A. Conglomerate

DAY WEARABLE TABLE

A. Conglomerate — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 10:33:38 +0000

This update on the Streetwearable table was designed and produced with artist Chloe Bass for an exhibition of “Tea Will Be Served” at 5533 gallery in Istanbul. Shown here photographed at Akademie Schloss Solitude.

Table rolls for packing, with a replaceable insert.

MIND GAMES TABLE

A. Conglomerate — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 19:13:50 +0000

[Not Luxury] concept furniture line and performance-specific Mind Games table were exhibited for chessmaster Vera Nebolsina’s performance at Lange Nacht der Museen 2013 (Long Night of the Museums) at Römerstasse 2 gallery space, Stuttgart.

Arts@Renaissance RFP

A. Conglomerate — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 14:57:18 +0000

This consulting project formed the basis of a Design Services Request for Proposals for a $200,000 construction and renovation project in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Research practices included interviewing local arts organizations, setting up public meetings on the needs for creative space in the North Brooklyn community, designing bilingual surveys to engage local residents in design-decision processes, and looking at existing models of socially-engaged art spaces in NYC and elsewhere. The study was part of a comprehensive look at the space including an architectural assessment and a development plan. This research was funded by the Joan Mitchell Foundation. The client, Arts@Renaissance, founded in 2010, occupies a 4,500 square foot arts space in the restored outpatient building of the Greenpoint Hospital that serves as a bridge between North Brooklyn’s vibrant long-term communities and the area’s emerging creative population.

Plan of existing facility provided by client. Color coding of new programs is based on outcome of interviews, public workshops, and research of comparable arts organizations.

BIKE AMBASSADOR STUDY

A. Conglomerate — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 10:48:29 +0000

This study of non-motorized routes between SouthWest Detroit and northern Windsor, Canada was produced for the annual “Anti-Auto Show” exhibition at Detroit Contemporary, 2013. The project consists of 250 postcards inviting inhabitants to draw a bike path between the network of streets on either side of the international border. The privately owned Ambassador Bridge is highlighted, as a previously bikable connection (about 250 feet longer than the Brooklyn Bridge), which has been officially closed to pedestrians and bikers since 2001 (on security grounds).

SUPERFRONT PRESS

A. Conglomerate — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 21:25:02 +0000

Exhibition catalogues edited as Director of SUPERFRONT, including curatorial essays. With graphic design support from Do Not Bend, inc. 2008-2011.

How A. Conglomerate Works

A. Conglomerate — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 16:47:26 +0000

Mitch McEwen leads this design practice specializing in cultural projects, public space, and spaces for contemporary art. A. Conglomerate approaches each project as a collaboration. This collaboration with the client emphasizes both conceptual and logistical aspects of project evolution. A. Conglomerate works in:

EXHIBITION DESIGN
- experience with galleries, museums, arts institutions
- conceptualization of exhibit installation, plan layout, media
- exhibit furniture/display fabrication
- graphics and signage

PROJECT MANAGEMENT
- experience with government entities (NYC and foreign), private developers, and museum
- management of complex projects, from temporary projects to masterplans
- multidisciplinary approach, incorporating diverse experience from finance to theatrical production
- attention to budget and staffing

DESIGN-BUILD
- experience with galleries, residential, art studios
- collaborative approach
- innovative design strategies tailored to budget

ARCHIVE CONCEPTION + PLANNING
- serving architecture clients and related fields
- archive conceived and planned using diagram, spreadsheet, spatial drawings, and critical texts
- physical space planning and design in conjunction with archive concept

FILM NON-PROFIT RENOVATION

A. Conglomerate — Sat, 01 Sep 2012 22:20:55 +0000

Union Docs Renovation. This renovation for a documentary-film-focused organization in Brooklyn began with the client’s ambition to expand wheelchair accessibility. The insertion of a wheelchair accessible bathroom becomes an opportunity to clarify the theatrical experience from the street, starting with an expanded and well-lit hallway. The interior plan aims to open the space for flexible use and make the logic of documentary film visible. The design removes cramped small spaces, including a small office and dedicated classroom that wireless technology have rendered obsolete. At the same time, the plan prioritizes the ongoing use of analog film projection by shifting the circulation hallway to the exact center-line of the viewing gallery. The hallway, thus, doubles as 16mm projection room. The insertion of a concessions counter provides the potential for new event programming. Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Winter/Spring 2012.

Above: Renovation plan with new bathroom, open spaces, and center-line projection. Red lines show walls removed.

Below: Photos showing completion of 80% of construction.

Below: Rendering of hallway.

Below: Photos before renovation 1) disorienting hallway and 2) cramped film-viewing gallery.

Below: Summary of construction, courtesy of client/contractor.

OCCUPAD

A. Conglomerate — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 17:58:54 +0000

The design can function as Info desk, bike generator station, reading nook or sleeping area for 1-2 occupiers. Unlike a standard tent, a number of occupads can be aligned to make a larger vaulted area of 8′ by 8′ or any multiple of 4′. Transparent tarps create translucency when layered, allowing some personal privacy while enabling visibility – a mediation of the collective purpose and individual needs. The design evolves as both a unit and strategy of aggregation. Zuccotti Park, Fall 2011.

BLACK SITE

A. Conglomerate — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 19:19:46 +0000

Inspired by the CIA’s documented use of rap music as an element of sleep deprivation torture, BLACK SITE #2 consists of a multi-media installation that hybridizes ad hoc detention with ad hoc performance. Two microphones are fed into sound exciters and surface transducers that turn wall and furniture elements into speakers. Visitors are invited to use the microphones to engage in a competition, a game, or any form of performance. Using components often deployed in video game production of ‘virtual’ experience, multiple levels of transduction create a range of output from audio to tactile effects. An accidental discovery was that these techniques also eliminated the problem of microphone feedback, enabling both microphones to be used simultaneously with loud background noise. 2010-2011.

MANY HARLEMS

A. Conglomerate — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 21:15:33 +0000

Up/Down, North/South “Many Harlems.” Commissioned by the Studio Museum in Harlem, this set of drawings evolved from a joint presentation at the Studio Museum between Mitch McEwen and Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts, author of “Harlem is Nowhere.” The Up/Down, North/South collaboration between Studio Museum & Goethe Institute develops interdisciplinary works and presentations between visual artists and writers. “Many Harlems” was published in the Studio Museum in Harlem’s OFF/SITE publication in 2011.