Incubator/ Dumbo, Brooklyn/ MESH Architectures

‍Operated by IFP (Independent Filmmaker Project), the 18,000 sq. ft. center is the product of a competitive request for design proposals from the NYC Mayor's Office.  Designed and constructed while at MESH Architectures, the facilities include co-working spaces, anchor-tenant private offices, media oriented classrooms, commercial movie theater, gallery, library and restaurant.  Communal functions are staged as pavilions that are sited to optimize their program while designed to have an individual materiality and feel.

The exterior of the theater is clad in a seamless projection that has a multitude of functions including digital gallery space, presentation wall and information board.  The interior of the theater exudes a warmth through its materiality, which is a counterbalance to the media driven exterior.  LED tape lighting creates a glowing space.  Sound absorbent custom felt walls are printed in an abstracted curtain pattern.  Wrought iron pipe fittings are used to form a custom chandelier, sconces and railings.

Creating a chalkboard community wall next to the theater allows for an analog messaging/gallery wall system as a conceptual counterweight to the projection wall's digital wrapping. Within these masses are the men's and women's restrooms.  The interior of the restrooms are illuminated by RGB-LED tape light that slowly cycles through a rainbow of colors.  As the color in the room fluctuates, different superimposed scenes from historical NYC films are brought to the forefront of the wallpaper.

A translucent plastic wall at the rear distinguishes the library pavilion which is constructed of reclaimed wood and warm, interspersed lighting.  Benches and low desk surfaces are incorporated into the shelving to offer a variety of study positions.

The Cafe area consists of standard sheets of plywood which are then laminated in a walnut veneer to form the restaurant wall-cladding.  This combination of materials affords a thriftiness in construction and a natural interlude from the rest of the media center.  The plywood sheets are visually stitched by led tape light, allowing for the restaurant to become a lighting element itself.  Custom pipe light pendants descend from the ceiling and echo the palate of the theater interior.