The Urban Conga

The Urban Conga is an award-winning multidisciplinary design build studio led by Ryan Swanson and Maeghann Coleman, AIA. The studio is focused on sparking community interaction and social activity through open-ended play design. We achieve this by working with stakeholders to create multiscale, inclusive, engaging, and site-specific spatial opportunities that spark creativity, exploration, and free-choice learning within the built environment. Utilizing play methodologies as a critical tool implemented not just in the work itself but within the design process in which the work is created. The work becomes more than just a photogenic monument; they become everchanging, open-ended platforms telling specific stories around specific spaces. The objects and spaces we create are just one component of the work we do, but the connections, conversations, relationships, value, and more that we can spark through the process goes far beyond the physical work itself. We strive to use our work as a platform for creating a stronger sense of community and connection within a place. Through this work, we have had opportunities to collaborate with local communities, NGOs, businesses, municipal agencies, and institutions worldwide, delivering multi-scaled urban interventions, playable products, workshops, lectures, development plans, and public policy recommendations.