Watch: Midtown NYC Office Block Gets Fantastic Digital Makeover In Common Spaces

April 27, 2022 by Dave Haynes

This is a fantastic example of a corporate client buying entirely into the advice that creative should drive the decisions and designs when using technology as an architectural design feature.

The big NYC commercial property developer Vornado Realty Trust engaged Montreal’s Moment Factory to rethink the lobby and common spaces experience at PENN 1, a midtown Manhattan office tower that was long known as One Penn Plaza. It is close to Penn Station and has a healthy amount of co-working space – but little evidence of the insane, how-did-anything-get-done atmosphere of WeWork (watch WeCrashed).

Among the elements designed and delivered by Moment:

  • LED ribbons on the main staircase that are reactive to motion but also emulates old-school split-flap displays;
  • A social gathering area with what looks like a pair of big, fine pitch LEDs with dynamic, custom content;
  • Another big vertical LED display in the elevator lobby that features data-driven art aligned with the time and season, so come spring the tree starts to show buds and flowers.

Super-impressive. Not cheap to launch and maintain, but property owners have to do everything they can to attract and retain commercial tenants, as companies allow more and more staff to work part-time or entirely from home.

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