Interior Design
The MFA in Interior Design at Pratt Institute is located within the ultimate learning environment of New York City—the interior design capital of the United States. Over the last decade, DesignIntelligence has consistently ranked our undergraduate and graduate programs in the top three in the country. This year, the MFA ranked, once again, number one, and the BFA ranked number two. As one of the most prominent graduate programs, we inspire our students to become leaders by setting high standards for critical thinking, exemplary expression, professional aptitude, and responsible action in enhancing and transforming the human environment. We present an inspiring and challenging course of study in an expanding and dynamic discipline. The MFA in Interior Design guides students in generating creative solutions that integrate an understanding of craft and making, material research, changing technologies, sustainable practices, and current issues, including knowledge about global cultural history and diverse contexts. The program prepares students to engage in critical inquiry and at an explorative capacity which will establish them as innovators in the field of interior design pointing to the larger potentials of professional practice, design education, and research affecting the interior environment.
The MFA degree concentrates on the preparation of individuals who are ready to contribute to the academic discipline as well as the profession. Our students are drawn from all parts of the world, with varying backgrounds, and from a variety of disciplines, which creates an intellectually stimulating environment. They are a select group who come to Pratt to work hard and prepare to enter a profession in which the designer must be multifaceted and able to provide innovative design solutions. Many come to the program for a career change, so classroom and studio interchange is enhanced by the diversity of students—a student who comes from a background in economics has a very different approach from one coming from dance, and each has something to learn from the other. An important part of Pratt’s mission is to challenge graduates to reach their fullest potential and prepare them to become leaders in the profession.
The MFA curriculum brings a focus to the interior by concentrating on many scales, uses, and activities to connect the discipline and practice of interior design to larger issues of habitation, urbanization, and society. Our faculty members are a mixture of practicing professionals and academics with many kinds of expertise. They bring real-world design experience and several types of methods and processes into their creative classroom teaching. The program curriculum instills values in its students, not as mere competencies, but as opportunities for critical engagement in the contemporary world. In support of these transformative responsibilities, the program fosters an inquisitive dialogue amongst its faculty and students, thus providing an open exchange between the world of designers, producers, and users of the built environment.
Acting Chair
David Foley
Assistant Chair
Tania Sofia Branquinho
Assistant to the Chair
Aston Gibson
Office
Tel: 718.636.3630
Fax: 718.399.4440
int@pratt.edu
www.pratt.edu/interior-design-grad
Severino Alfonso
Visiting Assistant Professor
Superior Degree, Arch., Universidad Politecnica, Madrid, Spain; M.S. Advanced Architecture, GSAPP Columbia University.
Eric Ansel
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.F.A. Painting and Drawing, Rhode Island School of Design; M.Arch., Pratt Institute; M.F.A. Painting and Drawing, School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Tarek Ashkar
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.Arch., University of California, Berkeley; M.Arch., Harvard University Graduate School of Design.
Peter Lind Barna
Professor
BSEE, Virginia Tech; M.I.D., Pratt Institute.
Jacob Bek
Visiting Assistant Professor
A.A. Design, Bard College at Simon’s Rock; B.Arch., Pratt Institute; M.Sc. Emergent Technologies and Design, Architectural Association School of Architecture.
David Black
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.Sc. Arch., Georgia Institute of Technology; M.Arch., University of Illinois, Chicago.
Lex Braes
Visiting Associate Professor
M.F.A., University of California; Brooklyn Museum Art School; Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art.
Tania Sofia Branquinho
Assistant Chair, Adjunct Assistant Professor
B.F.A. Interior Design, New York School of Interior Design; M.Arch., Pratt Institute.
Nick Brinen
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.A. Architecture, University of Florida, M.Arch., University of Texas at Austin.
Greg Bugel
Visiting Assistant Professor
M.Arch., GSAPP Columbia University, M.Arts, Museum Studies, Seton Hall University.
Mary A. Burke
Adjunct Associate Professor
B.A. Architectural History, Fordham University; B.Arch., City College School of Architecture; M.S. Historic Preservation, Columbia University.
Tania Chau
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.A. Linguistics, University of Chicago; M.S. Interior Design, Pratt Institute.
Jeffrey Chen
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.S. Agricultural Resource Managerial Economics; M.Arch., University of Pennsylvania.
Ike Cheung
Visiting Instructor, Lecturer
B.Arch., Pratt Institute.
