Studio III: Borough | Fall 2024 | Instructors: Ellen Garrett
Students in the second-year studio work alongside community members to understand the cascade of issues related to a changing climate to identify inequality and the disproportionate environmental burdens addressed through the medium of landscape. The studio partners with local community-based organization, Brooklyn Level Up (BKLVLUP), the Wyckoff Farmhouse Museum, and Brooklyn College’s Urban Soils Lab to engage directly in issues including, but not limited to seed sovereignty, airborne pollution, inadequate food supplies, and unsafe soils as a catalyst to civic dialogue, creative exploration, and co-creation in the neighborhood of East Flatbush and the borough of Brooklyn.
@pratt_mla
@bklvlup
@wyckoffmuseum
@bcurbansoilslab
@fwd_land
#Architecture #MLAStudents #MArchStudents #MSArchStudents #MSAUDStudents
#PrattMArch #PrattInstitute #Design #StudentWork #PrattGALAUD #PrattSOA
ARCH 601 | Media and Methods | Fall 2024 | Instructors: Poyao Shih Co-Instructor: Sophy Feldman | Students: Eli Lange
“My project is a cumulation of a gradual exploration beginning with object and geometry experimentation and finishing with a fully conceived architectural project. Initial massing and hybridization studies allowed me to develop a cohesive geometric language that was used as an adaptable toolkit when further exploring models, drawing, and concepts for my project of an artist residence situated on Governors’ Island. Selecting a sculptor artist to occupy this newly configured residence, I wanted the house itself to act as a continuous gallery, highlighting the artist’s work throughout all levels and spaces of the house. The visitor could explore the residence following a pathway that would act as the artist gallery, passing though both public and private areas of the home that allows the visitor to pass by the artist workspace and private living spaces, entering into the creative haven of the artist. A principle theme driving my project was to exhibit the selected artist’s work as well as exhibiting the artist at work permitting passerby to view pieces on display and pieces in progress. A goal of my project was to create a balance of the new alteration and the original home by pushing and pulling the exterior facade to reveal dominating sculptural stone or concrete elements while maintaining the integrity of the yellow siding that was present during our site visit. Ultimately, the artist residence is an intriguing architectural project that combines both public and private artistic expression.“
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#PrattMArch #PrattInstitute #Design #StudentWork #PrattGALAUD #PrattSOA
ARCH 703 | Urban Qualities & Materialities | Fall 2024 | Instructors: Erich Shoenenberger | Students: Kai Wei @wei.kaiwen @schoenenberger_su11
“The core design concept stems from the goal of reorganizing the existing buildings and community into a harmonious and interactive entity. Beyond that, the interventions aim to make the community more dynamic, engaging, and exciting. To achieve this, directionality became the key to unifying the existing structures. Currently, the buildings and surrounding streets face different directions, creating a complex web of information without clear visual or functional
guidance. To address this, I selected a primary direction that best aligns with the existing conditions. A grid of parallel lines was then introduced along this direction, slicing through the landscape and existing buildings. By shifting, adding, and subtracting forms based on this grid, a cohesive pattern emerged, tying everything together. Additionally, the manipulated landscape created new and intriguing opportunities, forming functional spaces that better serve the community. Each residential building was integrated with new forms that intersect the existing structures, generating multifunctional spaces that seamlessly blend residential and commercial areas. Beyond that, transparent core systems were introduced in both the new and old buildings, housing mechanical systems, supporting structures, and greenery. These elements enhance the living experience by fostering a more sustainable and visually connected environment.“
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#PrattMArch #PrattInstitute #Design #StudentWork #PrattGALAUD #PrattSOA
ARCH 805 | Advanced Design Research I: Imprints | Fall 2024 | Instructors: Florencia Pita Co-Instructor: Sophy Feldman | Students: Emily Sardo & Ankit Muhury @emmsardo @ankit._.muhury @florenciapita @sophyfeldman
Our project explores drawing and color as experimental tools and methods of production. We began with a series of black-and-white notation drawings, using linework, figures, hatches, and layering to create compositions that could be sliced and rearranged. In this process, positive and negative spaces seamlessly merge, while seams and breaks are intentionally emphasized. After building our design fabric and language we began to integrate color into our compositions. We investigated color interaction and generation through a resin dyeing process, producing a range of color samples that served as recipes for future applications. This growing visual and material language informed our resin cast relief model, incorporating etching, engraving, and layering techniques. The result is a physical imprint of our early explorations—capturing the depth and complexity of our process while opening up new possibilities for architectural inquiry.
