On September 17, 2003, President Shirley Ann Jackson, Rensselaer trustees and administrators, and community leaders broke ground for the new $141.7 million Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC).
EMPAC will enable Rensselaer students, faculty, and the community to explore and experience the nexus of research, technology and the performing arts, where they will discover new opportunities for creativity and discovery, according to EMPAC Director Johannes Goebel. He expects EMPAC to be a prime research and presentation facility, and an intellectual force on the Rensselaer campus and beyond.
The new building will house a 1,200-seat concert hall, designed to the highest standards for performance and listening, and a 400-seat theater with a 80-foot-by-40-foot stage, and fly-tower capability. It also will include a 3,500-square-foot black-box studio with a 40-foot-high ceiling optimized for theater, dance and visual presentations, spanning from multi-screen to virtual immersive environments.
EMPAC also will contain a 2,500-square-foot black-box studio with a 28-foot ceiling optimized for music and multimedia performances; a 1,400-square-foot rehearsal and dance studio, four studios for artists-in-residence; professional-level recording, editing, and post-production facilities for audio and video; and digital broadcasting facilities for Rensselaer’s student radio station WRPI.
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