Der Sean Chou
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.B.A. Information Management, Fu Jen Catholic University, Taiwan; M.S. Information Systems, New York University; M.S. Interior Design, Pratt Institute.
Melissa Cicetti
Visiting Associate Professor
B.A. Design of the Environment, M.Arch., University of Pennsylvania.
Michele Clement
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.F.A. Interior Design, Louisiana State University.
Annie Coggan
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.A. Art and History, Bennington College; M.Arch., Southern California Institute of Architecture.
James Counts
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.Arch., Kansas State University; M.S.A.A.D., Columbia University.
Caleb Crawford
Visiting Associate Professor, Lecturer
B.Arch., Pratt Institute; M.Arch. SCI-Arc.
Haley Crone
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.A. Art History University of Oregon; M.Arch., University of Oregon.
Wendy Cronk
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.A. Architecture and Economics, Washington University; M.Arch., Harvard University Graduate School of Design.
Loren Daye
Visiting Assistant Professor
M.S. Interior Design, Pratt Institute; B.A. Chinese Studies, Ohio State University.
Marcello Lopez Dinardi
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.Arch., Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico; M.S. Critical, Curatorial, and Conceptual Practices in Architecture, Columbia University.
John Seth Embry
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.Des. Arch., University of Florida; M.Arch., Pratt Institute.
Brita Everett
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.S. Arch., M.Arch., University of Cincinnati.
David Foley
Visiting Professor
B.A. Architectural Studies, University of Pittsburgh; M.Arch., University of Illinois; M.Arch. Urban Design, University of Notre Dame.
Nina Freedman
Visiting Associate Professor
Diploma Architecture, Architectural Association School of Architecture; B.S. Landscape Architecture, City College of New York.
Alex Goldberg
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.A. in Art History, Boston University; M.S. Interior Design, Pratt Institute.
Randi Halpern
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.F.A. Interior Design, New York Institute of Technology; Graduate Studies, Parsons Lighting.
William Haskas
Visiting Associate Professor
B.Arch., New York Institute of Technology; M.Arch. Urbanism, Syracuse University.
John Heida
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.Arch., Rice University; B.A. Microbiology, University of Montana.
Claudia Hernandez
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.Arch., California Polytechnic State University; M.S.A.A.D., GSAPP, Columbia University.
Benjamin Howes
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.Arch., Pratt Institute; M.Eng. Product Architecture, Stevens Institute of Technology.
Ashira Israel
Visiting Assistant Professor
A.S. Fashion Design, Fashion Institute of Technology; B.Arch., Pratt Institute.
Sheryl Kasak
Adjunct Associate Professor
B.F.A., B.Arch., Rhode Island School of Design; M.S.A.A.D., Columbia University.
Ted Kilcommons
Visiting Instructor
B.A. English Literature, University of Texas.
Jason Kim
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.Arch., University of Southern California, M.S. Advanced Architectural Design, GSAPP Columbia University.
Ji Young Kim
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.Arch., Korea University; M.Arch., Columbia University.
Olivia Knott
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.S. Arch., University of Illinois, Chicago; M.Arch., Parsons The New School for Design.
Melanie Kozol-Carney
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.A. Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture Connecticut College; M.F.A. The School of Visual Arts.
Eugene Kwak
Visiting Associate Professor
B.Arch., Carnegie Mellon University; M.S. Arch. and Urban Design, Columbia University.
Frederic Levrat
Visiting Associate Professor
Diploma of Architecture, the School of Architecture at École Polytech Federale de Lausanne.
Chelsea Limbird
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.A. Economics, Brown University; B.A. Architectural Studies, Brown University; M.Arch., Rhode Island School of Design.
Timo Lindman
Visiting Assistant Professor
A.B., Brown University; M.Arch., Harvard University.
David Ling
Visiting Associate Professor
Dipl. Ing., University of Stuttgart; B.Arch., Illinois Institute of Technology.
Sarah K. Lippman
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.F.A. Drama, New York University, Tisch School of the Arts; M.S. Interior Design, Pratt Institute.
Cam Lorendo
Adjunct Associate Professor
Certificate of Design, Environmental Design, Parsons The New School for Design.
Michael Maggio
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.P.S. Architecture, SUNY Buffalo; M.Arch., SUNY Buffalo.
Mariel Herrera Manzur
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.F.A. Interior Design, Pratt Institute; M.F.A. Furniture Design, Rhode Island School of Design.
