Pratt - Historic Preservation Program

07/09/2026

07/09/2026

🎓 Graduate Spotlight: Fabio Lima

Fabio chose Pratt because of its commitment to embracing the human complexity of historic preservation, seeing buildings not only as physical structures, but as places shaped by memory, culture, and the aspirations of the communities connected to them.

Throughout his time in the Historic Preservation program, Fabio discovered that preservation is not about becoming the sole expert in a room. Instead, he came to understand that the role of a preservationist is to listen, collaborate, and help amplify the knowledge that already exists within communities and the built environment.

This perspective has reshaped the way he approaches preservation, reinforcing that the field is as much about people and shared histories as it is about architecture itself.

Congratulations, Fabio! We look forward to seeing how you continue advancing thoughtful, community-centered preservation. 💙🏛️

CommunityEngagement BuiltEnvironment

05/11/2026

Ashley Adams-Stauble is an interior designer working in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, and graduated from the Pratt HP Master’s program in 2024. Ashley is passionate about the harmony between modern design and heritage preservation. After graduating, Ashley started the Gingerbread Project, which focuses on the preservation of vernacular homes in Trinidad and Tobago, advocacy, and education surrounding local historic architecture. Her involvement in restoring a gingerbread house on Ana St in Woodbrook, Port of Spain led to a lot of public interest, and Ashley was invited on the local news twice and interviewed in the national newspapers once!

05/04/2026

Chris Cirillo is a 2016 Pratt HP alum and Executive Director/President of Ascendant Neighborhood Development for over 13 years! A few recent projects that Chris has worked on at Ascendant include Metro North Plaza, part of a NYCHA PACT project that aims to rehabilitate public housing using state and federal Historic Tax Credits, and The Beacon, a project on city-owned land that will rehabilitate a former city school building as a community facility space while adding new affordable rentals. Chris is also a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Pratt HP program, where he teaches Current Issues in Historic Preservation.

05/04/2026

Chris Cirillo is a 2016 Pratt HP alum and Executive Director/President of Ascendant Neighborhood Development for over 13 years! A few recent projects that Chris has worked on at Ascendant include Metro North Plaza, part of a NYCHA PACT project that aims to rehabilitate public housing using state and federal Historic Tax Credits, and The Beacon, a project on city-owned land that will rehabilitate a former city school building as a community facility space while adding new affordable rentals. Chris is also a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Pratt HP program, where he teaches Current Issues in Historic Preservation.

05/04/2026

Rebecca Krucoff, a 2016 Pratt Historic Preservation graduate, has been working at the intersection of the heritage, education and community engagement fields for over 20 years. She has engaged in field-research units and programming with high school students and teachers in NYC public schools through her organization The Urban Memory Project since 2005.

She has been applying those same teaching strategies in her work with undergraduate and graduate Pratt students in both the Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment and the Art and Design Education Department, where students apply the strategies of oral history research, field research, and archival research to uncover educational and neighborhood-based histories for a variety of public-facing projects such as exhibitions, presentations, and reports.

02/25/2026

Future preservationists in the making 🏛️✨

First-year Historic Preservation students Suzanne Jackson, Eileen Michaud, and Caroline Hibbert share why they chose the Historic Preservation program at the Pratt Institute within Graduate Center for Planning and the Environment. From hands-on experience to learning in the heart of Brooklyn, they’re building the skills to protect the stories embedded in our built environment.

05/27/2025

Celebrating Our First-Year Students and Their Work in Crow Hill! 🎉🏛️

Last Friday, first-year Historic Preservation students shared the outcomes of their Heritage Documentation Studio, which focused on Crow Hill in Crown Heights.

Throughout the semester, students engaged in in-depth research and fieldwork to document the architectural and cultural significance of this historically rich neighborhood. Their final report, designed as a field guide, highlights Crow Hill’s layered history and built environment.

In addition, they developed a special section on watchlisted buildings, using it as a lens to examine the importance and impact of landmarking in New York City.

We’re incredibly proud of their rigorous, thoughtful, and beautifully presented work. Huge congratulations to the entire cohort for their incredible achievement!

Special thanks to Ward Dennis, Rebecca Krucoff, Suzanne Spellen, and the Crown Heights North Association (CHNA) for their generous guidance and support.

Swipe through for highlights from their studio share!

03/04/2025

A huge congratulations to Fabio Lima, Pratt HP class of ‘26, for being selected as a 2025 Canada Council for the Arts Venice Fellow! 🎉

This August, Fabio will join the cohort overseeing the Canada Pavilion at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale, while also advancing his independent research on commemorating deaths marked by social stigma and q***r uses of space in Venice.

Through historic preservation and place-based research, Fabio sheds light on narratives often overlooked, revealing the profound role of space in shaping memory, care, and community.

We are incredibly proud of Fabio and can’t wait to see how his work continues to inspire and impact the field!

Photo 1: Fabio Lima Headshot
Photo 2: Fabio presenting some of his research at the Spaces of Solastalgia Teach-In on February 28th at Pratt.
Photo 3: The island of Lazzaretto Vecchio, an early quarantine station, will be among the surveyed sites. © Lazzaretti Veneziani
Photo 4: Eden, F. A garden in Venice. Offices of ‘Country life’ [etc.], 1903. (Source: Smithsonian Libraries and Archives)
Photo 5: Source: New York City AIDS Memorial, photography by Alexander Sargent and Joan Dwiartanto
Photo 6: Canada Pavilion in the Giardini di Castello. © National Gallery of Canada
Photo 7: Interior view of the Canada Pavilion, Venice, Italy © Andrea Pertoldeo

02/25/2025

Spaces of Solastalgia, Grief, and Loss Teach-In

Join us for a one-day teach-in exploring the personal and collective impacts of climate collapse. This interdisciplinary event will delve into the grief, loss, resistance, and mourning caused by climate change and its effects on all species, including our own.

According to the American Psychological Association (APA), more than two-thirds of Americans are currently experiencing some form of grief or eco-anxiety related to climate collapse. Unfortunately, conventional responses often offer techno-utopian solutions without addressing the emotional realities of what we are losing. This teach-in acknowledges the inevitable losses we face and creates a safe space to explore ways of processing grief in response to climate change.

Convened by renowned academics and visiting speakers from various disciplines at Pratt, this event will provide a heart-centered approach to understanding and dealing with climate-related grief.
This event will be an opportunity to reflect, share, and learn in community about how to cope with the profound challenges of living in a climate-collapsing world.
Link is in the bio!
Photo credit:
📅 Date: February 28, 2025
⏰ Time: 9:30 AM – 5:30 PM
📍 Location: Alumni Reading Room, Pratt Campus, Brooklyn