Terrell Place, Washington, D.C. 2016

Designers: Ed Schlossberg, Jonathan Grimm, Angela Greene, Kris Haberman, Elinore Aladjem, Greg Gallimore, Anna Martin, Trip Kyle, Sarah Frankel, Maria Barsa, and Eli Rosenwasser, Hy ESI Design, New York, New York, USA
Client: Beacon Capital Partners, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

How do you make walls move, talk and acknowledge people’s presence?

Terrell Place in downtown Washington, D.C., is an office and retail complex comprised of three connected components, including the former Hecht’s department store, resulting in a disjointed ground floor lobby. When Beacon Capital acquired the property, they tasked ESI Design with creating a more harmonious interior and a contemporary, exciting work destination.

To create a strong sense of connection across two reception areas and their connecting hallway, the space was treated a single media canvas. ESI seamlessly integrated 1,700-square-feet of LED displays and motion-activated media into the architectural surfaces, creating an ever-evolving artwork that creates a sense of place and reacts to the presence of people.

The reactive media installation is one of the largest of its kind in the nation. The diffused LED displays are activated by passersby via an infrared camera system, creating beautiful scenes that ebb and flow with the morning rush and the afternoon lull.

Three custom content modes – ‘Seasons’, ‘Color Play’, and ‘Cityscape’ – are programmed with varying durations and sequences, ensuring that visitors never see the same scene.

• The ‘Season’ mode shows the lifecycle of the iconic Washington, DC cherry trees, from spring blossoms to snow-covered branches. In the ‘Spring’ phase, as people pass by the screens, their movement causes the trees to blossom until eventually their petals fall off; when people pause in the lobby, they trigger butterflies to flutter.

• ‘Color Play’ shows algorithmically-generated patterns of multi-color threads which spread across the walls, weaving a tapestry that reflects the activity of Terrell Place.

• ‘City Scape’ pays homage to the city of Washington, DC with iconic architecture, statuary and transportation scenes that are brought to life by people passing by.

The building was named after civil rights activist Mary Church Terrell, who led a protest against segregation at this site in the 1950s. As part of the renovation, ESI redesigned the memorial plaque to Terrell, and created a digital, interactive tablet experience that allows visitors to learn more about Terrell’s impact on the Civil Rights Movement.

In the main corridor, the immersive environment is enhanced by an ambient soundscape emerging from invisible speakers in the walls and ceiling, including music that Terrell cited as having been impactful in her life such as Elijah by Felix Mendelssohn and Deep River – 24 Negro Melodies by Samuel Coleridge Taylor.

In its first month after launch, Terrell Place became an Internet sensation with an estimated 75+ million impressions, earning a reputation as a must-see destination for locals and tourists alike.