515 North State Street was designed in the 1990s by Pritzker Prize–winning Japanese architect Kenzo Tange, who topped the building with a four-story “sky-window” that became a defining element of the Chicago skyline. The building features bold, angular architecture and a striking lobby, but lacked warmth, intimacy and the wow-factor that attracts tenants, so a digital media installation was commissioned by Beacon Capital Partners. ESI Design was one of the companies chosen to collaborate on this lobby renovation, and their solution utilizes custom software to create abstract color compositions on an LED wall that actually mimic and reflect on the happenings of daily life just outside in Chicago’s bustling River North neighborhood. The result, entitled Canvas, is a perfect mixture of digital signage technology and contemporary art. 

On this episode, ESI Design’s Head of Media Architecture Emily Webster joins us to share the design experience behind the digital signage story of Canvas at 515 North State Street in Chicago. For more case study information about this APEX-Award nominated project, click here.