Brooklyn College Graduate School of Cinema

The Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema is the result of a public-private partnership between two long-standing clients of Dattner Architects: the City University of New York and Steiner NYC. The first public graduate film school, Feirstein is part of Brooklyn College, and their first program division is hosted off-campus.

Designed to embrace the culture of a contemporary movie lot and university campus, the school’s facilities include everything necessary for sophisticated digital film production – from concept to finished product. Allowing students the opportunity to create in an unparalleled, professional setting that includes a sound stage, production labs, motion capture studio, editing suites, recording studios, and a screening room complete with a mixing area.

The school is on the top two floors of Steiner NYC’s 25 Washington Ave., a multi-use building originally designed as a Navy testing facility, recently renovated within their large Steiner Studio Brooklyn Navy Yard Media Campus.

"The fact that Feirstein is located at Steiner Studios, the largest film and studio complex outside Hollywood, will offer an enormous advantage to students. This will immerse students in all aspects of filmmaking in a facility that is second to none, as well as provide students with a level of access to professionals working in the field and they might not otherwise have access to.”
— Jason Carey, Assistant VP – Brooklyn College

Then & Now

After years of vacancy

The new Motion Capture Studio

After years of vacancy

The new Motion Capture Studio

Centered around a shared central space, the creation of an internal “Vertical Campus” joins the two levels of the school through a forum amphitheater, creating a spectacular gathering, meeting, and viewing space. Serving as a wayfinding space and campus center, the design activates the circulation spine with information seating and pinup space for students to congregate, collaborate, and socialize.

The vision for this school was designed around a brand new academic program. Rather than a theory-based education which focuses on “the whole film-maker,” the school wished to create a hands-on program that gave students the skills to enter specific fields: editor, cinematographer, screenwriter, director, or producer. This holistic approach to film-making was a primary driver of the design, which emphasizes cross disciplinary collaboration by exposing each discipline to the work of the others.

Applied Learning & Collaboration

The school is designed around a pedagogical vision that encourages hands on practice and a source of ready talent for the film industry. The long term strategy of the school’s program, is that a virtuous cycle of professional/faculty/student interaction will be set in motion. Students graduate and, ideally, return as visiting professionals to a space they find technologically relevant and welcoming.

A Pioneering Public Private Partnership

Steiner Studios Media Campus Master Plan was led by Dattner Architects and called for the adaptive reuse of 25 Washington.

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To facilitate professional development, the Brooklyn College Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema is located within the Steiner Studios Media Campus, the largest film and television production facilities outside of Hollywood.

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The top two floors were designed for Brooklyn College, with all the features of professional production facilities: sounds stages with professional rigging, sound and animation labs, and screening rooms. Flexible planning and storage spaces allow open spaces to convert to classroom settings.

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As New York City’s first Public Graduate Film School, public and private stakeholders collaborated to finance, design, and build the City’s first public graduate film school.

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