Troy, NY

EMPAC Site Design

The Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center, better known as EMPAC, houses four main concert venues, smaller studios and lab spaces. This signature work of architecture includes many firsts and exceptional attributes in the fields of acoustics, structural integrity, theatrical presentation, and digital media.

Saratoga Associates was commissioned by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to perform the site master planning and landscape architectural design for this high-tech performance, education and research facility. 

Perched on a dramatic slope overlooking the City of Troy, site amenities include entrance terraces, plazas, stairs and retaining walls, pathways, and vehicular drop-offs. Site improvements included green stormwater management technology with bioswales set into the slope to detain and filter site runoff. 

Since its completion, this project has garnered numerous awards and accolades from both the design and local community. This LEED certified design serves as a reminder that transformative, iconic design can also be sustainable.

CLIENT:
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

YEAR COMPLETED:
2008

SERVICES:
Landscape Architectural Design
Site Planning
Construction Administration

EMPAC RPI
EMPAC Site Deign - RPI
EMPAC Site Deign - RPI
EMPAC Site Deign - RPI
I could not let another day pass without sending you a note of thanks on the brilliant work of the Saratoga Associates on the Massry Center for the Arts. This building is a rare example of the finished product actually coming out much better than the conceptual drawings! I can't tell you the number of people who came up to me...to say how impressed they were with the beauty and functionality of the Center.

Congratulations to you and the entire SA team for a job very well done!
Dr. R. Mark Sullivan