Urban Conga
Urban Conga is a Brooklyn-based multidisciplinary design studio that designs and fabricates interactive public installations and playable urban furniture for municipalities, cultural institutions, community organizations, and private developers using participatory co-design methodology.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersTampa, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Urban Conga does
Urban Conga is a Brooklyn, NY-based multidisciplinary design studio that designs, fabricates, and installs interactive public art and playable urban furniture intended to spark community interaction and social activity through open-ended play. Founded by Ryan Swanson and Maeghann Coleman, AIA, the studio operates as Urban Conga Inc. and has delivered more than 30 major projects across approximately 20 US states, Canada, Mexico, and Scotland. The studio serves three primary customer segments — municipal agencies, communities and NGOs, and institutions and private businesses — and works through consultative sales involving participatory design workshops followed by custom design and fabrication. Notable clients include the City of New Orleans, NYC Housing Authority, the City of Rochester, the City of Cleveland, MLB/Tampa Bay Rays, Ackland Art Museum at UNC, and Terwillinger Pappas.
The studio's underlying technology combines participatory design methodology with physical interactive systems, including touch-sensor technology integrated with sound and light responses, dichroic film reflective surfaces, tuned aluminum musical bars, and laser-cut stainless-steel fabrications. Signature products include the 'Why Sit When You Can Play' outdoor musical bench, the Signature Ping Pong Table, the Hedron combo Dominoes/Chess table, the Signature Chess Table, the SV2 Open Frame Table, and the Kit of Imagination — a snap-together polypropylene building kit sold in 200, 400, and 600 piece configurations. Touch-sensor installations have used Bare Conductive's conductive paint. The studio has built research partnerships with the British Council, Watershed, Arts Council England, and UWE Bristol around the 'Playable City' framework.
Urban Conga generates revenue through three streams: custom design and fabrication commissions (structured as multi-year quote-based contracts for permanent and temporary installations), professional services fees for community workshops, and direct hardware sales of signature products. Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is quote-based for all products and services. The studio relies exclusively on direct client engagement with no retail or e-commerce distribution channel. It is a privately held, founder-owned company with no disclosed outside investment, no subsidiaries, and no parent company. The studio has accumulated a substantial industry recognition portfolio, including Architizer A+Firm of the Year (2021), ArchDaily Best Young Practice (2020), DEZEEN Award Longlist (2022), SEGD Global Design Award (2023), and multiple AIA chapter and international design awards.
Urban Conga firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Urban Conga
- Legal name
- Urban Conga Inc.
- Website
- https://theurbanconga.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Urban Conga is a Brooklyn-based multidisciplinary design studio that designs and fabricates interactive public installations and playable urban furniture for municipalities, cultural institutions, community organizations, and private developers using participatory co-design methodology.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Urban Conga industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Public Space Design and Fabrication Services
- NAICS
- Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (71), Institutional Furniture Manufacturing (337127)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Smart Cities & Urban Innovation Programs (Digital Planning, Civic Tech for Cities) (BPAIANAJ)
Keywords
Where Urban Conga is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Tampa
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Urban Conga business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Custom Design & Fabrication: The studio designs and fabricates custom permanent spatial interventions including public art installations, playable furniture, and architectural features. Projects are commissioned by municipalities, businesses, and institutions and include services from concept development through installation.
- Workshop Services: Community engagement workshops using play methodologies to facilitate participatory design processes with communities, municipal agencies, and stakeholders.
- Product Sales: Sale of signature products including musical benches, ping pong tables, chess tables, and the Kit of Imagination. Products are custom-made with pricing based on specifications and customization requirements.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Multi-year contract | Custom Product Pricing |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Urban Conga product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Urban Conga is a Brooklyn, NY-based multidisciplinary design studio that designs, fabricates, and installs interactive, playable public space installations. The studio offers custom design and fabrication services along with participatory workshop experiences, producing musical benches, interactive game tables, and modular play kits intended for cities, municipalities, and organizations seeking to activate public environments.
