February 25, 2016

Harry Allen Among Pratt Alumni to Receive Achievement Awards

Harry Allen designed the Moss store interior in 1994 and again when it expanded in 1999.

As part of the annual recognition of its distinguished graduates and their regional, national and international accomplishments, Pratt Institute unveiled the 2016 list of alumni selected to receive this year’s Alumni Achievement Awards. The selection committee—a roster of similarly recognised and accomplished professionals that include past Alumni Award recipients—have chosen the 2016 honorees for living the Pratt values of aesthetic judgement, professional knowledge, collaborative skill, technical expertise and their overall contribution to society.

Among the recipients of the award is designer Harry Allen, who, together with the other five alumni—Melisa Goldie, Mitchell J. Silver, Jed Winokur, Katie Middleton and Carl L. Olsen—will be presented with the Career Achievement Award for his work in industrial design, interiors, packaging design, and identity development. “I came to New York to work, attended the Art Students League, and Parsons for a semester, so when I finally ended up at Pratt it was like finding home,” says Allen. “I found a community that nurtured my innate abilities. Because Pratt has produced so many amazing artists, designers, and creative professionals, to be recognized by the school is a great honor.”

Allen, who launched his design practice Harry Allen Design in 1993 with the Living Systems furniture line, has been instrumental in developing some of most distinct and innovative products and interiors, with many of his works exhibited in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the Denver Museum of Art, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Harry’s chair for Council, LAT, made its debut at ICFF in 2014 in New York. Photo courtesy of Council.

Cast in polyester resin, Bank in the Form of a Pig was developed in 2005 and is the cornerstone of Harry’s REALITY line, manufactured and distributed by Areaware. Photo courtesy of Areaware.

Recent DesignWire