Archives

Museum of American Constitutional Government | Galleries, Interiors, and Furniture

client: American History Workshop
location: New York, NY | size: 5,000 sq ft (two galleries) | opened: 1989

The Museum of American Constitutional Government is not a place for objects on show but is for the display and exchange of ideas. It is the brainchild of Richard Rabinowitz and his American History Workshop for whom Mindy designed an interpretive, immersive, interactive, and experiential learning atmosphere. The galleries are theatrical imitations of Supreme Court and Senate Hearing chambers that set the stage for high school students to become lawyers and justices for the day, enacting hypothetical first amendment court cases and other forensic arguments. The students prepare for ten days in advance. Once in the museum, they don robes and jackets, and they are literally transformed.

The Museum opened in 1989 to fanfare, co-celebrating the anniversary of the presidential inauguration of George Washington on that site two hundred years earlier. No cherry trees were chopped down in this effort. I cannot tell a lie.

Hale + Hearty Take-out Gourmet Food Shop

client: Schnipper Family
location: New York, NY | size: 1,200 sq ft | opened: 1990

The original Hale and Hearty is a gourmet, take-out food shop on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, specializing in low fat, low sodium, and low cholesterol products.  For this project, Mindy acted as project architect in collaboration with Larry Bogdanow Associates, and she designed the front of the house where retail workers and customers reside.

The restaurant had to reflect the sophistication and integrity of the clients, their care and attention to detail, and the healthy, good taste of the food. Mindy’s concept was a cross between Shaker furniture and Charles Rennie Mackintosh interiors; the uniting of simple function with emotionally evocative, organic form. The materials of construction are as non-synthetic, clean, and as unfinished as possible. There is a judicious use of handcrafted detail and warm colors, and the place functions well even under the press of large crowds. This shop has been so successful that the owners have since opened up branches throughout Manhattan, helping more hearts in the Big Apple.

Golden Gate Fields and Bay Meadows Racetracks | Interiors

For Golden Gate Fields Racetrack, Mindy was on staff for John Holey & Associates; For Bay Meadows Racetrack, Mindy was Head of Interiors for HGHB Architects
location: San Francisco Bay Area | opened: 1986-ish

In her twenties, Mindy was putting much too much energy into dating. She decided to stop for a while and she turned her attention to her career projects. At the time, she was working for John Holey & Associates in San Francisco and she was given the task to run a project in collaboration with another firm, HGHB; to design the interiors of Golden Gate Fields Racetrack. The use of that pent up libido was very effective. She designed a two million dollar project from Big Picture to tiny details in two and a half months. Then, the other firm made her an offer she could not refuse, which was to start their interiors department. At the same time, another un-refuseable offer came along, which was Max Cameron, who, years later, became her husband.

Charter Revision Exhibition

client: American History Workshop
location: New York, NY| size: 1,000 sq ft | opened: 1990

In the historic Federal Courthouse building across from the Stock Exchange, Mindy designed an exhibit about the new New York City constitution in order to help New Yorkers understand what it was they were imminently going to vote upon. The content was developed by the brilliant Richard Rabinowitz and his American History Workshop.

The physical parts of this exhibit were not allowed to attach to the protected landmark building structure, but still needed to be formidable and stable. The exhibit discussed gerrymandering, the balance of the individual and the state, and how this particular vote would affect the many populations of the city. As well as designing the exhibits, Mindy painted the images of the “Not –In—My-Backyard” monster and “YOUCAFITCH” (You-Can’t-Fight-City-Hall); the latter of which was a memory of an ex-boyfriend. The themes presented in this show in 1990 are still fresh today. In love and politics, what is old is new again.

Brooklyn Children’s Museum Entryway

client: Brooklyn Children’s Museum
location: Brooklyn, NY | size: 1000 sq ft | opened: 1989

As one of her first solo architectural commissions, Mindy designed the renovation of the Brooklyn Children’s Museum entryway and adjacent facilities, including front desk, information wall, 400-coat cloakroom, and “Kid’s Crew” area (check-in for unaccompanied visitors). Mindy also convinced the museum to add a security room so that the guard’s station could move out of the basement, and add a modesty wall for the bathrooms. The design and construction was completed within only a few weeks, an extraordinarily short time.

This design got rid of an existing hodgepodge of colors and patterns (think 60s discotheque) and made the space orderly, navigable, and comfortable. Mindy’s choice of colors were inspired by Shaker furniture and Crayola crayons. The front desk was relocated to a central position from its awkward, inefficient, and ultimately ignorable location at the side. The desktop was lowered to accommodate children and adults without sacrificing security and safety. Of course, the entire project was kid-proofed. Though functions were added, the floor plan flowed freely even when visitors lined up for the cloakroom.