The life of a campus is a reflection of the environment created for learning and creativity.

The Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC) signals another development in the renaissance at Rensselaer — the enrichment of campus life and of the student experience.

A commitment to cultural creativity

The center builds on Rensselaer’s emerging reputation for excellence in the electronic arts. As a facility and a program, EMPAC offers artists, students, researchers and audiences opportunities that are available nowhere else under a single and dramatic roof. It enables Rensselaer students to study at the nexus of research, technology, and the performing arts, where they realize new opportunities for interdisciplinary creativity and discovery.

A bold statement for design and performance

The 220,000-square foot building contains a wide and flexible range of major venues:

• Atrium
• 1200-seat concert hall
• 400-seat theater
• 3,500-square-foot studio
• 2,500-square-foot-studio
• Suites for artists-in-residence
• Rehearsal spaces
• Student and support spaces
• Professional recording, editing and post-production facilities
• Digital broadcasting facilities

Positioned on a bluff overlooking the Hudson River, the center makes a bold statement about Rensselaer’s historic mission in “the application of science to the common purposes of life.” It celebrates the fact that performance and communication are central drivers in world culture.