Product overview
Urban Conga is a multidisciplinary design studio offering physical products, temporary installations, permanent spatial interventions, and workshop services. Their product portfolio includes customizable outdoor musical benches (Why Sit When You Can Play?), public game tables (Signature Ping Pong, Dominoes/Chess, Chess, and SV2 Open Frame tables), and the Kit of Imagination building kit. The studio also delivers design and fabrication services, community workshops (Listening Together, Playing Together, Building Together), and research through their Playable City Guide. Projects range from temporary touring installations (Oscillation, oPTIK) to permanent public art installations, all centered on sparking community interaction through open-ended play.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Custom Design and Fabrication Bespoke design and fabrication service that creates custom interactive, playable installations for public spaces, delivered to municipalities, developers, and organizations.
- Workshop Services Participatory design and engagement workshops that help communities and clients co-design interactive public space installations.
- Musical Benches Interactive public seating that incorporates integrated musical instruments and sensor technology to produce sound through user interaction.
- Interactive Ping Pong Tables Public-domain ping pong tables designed as playable urban installations intended for activation of community recreational spaces.
- Interactive Game Tables (Dominoes/Chess) Public outdoor game tables supporting dominoes, chess, and similar tabletop games, designed for installation in shared community spaces.
- SV2 Tables Specialty interactive tables within Urban Conga's playable installations product line, designed for public space activation.
- Kit of Imagination Modular play kit designed to facilitate creative and playful interaction within public or community spaces.
Quantifiable outcome
- Nearly 500 users per day interacted with Frozen in Time installation
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Urban Conga
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Urban Conga technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Urban Conga partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
18 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Van Alen InstitutecorePrimary partner on The Hive project in Albany's West Hill neighborhood. Led the larger Albany Hive initiative for transforming underutilized spaces.
- City of AlbanycorePartner on The Hive project. The city-owned alley was redesigned as part of the Albany Hive initiative.
- Community Housing FundcorePartner on the Common Corner project at Morris Houses in the Bronx. Provided funding and support for the community-led revitalization.
- Center for Justice InnovationcorePartner on multiple projects including Sprout at Polo Grounds and Common Corner at Morris Houses. Organized by the Center for Innovative Justice to create community projects reimagining public safety.
- Hive Public SpacecoreCollaborated on the Ribbon project as part of the LIC (Re)Connects art series. Hive PS produced the series to evoke communal connection within Long Island City.
- Long Island City PartnershipcoreClient for the Ribbon installation. The partnership serves as the local development corporation for Long Island City.
- Common Ground HealthcorePartner on the Ripple project in Rochester, NY. Part of an ecosystem of playable interventions connecting the Genesee river.
- KaBOOM!corePartner on multiple projects including Ripple (Rochester) and The Hangout (New Orleans). Focused on creating playful spaces for communities.
- The Strong Museum of PlaycorePartner in Rochester's ecosystem of playable interventions. Contributes to the city's vision of becoming a more playable city.
- British CouncilcoreCollaborated on the Playable City Exhibition and Guide for Creating a Playable City. The British Council helped fund and support the extensive research on the qualitative and quantitative data of the value of implementing play within everyday spaces.
- WatershedcorePartnered on the Playable City Exhibition and research. Contributed to the research and guide on creating playable cities.
- Arts Council EnglandcoreSupported the research and development of the Guide for Creating a Playable City through funding and strategic partnership.
- UWE BristolcoreAcademic partner contributing to the research on playable cities and the development of the guide for creating playable cities.
- City of ClearwatercoreHosted the Playable City Exhibition from September to December 2019. Partnered on the immersive exhibition exploring playable city concepts.
- City of Tampa - Lights on TampaminorClient for the Urban Pixels installation developed for the 2015 Lights on Tampa, a free citywide light festival.
- CreoscoreTouring manager for the Oscillation installation. Manages the touring and placement of the interactive installation in various locations worldwide.
