The Research Yard, located at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, is Pratt Institute’s dedicated space for applied creative research, bringing together students, professors, and industry practitioners to discover new approaches to addressing today’s complex challenges. With a focus on communities, industries, and the environment, the Research Yard enables practitioners and students alike to explore digital and applied research that allows for productive outcomes in areas relating to data visualizations, prototyping, and materials production.
Due to security restrictions at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, anyone visiting the Research Yard must have a Brooklyn Navy Yard badge or guest pass to enter.
To request a guest pass or parking for the day, please complete the Guest Pass or Parking Request Form, at least 2 business days in advance.
Faculty and staff who will be working from the Research Yard regularly, and need consistent access to the Research Yard, should complete the BNY Badge Request Form.If you have a Brooklyn Navy Yard badge, and haven’t used it in more than a month, it will need to be reactivated. Please use the BNY Badge Request Form to request reactivation.
To use one of the two conference rooms at the Research Yard, you must make a reservation at least 2 business days before your event, using Pratt’s room reservation system, Coursedog.
If you’re hosting an event with more than 25 people, please contact the Research and Strategic Partnerships team for approval, before making the reservation request in Coursedog.
While research at Pratt is carried out across the Institute, the Research Yard is a facility that serves as a resource to the Pratt community and currently houses the Provost’s Centers and Research Accelerators.
The Research Yard is a 20,000-square-foot research and fabrication facility, that expands on the Institute’s ongoing relationship with the Brooklyn Navy Yard, once an historic shipyard, and now a dynamic hub for technology, design, manufacturing, and interdisciplinary innovation in New York City.
“Building this advanced creative research facility just blocks from the Pratt campus and alongside the businesses and entrepreneurs at the Brooklyn Navy Yard is crucial for New York City and especially for the borough of Brooklyn,” said Pratt Institute President Frances Bronet.
Pratt initially conceived of the Research Yard in 2018, and opened its doors in 2022. The open-plan space includes shared fabrication and technology labs, offices, and conference rooms. Our Provost’s Centers and Research Accelerators have their own dedicated spaces in the Research Yard, bringing researchers working in information visualization, community development, climate adaptation, design incubation, and digital archaeology together under one roof. In addition to contributions from Pratt, the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and the New York City Council, the Brooklyn Borough President’s Office and Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY) contributed financial resources for the realization of this ambitious facility.