These investigations then translated into figure-ground studies, plans, and sections that reimagined domestic space. Rather than a single enclosed entity, the house was broken down into spatial conditions, where boundaries were softened, redefined, or even erased. Furthering this exploration, we developed a three-dimensional chunk model that employed color and material transitions to articulate spatial boundaries. Transparent, translucent, and opaque materials defined varying spatial conditions—some rigid and enclosed, while others remained continuous, open, and seamlessly integrated with nature. This interplay between materiality and spatial thresholds blurred the division between interior and exterior, reinforcing a more dynamic, and redefined approach to inhabitation.
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#PrattMArch #PrattInstitute #Design #StudentWork #PrattGALAUD #PrattSOA
ARCH 805 | Advanced Design Research I: Sea Ranch | Fall 2024 | Instructors: Jeffrey Inaba & Emily Lawrason | Students: Geneive Garlock, Alara Ata & Nil Islekel
The studio course focuses on contemporary challenges in urban design and architecture, emphasizing the development of innovative proposals to address climate change. The goal is to spark public interest in our built environment through imaginative designs and regenerative strategies. Tackling climate change requires diverse interventions. Architecture plays a pivotal role in inspiring designers, engineers, and inventors to develop and implement creative solutions. Since the climate crisis cannot be resolved by a single idea or technology, the field of architecture fosters a collective spirit of experimentation to explore multiple approaches to this global challenge. Architecture is uniquely positioned to demonstrate how people can thrive in a changing environment. It offers the possibility of enriching daily life, showing that adaptation to unpredictable and extreme conditions can enhance rather than diminish the quality of everyday activities. The studio is founded on the premise that urbanism is a vital framework for architects to understand and integrate into their building designs.
Student Work:
1-6. Images | Geneive Garlock | Instructor: Jeffrey Inaba & Emily Lawrason @genevieve3milia
7-12. Images | Alara Ata & Nil Islekel | Instructor: Jeffrey Inaba & Emily Lawrason @alaraata_ @nilislekellop
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#PrattMArch #PrattInstitute #Design #StudentWork #PrattGALAUD #PrattSOA
ARCH 601 | Media and Methods | Fall 2024 | Instructors: MJ Sieira | Students: Ashley Gray, Matthew Bell, Michael Ballou
The first core studio serves as a foundation for graduate-level architectural design, introducing essential skills in representation, conceptual thinking, and design methodologies. Students explore various media and techniques to develop a deeper understanding of how to analyze and create formal, spatial, and material relationships. Through a series of guided exercises, they engage in abstract yet thought-provoking investigations that challenge traditional design boundaries. This studio fosters the ability to critically discuss and present ideas, setting the stage for advanced architectural exploration in subsequent studios.
Student Work:
1-5. Images | Ashley Gray | Instructor: MJ Sieira @ashleymyrenegray
6-10. Images | Michael Ballou | Instructor: MJ Sieira
11-13. Images | Matthew Bell | Instructor: MJ Sieira @matthewjmbell
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#PrattMArch #PrattInstitute #Design #StudentWork #PrattGALAUD #PrattSOA
ARCH 703 | Urban Qualities & Materials | Fall 2024 | Instructors: Thomas Leeser | Students: Noah Spivak, Colin House, Deniz Tokman
For the first time in history, as of 2010, more than half of the global population resides in cities. By 2050, the World Health Organization predicts that seven out of ten people will live in urban areas. This unprecedented pace of urbanization means that the way we design cities today directly shapes the future of civilization itself. At the same time, cities face increasing threats from climate change. The relationship between built and natural environments, along with principles of adaptation and resilience, has become critical to sustainable urban development. In New York City, housing affordability remains a pressing issue. The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) currently serves 528,105 residents through 177,569 apartments spread
across 335 conventional public housing and PACT developments. Despite their population, many NYCHA sites have significantly lower densities compared to other neighborhoods throughout the city. How can Mixed-Use Housing at the Bushwick Houses in Brooklyn reimagine the way we live, connect, and thrive?
Student Work:
1-6. Images | Noah Spivak | Instructor: Thomas Leeser @noahspivak
7-11. Images | Colin House | Instructor: Thomas Leeser @col.housee
12-15. Images | Deniz Tokman | Instructor: Thomas Leeser @deniztokmann
#Architecture #MLAStudents #MArchStudents #MSArchStudents #MSAUDStudents
#PrattMArch #PrattInstitute #Design #StudentWork #PrattGALAUD #PrattSOA
