While the entirety of Denver’s Wells Fargo Center may have just completed a three-year renovation process, it is the 86-foot floor-to-ceiling digital installation in the lobby that is getting all the attention. Five thin LED columns with screen resolutions that are six times that of normal HD are bringing life to the previously somber lobby of the building originally designed by Philip Johnson.
The five screens, when viewed together, create one cohesive canvas that alternates between artistic and conceptual images such as colorful swirling ink drops or realistic depictions of the surrounding Colorado landscape. A grove of trees rises 86-feet into the air and slowly sways in the breeze, changing with the time of day and the time of season; a flock of birds, animated in real-time, can fly across the screens for hours and never repeat the same flight pattern; and mountainscapes created from thousands of Instagram photos provide different viewing experiences depending on your proximity to the screens. The installation can serve a practical purpose, as well, such as displaying the five-day weather outlook.
The main goal was for the screens to feel like a giant window to the outside, according to Ed Purver, Senior Immersive Designer at ESI Design. The installation is visible from outside through the glass atrium and is quickly becoming a new tourist attraction in the city of Denver.
The lobby also underwent changes to make it more modern, social, and comfortable. New works of art, commissioned specifically for the site, furniture, and lighting were added in an effort to keep the original Philip Johnson aesthetic alive while giving the space a more modern feel.
You can view images of the display and a video below.
Photo Courtesy of ESI Design
Photo Courtesy of ESI Design
Photo Courtesy of ESI Design
Wells Fargo Center, Denver, by ESI Design from ESI Design on Vimeo.
Related Stories
| Feb 1, 2012
ULI and Greenprint Foundation create ULI Greenprint Center for Building Performance
Member-to-member information exchange measures energy use, carbon footprint of commercial portfolios.
| Jan 31, 2012
Chapman Construction/Design: ‘Sustainability is part of everything we do’
Chapman Construction/Design builds a working culture around sustainability—for its clients, and for its employees.
| Jan 26, 2012
Three dead, 16 missing in Rio buildings collapse
The buildings, one 20 floors high, collapsed on Wednesday night in a cloud of dust and smoke just one block away from the city's historic Municipal Theater.
| Jan 26, 2012
Summit Design+Build completes law office in Chicago
Applegate & Thorne-Thomsen's new office suite features private offices, open office area, conference rooms, reception area, exposed wood beams and columns, and exposed brick.
| Jan 17, 2012
SOM Chicago wins competition to design China's Suzhou Center
The 75-level building is designed to accommodate a complex mixed-use program including office, service apartments, hotel and retail on a 37,000 sm site.
| Jan 15, 2012
Hollister Construction Services oversees interior office fit-out for Harding Loevner
The work includes constructing open space areas, new conference, trading and training rooms, along with multiple kitchenettes.
| Jan 15, 2012
Smith Consulting Architects designs Flower Hill Promenade expansion in Del Mar, Calif.
The $22 million expansion includes a 75,000-square-foot, two-story retail/office building and a 397-car parking structure, along with parking and circulation improvements and new landscaping throughout.
| Jan 12, 2012
CSHQA receives AIA Northwest & Pacific Region Merit Award for Idaho State Capitol restoration
After a century of service, use, and countless modifications which eroded the historical character of the building and grounds, the restoration brought the 200,000-sf building back to its former grandeur by restoring historical elements, preserving existing materials, and rehabilitating spaces for contemporary uses.
| Jan 4, 2012
New LEED Silver complex provides space for education and research
The academic-style facility supports education/training and research functions, and contains classrooms, auditoriums, laboratories, administrative offices and library facilities, as well as spaces for operating highly sophisticated training equipment.
| Jan 3, 2012
VDK Architects merges with Harley Ellis Devereaux
Harley Ellis Devereaux will relocate the employees in its current Berkeley, Calif., office to the new Oakland office location effective January 3, 2012.