- KaBOOM! & Lower Ninth Ward MarketcoreClient and partner on The Hangout project. KaBOOM! collaborated on the community-designed installation in New Orleans.
- INITcoreCollaborator on the Optik installation. Worked on design, fabrication management for the interactive touring installation.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Urban Conga competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- KaBOOM!: U.S. nonprofit dedicated to creating great places to play, with whom Urban Conga has partnered on multiple projects (The Hangout, Ripple). Comparable as a community-play ecosystem partner and funder rather than a design competitor.
- Van Alen Institute: New York-based nonprofit design organization advancing public-space research and design, partnered with Urban Conga on The Hive in Albany. Comparable as an enabling civic-design partner and grant/funding intermediary rather than a fabrication competitor.
- Watershed: Bristol, UK-based cultural organization that originated the Playable City movement and partnered with Urban Conga on the Playable City Exhibition and Guide. Comparable as an enabling ecosystem partner rather than a direct competitor.
Direct peers
- Moment Factory: Montreal-based multidisciplinary studio producing immersive, interactive multimedia installations for public spaces and civic clients (e.g., Quartier des Spectacles). Directly comparable in custom-fabrication, interactive-technology, and municipal-client model.
- Studio Drift: Amsterdam-based studio creating large-scale interactive installations that fuse technology, nature, and light. Comparable in custom-fabricated, technology-driven public art commissioned by cultural and institutional clients.
- teamLab: Japan-based interdisciplinary art collective producing immersive, technology-mediated installations for permanent and touring venues. Comparable in interactive public-installation model, though at significantly larger scale and global brand recognition.
- Daily tous les jours: Montreal design studio specializing in playful, participatory urban installations such as 21 Balançoires / Musical Swings. Extremely close analog: same 'playable city' thesis, same municipal client base, same participatory-design methodology.
- The LAB at Rockwell Group: New York-based experimental design lab within Rockwell Group creating interactive installations and spatial experiences for cultural and civic clients. Comparable in B2B custom public-installation work and New York anchor market.
Broad incumbents
- Snøhetta: Norwegian-headquartered multidisciplinary architecture and design firm with broad public-space and cultural-institution portfolio. Comparable in design-led public-realm interventions, though as a much larger incumbent offering architecture, interiors, and landscape rather than niche playable-fabrication.
- IDEO: Global design and innovation consultancy with deep experience in human-centered, participatory design and public-sector projects. Comparable in human-centered / participatory methodology but operates as a broad consultancy spanning many industries.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Urban Conga social profiles
Digital presenceUrban Conga financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Urban Conga leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Urban Conga funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Urban Conga M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Urban Conga
What does Urban Conga do?
Urban Conga is a Brooklyn, NY-based multidisciplinary design studio that designs, fabricates, and installs interactive, playable public space installations. The studio offers custom design and fabrication services along with participatory workshop experiences, producing musical benches, interactive game tables, and modular play kits intended for cities, municipalities, and organizations seeking to activate public environments.
Is Urban Conga a public or private company?
Urban Conga is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Urban Conga founded?
Urban Conga was founded in 2012. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Urban Conga based?
Urban Conga is headquartered in Tampa, United States, in the North America region.
How does Urban Conga make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Custom Design & Fabrication is the primary driver. The others are workshop Services and product Sales.
Who are Urban Conga's main competitors?
Others on record are KaBOOM!, Van Alen Institute and Watershed. Direct peers are Moment Factory, Studio Drift, teamLab, Daily tous les jours and The LAB at Rockwell Group. Broad incumbents are Snøhetta and IDEO.
Does Urban Conga have an API?
No public API is recorded for Urban Conga.
What industry is Urban Conga in?
Urban Conga's product category is Public Space Design and Fabrication Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAIANAJ, Smart Cities & Urban Innovation Programs (Digital Planning, Civic Tech for Cities). Its NAICS code is 71.