T. Camille Martin
Assistant Dean of Design, Adjunct Professor
Sara McElroy
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.S. Philosophy (Cultural Studies minor), Towson University; M.F.A. Lighting Design and Interior Design, Parsons The New School for Design.
William McLoughlin
Visiting Instructor
B.Arch., Rhode Island School of Design and Brown University.
Anthony Mekel
Adjunct Associate Professor
B.Arch., Pratt Institute.
Pablo De Miguel Iglesias
Visiting Associate Professor
M.Arch., Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Madrid; M.Arch. II, Harvard University Graduate School of Design.
Francine Monaco
Adjunct Associate Professor
B.Arch., University of Cincinnati.
Brendan Moran
Visiting Associate Professor
M.S. Environmental Design, Yale University; Ph.D. History Theory, Harvard University.
Julie Moskovitz
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.A., University of Michigan Ann Arbor; M.Arch., University of Pennsylvania.
John Nafziger
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.A. Middle Eastern Studies, Franklin and Marshall College; M.Arch., Yale University.
Robert Nassar
Adjunct Associate Professor
B.F.A. Interior Design, Syracuse University.
Latoya Nelson
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.S. Business Administration, M.F.A., George Washington University; M.Arch., University of Pennsylvania (Real Estate Development specialty).
Hannibal Newsom
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.S. Architectural Studies, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign; M.Arch., Pratt Institute.
Tetsu Ohara
Visiting Assistant Professor
Computer Science, University of California, Los Angeles; Architecture, University of California, Berkeley; Harvard University Graduate School of Design Intensive Program.
Pamela Ortega
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.A. History of Art, Johns Hopkins University; M.F.A. Interior Design, Pratt Institute.
Jon Otis
Professor
B.A. English/Journalism, Moravian College; M.S. Interior Design and Architectural Studies, University of Massachusetts.
June Park
Visiting Assistant Professor
Rachel Paupeck
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.A., Smith College; M.Arch., Rhode Island School of Design.
Sal Raffone
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.S. Arch., Northeastern University; M.Arch., Harvard University Graduate School of Design; M.B.A., Columbia Business School.
J. Woodson Rainey Jr.
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.F.A., B.Arch., University of Utah.
Christian Reitzke
Visiting Assistant Professor
Diplom-Ingenieur (professional degree in architecture), Munster, Germany; M.Arch., Pratt Institute.
Ben Rosenblum
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.A. Visual Arts and Politics, Oberlin College; M.S. Arch., University of California, Berkeley; M.Arch., Yale University.
Marc Schaut
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.Arch., M.Arch., University of Florida.
Irina Schneid
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.Arch., M.Arch. II, Cornell University.
Deborah Schneiderman
Professor
B.S. Design and Environmental Analysis, Cornell University; M.Arch., SCI-Arc.
Alex Schweder
Visiting Associate Professor
B.Arch., Pratt Institute; M.F.A., M.Arch., Princeton University; Ph.D. University of Cambridge, UK.
Hazel Siegel
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.A. Textile Deign, Skidmore College; M.F.A. Art Education, Hunter College.
Alison B. Snyder
Chair, Professor
B.Arch., Washington University; M.Arch., GSAPP Columbia University.
Scott Sorenson
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.Arch., Pratt Institute.
Sarah Strauss
Visiting Associate Professor
B.A. Studio Art (Art History and Chemistry minor), Duke University; M.Arch., Yale University.
Keena Suh
Associate Professor
B.A. English Literature, University of Illinois; M.Arch., Columbia University.
Myonggi Sul
Professor
B.A. English Literature, Valparaiso University; M.S. Environmental Design, Pratt Institute.
Karin Tehve
Associate Professor
B.Arch., Pennsylvania State University; M.Arch., Harvard University Graduate School of Design.
Jack Travis
Adjunct Professor
B.Arch., Arizona State University, Temple; M.Arch., University of Illinois.
Loukia Tsafoulia
Visiting Assistant Professor
M.S.A.A.D., GSAPP, Columbia University; Diploma in Architecture Engineering, Ph.D. candidate, School of Architecture, National Polytechnic University of Athens, Greece.
William Watson
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.A. Economics, Princeton University; M.Arch., University of Texas at Austin.
Barbara Weinreich
Visiting Associate Professor
B.A. Art History, Brown University; M.Arch., Columbia University.
