SurroundArt Selects the Architect of NYC's Famed Chelsea Piers to Create New "Green" Museum Resource Campus at Brooklyn Navy Yard

Steven Kratchman Architect Chosen for Architectural Master Plan for New Waterfront Development

Brooklyn, NY (Vocus/PRWEB ) February 19, 2008 -- SurroundArt, a leading provider of fine arts services, today announced that it has retained the firm Steven Kratchman Architect, P.C. for the company's new "green" Museum Resource Campus currently under construction at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

As the architects, our team will have an opportunity to create a design that integrates the old and the new for a new era of mixed-use, clean urban industry and waterfront development at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Expected to open in fall, 2008, the three-building campus includes a new, 89,000 square foot building on Perry Avenue, now in construction; another 71,000 square feet in Building Three at the Navy Yard; and the adaptive re-use of the historic, century-old Paymaster Building. With an emphasis on green design, the new Perry Ave. building will be the first-ever multi-story, multi-tenanted LEED Silver Industrial Building in the United States. The Kratchman firm has been asked to design and unify the new SurroundArt campus with an emphasis on sustainability.

This will be the third major waterfront development project for architect and urban designer Steven Kratchman, AIA. Before establishing his own firm in 1999, Kratchman served as lead designer of the now world-renowned Chelsea Piers recreational complex. Prior to that, he also designed the Hudson Park mixed-use waterfront development in Yonkers, N.Y., which consists of residential, retail and office space, as well as a waterfront pedestrian esplanade and park.

"Most people do not of think of 'green' and 'urban industrial design' in the same sentence, but we have made a commitment to combining the two at the Navy Yard and that's exactly why we selected Steven Kratchman," said Michael Murray, CEO of SurroundArt. "Our new Museum Resource Campus will provide everything the arts industry needs within a green, cutting-edge design built for 21st century sustainability."

SurroundArt provides fine arts services such as secure storage, crating, packing, transportation, fabrication, exhibition design, and installation. The ambitious Museum Resource Campus is the first and only one of its kind in the nation and is being built to support the arts industry in New York and beyond.

"This is a tremendously exciting project for many reasons, not the least of which is the commitment SurroundArt has made to green design and sustainability," Kratchman said. "As the architects, our team will have an opportunity to create a design that integrates the old and the new for a new era of mixed-use, clean urban industry and waterfront development at the Brooklyn Navy Yard."

Based in New York City, the Kratchman firm believes in green, energy-efficient architectural design with an emphasis on new technologies that offer a payback of three years or fewer. Kratchman's firm of 15 professionals focuses on both commercial and residential projects, including historic and landmark properties.

About SurroundArt
SurroundArt is a full-service museum resource company with offices, workrooms, and warehouses in New York and Washington, DC. Founded in 1998, the company supports the international fine arts community by providing a wide array of services, including temperature-controlled and secure storage, crating, packing, transportation, fabrication, design, and art handling. To accommodate its growth, SurroundArt is developing a unique and expansive "fine arts campus" at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, with more than 165,000 square feet of space under management. Staffed by museum-trained professionals, who are educated in fine arts and passionate about their craft, SurroundArt has become a trusted resource to many of the largest and most respected museums, foundations and private collectors in the world. More information can be found at www.surroundart.com.

About Steven Kratchman Architect, P.C.
The firm Steven Kratchman Architect, P.C., was founded in 1999 by Mr. Steven Kratchman, AIA, the architect and urban designer who previously served as Senior Project Designer for the urban redevelopment team that transformed an abandoned New York City urban harbor area into the now world-renowned Chelsea Piers waterfront recreational complex. The firm has grown from two architects to a professional staff of 15, who work on retail, commercial and residential projects, including multi-family residential, single-family residential, historic and landmark properties, private clubs and sports facilities, educational institutions, new from-the-ground-up buildings and restaurants. www.kratchmanarchitect.com

Media Contacts:
SurroundArt
Greg Abel
(410) 466-2210

Steven Kratchman Architect
Daniel Kennedy
Communications Services
(212) 580-3454

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