Many new office buildings are breaking the trend of simplistic, efficient lobbies. They’re more frequently adorned with elegant light fixtures and sculptures, and now even large digital displays.
These lobbies are even becoming hidden tourist attractions due to their grandeur. Here are a few of the best Instagram-friendly experiences, created by ESI Design, a New York City-based design firm, that photo-loving tourists can now discover:
Terrell Place, Washington, D.C.: The civil rights landmark earned a modern update with a 1,700-square-foot motion-activated mural in the lobby. The display has three themes: seasons, color play, and cityscape. Visitors can also learn more about the building’s namesake, civil rights activist Mary Church Terrell.
Wells Fargo Center, Denver: The iconic “Cash Register Building” made its lobby just as iconic as the building’s profile. Inside the glass atrium lobby, there's five 86-foot-tall LED displays that together create one image. Displays include the Rockies, a waterfall, and birds flying. The wall is now the city’s largest piece of digital public art.
The Tower at PNC Plaza, Pittsburgh: The Beacon is literally a representation of the building: the 32 vertical panels mimic the building’s 32 stories. Additionally, the light fixture relays “green information” about the building by use of patterns of light, color and sound. Several of the buildings sustainable systems include “breathing” fresh air to ventilate/moderate temperature, reducing artificial light during the day, reusing water and measuring recycling.
221 Main Street, San Francisco: Outside of 221 is a 126-foot-long, 25-foot-wide digital awning. Displays include waves crashing, fields of California poppies swaying, and clouds moving over Bay Area hills. The display is a medium for content, lighting surface, and an architectural addition all wrapped in one.