Internships are as much about the attainment of new knowledge as well as the antagonizing search for one. Et al. collaborative was an unknown entity to me when I first began searching for internships nor was it the place that I would expect to find myself in. The job description was very vague on the specifics of what it would exactly entail. I already knew that et al. was an architecture firm from the online posting. I looked them up and found their website through a quick Google search.
After spending a brief moment fawning over how their website looked, I read their description on their about page and learned that they were a private firm based in both Detroit and Brooklyn. Their name I learned came partially from an old Latin abbreviation that means “and others.” As I would learn later on from my interview with Manu and Meigan in further detail, they are a grand coalition, powered by the combined individual talents, insights and backgrounds of everyone to create something special. Or at least that was my impression looking through the stuff they’ve done; it was different from what I would expect from a typical stodgy, old-school architectural firm. I expected a long list of tall, glass ugly skyscrapers to be in their portfolio and much to my surprise, it was anything but that.
My favorite project that I saw on their website was the redesigning work that they did for Alumni of New York, an established Brooklyn shoe venue since the eighties. The infographics resembled a more refined version of the work that we as graphic and web designers are expected to do when conducting our own research and bouncing ideas for a client, but in an architecturally focused context. The guys at et al. collaborative, much like a graphic or web designer would approach, thought of a solution that was not only clean but minimalistic, practical, user-friendly to the costumer and interactive. It was a successful execution and to me, it embodied the quickly evolving Brooklyn scene that Alumni was adapting itself to. Et al. collaborative is no design or marketing agency but their philosophy is very much like one. They don’t play it safe and go beyond the established firms, to create successful design. Upon spending hours sifting through their website, I was convinced that et al. collaborative would be the right fit for someone like me and promptly responded to Meigan’s email, arranging the time and place for the interview.
I learned more about them during the interview. Any company can say that there is no “I” in team but Manu and Meigan really made it clear that although everyone has their own individual roles and expertise, there is not one individual steering things along on their own. Everyone uses what they’re specialized in to help the company chug along and satisfy the diverse of array clients who come to them for architecture and interior design: from ubiquotous coffee shops to apartment lofts. No man is an island entire of itself but a piece of something greater and that is ultimately what et al. collaborative is about.
They work out of a building at 65 Roebling Street in Greenpoint. I thought that they owned the entire building but in actuality, the New York-based division works out of a medium-sized studio on the third floor. There aren’t many people working there and different people come in to work at certain days or times, like Meigan on Mondays. I work on Mondays and Wednesdays from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, give or take any extra time necessary to complete an assignment. Only Manu, on account that he lives there and manages operations, and Jose are the only exceptions to this and are there every day.
Due to et al. collaborative’s small size, there aren’t no departments and everyone seems to have a little bit of cross over, minus myself. My responsibilities are to archive all student work as well as Manu’s own work as an architecture student, set up a system to organize them by class, semester and year, and then come up with a cover design and layout for PDF and print. In addition, I would be assisting in setting up a visual presentation at the NYIT campus at Old Westbury. When both tasks are done, I am to assist Meigan and the other intern Daniella with the marketing.
Et al. collaborative tends to show up in the architecture and design sites a lot and I found two articles that peaked my interest. One was a piece written by Ray Hu on core77.com, discussing a collaboration that Manu Garza did with industrial designer William Lee. They created a concept piece termed “LEAN” that doubles as a corner chair and a coffee table. It’s not something that I would want to hit with my foot with how sharp it is but seeing one of them at Manu’s studios, I would love to have one as a mini-bookcase for my design books.
The Daily Detroit article also mentioned et al. collaborative in their review of Selden Standard, located at a recently revitalized section in Detroit, in having a hand in designing other popular locales like the Red Bull House of Art. Cedar and vintage light bulbs are a major characteristic in a lot of its projects. To me, et al. collaborative is in both the past, now and future, seeking to combine the best of vintage lighting and natural green aesthetics with contemporary design, with the approach of solving and adapting to future issues.
Et al. collaborative is an architecture and interior design firm that is unique from the rest and uses solution drawn from references in the past and beyond to solve design problems in the now and the future. Their means of researching ideas is similiar to how a graphic designer does with a client. Manu Garza, the man leading et.al collaboriative in New York, is one who doesn’t play it safe and always tries to go beyond the norm. A part of me wants to be like him and going under his tutelage would help me grow as a graphic designer and a person. That is why I found comfort in working at a place like et al. collaborative.
