515 North State
515 North State Street, Chicago, Illinois
Five One Five North State features bold, angular architecture designed by Kenzo Tange, winner of the 1987 Pritzker Prize for architecture. ESI re-imagined the lobby to attract a more diverse tenant base by adding life and warmth to the space.
The centerpiece of which is a 23-foot-tall LED display. The screen functions as a media artwork playing artful videos of daily life in the surrounding vibrant River North neighborhood. A software system “paints” the algorithmically created videos in an Impressionist style; as the colors of one scene merge into another, new compositions are made. The five content modes were inspired by the neighborhood’s constant movement: traffic and trains, bridges and rivers, people, green space and sky.
In the elevator bays, transparent LCD screens provide up-to-the-minute local information, such as weather forecasts, trending Twitter topics, and transit alerts.
From the outside, a new ID announces the building as a modern property and gives it a clear front door.
The LED wall is visible through the glass facade, mirroring the energy of the city and engaging passersby.
Working with existing architecture and a multidisciplinary team,
my role in the project involved:
• Re-interpreting the established brand for the built environment
• Established additional icons and patterns, extending the brand for directory and signage purposes
• Exterior illuminated signage
• Elevator bank identification integrated with dynamic transparent LCD screens
• Second floor amenity space signage & wayfinding
• Construction graphics during installation
CREDITS
Studio: ESI Design
Architects: Gensler Chicago
Role: Environmental Graphic Designer
Client: Beacon Capital Partners
