2018 Dwell Magazine 'Best of Design' Nominee: MB Architecture

We’re thrilled that our Bard Media Lab has been nominated in 2018 Dwell Magazine’s Best of Design — prefab category. This project is an instantiation of our on-going research and implementation of low-cost, sustainably-driven, building and housing; and was immensely supported by Bard College, the Experimental Humanities Department, and, our liaison at Bard, Mr. Jeff Katz.

We’re grateful for having had a chance to show how a college could relieve its classroom space needs and quickly build new space with little disruption to campus life.

Thanks to Bard College and our partner at SnapSpace Solutions.

Bard Media Lab containers installed

Installation Video 1, Bard College Media Lab, by MB Architecture, New York.

Installation Video 2, Bard College Media Lab, by MB Architecture, New York.

On Monday September 18, 2017, we installed our pre-fabricated, completely pre-finished, retrofitted shipping containers on the campus of Bard College. The structure will serve the Experimental Humanities Department as a Media Lab. The installation started at 11 am and by 3 pm the 2nd floor was stacked and we were walking inside the building. Another day or two will be needed to install some trim boards between the upper and lower floors, and connect the electrical and plumbing lines to the site utilities. We anticipate that within 5 days of installation, max, the building will be ready for classes. Here are some photos of the installation. 

illumination center, learning labs for youth, new orleans, la

​For the past year and a half, my office has been working on one of the most exciting projects that has hit my drawing board in 20 years. Conceived by the Youth Rescue Initiative, an organization with a five year track record of helping improve lives of at-risk youth in New Orleans, this project, the Illumination Center, will have an immediate and transformative impact on the lives and future of many school-aged children in New Orleans and potentially beyond.

Early on, the YRI observed that literacy amongst at-risk youth is low and in need of improvement. At the same time, they saw the need to bridge the urban “digital divide” that precludes these youth from accessing the Internet as a tool for learning, exploring, and contributing.

Their solution is visionary while being straightforward: create safe zones in every neighboorhood in need and install in them centers where children can access the internet and learn how to navigate and utilize the essential tools for success in the 21st century.