Piotr Woronkowicz
Visiting Instructor
B.S. Product Design, Art Center College of Design, California.
Calvert Wright
Visiting Associate Professor
B.A., Columbia University; M.Arch., Princeton University.
Edwin Zawadzki
Visiting Assistant Professor
B.A. Applied Mathematics, Harvard University; M.Arch., Yale University.
Michael Zuckerman
Adjunct Professor
B.Arch., B.S. Architecture, City College, New York.
The purpose of this course is to provide a thorough study of textiles, wall covering, and carpet as it relates to the aesthetics, application, and function in corporate, healthcare, institutional, and residential interiors. A great portion of this course will be devoted to practical application. These sessions will be held in environments where students would go to obtain products for their \"real\" projects.
This first course in Computer-Aided Design and Drafting (CADD) covers the basic concepts and techniques encountered in today's microcomputer-based CAD systems. Major commands, defining a drawing and editing techniques are mastered. Basic prototype drawings are created and recorded on hard copy.
Using specialized software, students learn to prepare detailed and rendered perspective drawings for presentation purposes.
This course will cover the use of Revit Architecture, a leading Building Information Modeling (BIM) software that is quickly becoming the industry standard for design professionals. The goal of this course is to get students familiar with Revit in particular, and the BIM design process on a more general scale. We will focus on how these tools can enhance student work using design studio/thesis examples, as well as how these tools are used in a professional environment using complex large-scale projects as case-studies.
These are basic design courses dealing with people's relation to space, architecture and the environment in a broad sense. Emphasis is on human factors, scale, materials and structures. The course progresses from the abstract to problem-solving through analysis and includes consideration of professional design problems of moderate scope.
These are basic design courses dealing with people's relation to space, architecture and the environment in a broad sense. Emphasis is on human factors, scale, materials and structures. The course progresses from the abstract to problem-solving through analysis and includes consideration of professional design problems of moderate scope.
This is an introduction to structural principles and construction practices in design and architecture. Emphasis is on the relation of basic structures to the needs of interior design. Consideration of problems and solutions of small-scale construction are explored. Construction drawings and details are reviewed together with lecture and discussion.
Drafting techniques, perspective construction and lettering are taught as well as delineation, media and application. Advanced problems in rendering and presentation techniques are introduced.
This course is an overview of color theory and color phenomenology as it relates to interior design. With a broad introduction to color theory, students manipulate visual phenomenon in two- and three-dimensional exercises. The final project applies these principles to a given interior using color and materials on architectural surfaces, furniture, and furnishings.
The practice of interior design involves both office and project management. This course examines the legal, financial, personnel, marketing and communications responsibilities of a design principal in the field. It introduces the graduate student to the complexities of managing the execution of a contract interior project, including experience at a job site in progress.
An immersion into the field of interiors & Product Design as they relate to the Contract Design industry. Students spend 7 days in Chicago, listening and talking to designers ande manufacturers about their spaces and products. In addition, students will tour Frank Lloyd Wright & Mies van der Rohe designed buildings around Chicago, and will also have the opportunity to see and experience other great architecture and design in Chicago.
Coursework and/or special projects are assigned on an individual basis.
Coursework and/or special projects are assigned on an individual basis.
Coursework and/or special projects are assigned on an individual basis.
If the thesis course is not completed in the initial semesters, students can continue working in INT-700 for no more than five semesters.
This studio will Introduce students to the critical issues in the design of the Interior through a series of projects that conceptually and materially address program, site and cultural context.
Studio assignments provide opportunities for focused investigations within the interior environment via unique or prototypical projects, of varying scales and typo1ogies, and in response to considerations of social context, site and program. The studio emphasizes a holistic, three-dimensional approach to problem solving including spatial manipulations and integrated investigations of materials, structures, light and color.
Students undertake independent problems based on individual thesis proposals, submitted by the candidate and approved by the thesis advisor. Projects represent design solutions of significant scope and complexity and must show mature correlation between all phases of design and construction based on supportive research. Students may also elect to pursue an academic research-oriented approach to study emerging issues in the interior built environment.
In this second semester of thesis, students continue their investigations of Independent problems based on individual thesis proposals, submitted by the candidate and approved by the thesis advisor. Projects represent design solutions of significant scope and complexity and must show mature correlation between all phases of design and construction based on supportive research. Students may also elect to pursue an academic research-oriented approach to study emerging issues in the interior built environment.
