Category: 2008 & Earlier

Utility NOW! Projects. Sumter County, Alabama. 2003-2007.

The Utility NOW! bicycle project was initiated while in residence at the Rural Studio in 2002. The project began as a creative way to solve a public works issue in the City of York (lack of transportation and waste pick up) and then evolved to become a temporary  independent program within the city. The project deploys utility tricycles and bicycles for routine city maintenance. Each vehicle is designed for a specific duty (garbage collection, street clean up, meter reading, etc.). The workshop created 4 prototype utility tricycles and 2 bicycles for the city to use. Bicycle trailers were also added to aid in the vehicles ability to transport additional tools and materials.

The Bicycle Shed is a rehabilitation project completed on a failing, city-owned structure in York, Alabama, created by the municipalWORKSHOP, an outrider to the M12 Collective. The structure’s main purpose is to house the Utility NOW! vehicles that were created by the municipalWORKSHOP in 2003. This project involves a number of low-impact design features and has become a catalyst for a community bicycle-recycling program in York. Community volunteers Jessie Cunningham and Ervin Sturdivant, Jr. currently run the bicycle-recycling workshop with the help of the Coleman Center for Art and Culture. The Bicycle Shed’s water system works through rainwater harvesting, and all of the used water is pumped outside the building to surrounding plant beds. A hand washing station is located at the back of the building, and the structure is equipped with a functional TV/Radio antenna and a small solar power platform.

C.L.U.I. Projects. Center for Land Use Interpretation, CLUI Wendover, Wendover, Utah. 2006-2008.

The Autotour Vehicle and Unit were completed during a residency at the Center for Land Use Interpretation by the municipalWORKSHOP, an outrider to the M12 Collective. The Autotour Vehicle is a 4-wheeled, 6 person pedal-driven vehicle. Designed to support a GPS guided media tour of the Wendover area, the vehicle is equipped with a small computer and LCD monitor. Visitors to the CLUI facility in Wendover may check out the vehicle at anytime. The Autotour Unit is the support structure and housing for the pedal vehicle. The structure was built on site using primarily found and recycled materials. The walls and floor are constructed out of recycled pallets retrieved from area casinos. The Unit also supports a spring-loaded door for the easy entrance and exit of the vehicle and is outfitted with a solar-based power platform that keeps the vehicle continually charged and ready for action.

The C.L.U.I. Rover was created in collaboration with the art collective SIMPARCH and their project Clean Livin’. Located on the South Base of Wendover Airfield, the C.L.U.I. Rover transports 450 pounds of clean water to an artist research site daily. The vehicle is also equipped with solar power that runs a small water pump for moving water in and out of the storage tank. The power stored in the vehicle battery also powers a laptop computer, and audio and video recording devices that can be used for field research and recon missions by residents at the Center for Land Use Interpretation.

M.I.K.E. John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, Wisconsin. 2006.

M.I.K.E. (Music Integrated Kiosk Environment) is located in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, and commissioned by the John Michael Kohler Arts Center. M.I.K.E. was completed in August of 2006 by the municipalWORKSHOP, an outrider to the M12 Collective. M.I.K.E. is an interdisciplinary, architectural sculpture that celebrates the physical and cultural landscape of the Upper Midwest. A transformed grain bin, this quirky sonic space shuttle operates as a mobile sculpture, a public performance space, and a community-based music program. M.I.K.E. engages public space through visual and sonic means. The sculpture is designed to function as an interactive sound recording studio on the inside, outfitted to record various audio experiences including music, oral histories, and sound art works, while the exterior folds apart, transforming into a three tier performance stage. The Kohler Arts Center programs the sculpture each summer for a number of different music and theatrical events.