To reinvigorate Chicago’s 515 North State Street, a Kenzo Tange-designed Class-A office tower, ESI Design created a distinct 23-foot permanent media installation titled Canvas. The resulting intervention served as a experience design placemaking opportunity for the iconic property, and provided an artful, engaging way to establish a new identity for the building as a creative center.

ESI Design’s Principal, Creative and Head of Media Environments, Emily Webster, was interviewed by Digital Signage Connection about the experience design placemaking at 515 North State Street. Emily shared how the custom installation helped capture the imagination of sought-after tenants in the technology, advertising, media and information industries.

To listen to the full podcast, click here.

A One-of-a-Kind Digital Work of Art

Canvas, a showstopping piece of experience design placemaking, welcomes visitors to 515 North State Street’s lobby with familiar footage from around Chicago. This video content, featuring iconic locations like Navy Pier, fades into abstract color patterns using custom software in a calming, natural transition.

The 72 different videos that make up the content for Canvas are layered against each other in a randomized order with transitions that are intentionally meditative and slow. Using five hours of original footage, the layering of baseline content allowed for the creation of over 5,000 unique compositions that play out over the course of the day.

“The custom software algorithm analyzes each video for moving objects,” Emily told DSE. “Moments like a person walking or a car driving become the brushstrokes that create each abstraction within the imagery. As each video collides with the next, new compositions unfold in real time, creating thousands of possibilities in this one-of-a-kind digital artwork.”

Inspired by the tradition of hanging large-scale paintings in office lobbies, Canvas is composed of LED panels set behind a layer of vinyl to soften and diffuse the light, mimicking the materiality of a painting.

“We wanted to think about Canvas like a traditional piece of artwork — something that lives in the space for a long time and has the qualities of something that you would want to see over and over again,” says Emily.

Increasing Placemaking and Visibility Through Experience Design

ESI Design was responsible for assessing the property, then making a design suggestion for the reinvigoration of the site as a whole. By giving attention to the entire property — including new building logos and signage, revamped elevator bays and a refreshed interior palette with a new reception and security desk — the designed experience for 515 North State Street is holistic and cohesive.

Canvas brings new life to the bold, angular architecture of the lobby that previous lacked the kind of warmth and intimacy that attract tenants. Generated from the fabric of Chicago, the content shown on the Canvas is announces 515 North State as a distinctly ‘Chicago’ property. As with all of ESI Design’s experience design placemaking projects, the design team began by working with the client to determine the desired experience, and then chose the best technology for the job.

“Technology is often a cornerstone of the experiences we create, but it is not the driver. It is a necessary and interesting material in our palette, but it’s not where we start — it’s what we land on,” Emily says.  

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