This class introduces students to the concepts of digital model making, rendering and animation. New workflow options will be explored for enhances design production addressing the seamless transition from 2D to 3D, digital to physical models, conceptual to realistic design options and their visual representations. The course will discuss the software in the context of the design practice as a generative, iterative and production tool.
This course is an exploration of light, color and materials in the design of the interior used as a means of expression through three larger investigative modules: 1) integration of seeing: 2) integration of experience: and 3) integration of application. The course will address sustainable practice, material research, environmental quality, aesthetics, and changing technologies as applied to light color and materials.
This course examines the ways in which interior designers and theorists express and conceptualize the multi-dimensional field of interior Design and will include topics in social sciences, design history, taste, sustainability and ethical design.
This course will study the construction documentation process through the production of working drawings, models and schedules. Through a series of iterative steps, the evolution of a design from the concept through the model and drawings to the final fabrication and construction phase will be understood. Students will explore new technologies in design documentation and fabrication, putting together a documentation set using BIM (an acronym that stands for \" Building Information Modeling\") and exploring digital fabrication techniques.
Students will learn how the natural and constructed interior environment affects human comfort. Students will explore the science and technology for measuring and maintaining comfort conditions and ecological balance within buildings, with an emphasis on sustainable design and systems integration. Through the use of software and 3-D modeling students will learn develop sustainable design strategies for the ambient environment.
The interior Options Lab provides the opportunity for further hands on studio exploration in selected areas of interest. Projects will explore detail areas of interior Design rather than full interior Environments. Each options lab section will uniquely address issues and practices relative to the interior Design Graduate concentration areas.
Intended for those who desire to enter teaching at the college-level, students will explore and observe multiple teaching pedagogies and strategies, design education methodologies, and evaluation techniques in order to develop a knowledge base for curricular and project development, as well as techniques for effective and appropriate course preparation and instruction.
The course investigates a series of histories and theories of the domestic interior by looking at it from within and from the outside, its contents and its representations. It engages history and theory by allowing course participants to create their own body of scholarship through a series of focused case study investigations of the changing cultural forces and how they directly affect the form of the interior and its representations of the past and present.
The ability to communicate through visual material is an essential skill for the interior design professional. Using the development of your portfolio as a main theme, this class will serve as a lab to understand general principles of how graphic design helps you successfully present and develop your work-both as a representational and a creative tool.
The internship is a learning experience at a discipline-related professional site. It provides students with an opportunity to apply academic knowledge and skills in a practical setting, while obtaining new knowledge and skills in preparation for professional work or graduate school. Students experience the application of coursework lessons into a real-life context, thus enriching their education. They deepen their knowledge about important applied aspects of their discipline, enhance their professional skills in a real-world context, build their professional network, and inform their career choices. Additional faculty-supervised activities provide the opportunity for an in-depth reflection on the internship experience.
The internship is a learning experience at a discipline-related professional site. It provides students with an opportunity to apply academic knowledge and skills in a practical setting, while obtaining new knowledge and skills in preparation for professional work or graduate school. Students experience the application of coursework lessons into a real-life context, thus enriching their education. They deepen their knowledge about important applied aspects of their discipline, enhance their professional skills in a real-world context, build their professional network, and inform their career choices. Additional faculty-supervised activities provide the opportunity for an in-depth reflection on the internship experience.
The internship is a learning experience at a discipline-related professional site. It provides students with an opportunity to apply academic knowledge and skills in a practical setting, while obtaining new knowledge and skills in preparation for professional work or graduate school. Students experience the application of coursework lessons into a real-life context, thus enriching their education. They deepen their knowledge about important applied aspects of their discipline, enhance their professional skills in a real-world context, build their professional network, and inform their career choices. Additional faculty-supervised activities provide the opportunity for an in-depth reflection on the internship experience.
The internship is a learning experience at a discipline-related professional site. It provides students with an opportunity to apply academic knowledge and skills in a practical setting, while obtaining new knowledge and skills in preparation for professional work or graduate school. Students experience the application of coursework lessons into a real-life context, thus enriching their education. They deepen their knowledge about important applied aspects of their discipline, enhance their professional skills in a real-world context, build their professional network, and inform their career choices. Additional faculty-supervised activities provide the opportunity for an in-depth reflection on the internship experience.