Technology-enabled art in real estate can be an attractive amenity

In the concrete jungle of downtown Chicago, there is a digital art experience you have to see to believe. Tishman Speyer’s 151 N Franklin is his 35-story office tower billed as the ‘next generation workplace’. The building is well-equipped, but the most interesting part is the mesmerizing light art installation that plays on the concrete walls of the second-floor terrace.

New York-based design studio ESI Design created Sensing Change. This is a dynamic light art installation that will be enjoyed day and night by office workers or simply those walking by the tower. Brushed metal fins and a vertical light bar LED trellis create a display that works in two different media modes. One mode reacts to weather data, mimicking the colors and light patterns of the sun, temperature, and precipitation. Another of his modes allows building managers to program his color patterns and animation styles to celebrate Chicago holidays and local events. The result is a calming experience that draws inspiration from and reflects the natural world.

Algorithms control light art installations to ensure that the changing patterns of textures and colors are never repeated. “The lighting changes mood and vibrancy, going from calm to uplifting. It’s a continuous, very interesting installation. Rustom Cowasjee says: Cowasjee has worked at Tishman Speyer for 23 years and cites the light fixture as one of the real estate company’s crowning achievements in incorporating art into its development. .

Many commercial real estate firms use art in the development of all types of property, from offices to hotels to multifamily homes. But Tishman Speyer is an example of a company that takes art very seriously. Jerry Speyer founded the company in 1978 in collaboration with Robert Tishman. He is also an art collector and a cultural powerhouse in New York City for decades. Speyer was the driving force behind the expansion of the Museum of Modern Art in the early 2000s. He is also known to own several pieces of art history, including a graffiti-tagged mass of the Berlin Wall. Needless to say, Jerry Spier’s deep connections and interest in the art world are important reasons why real estate companies pay close attention to art. Cowasjee said art is “part of the company’s DNA” and considers including it in nearly every development at Tishman Speyer.

Tishman Speyer’s real estate portfolio is full of examples of art installations that benefit both tenants and the communities surrounding the buildings. One recent example is a South Boston development with public pass-through in part of the lobby. The 100-foot-long wall features murals painted by local students led by Scottish-born music and arts icon Talking His Heads David Byrne.

Because of the Speyer family’s close ties to the art world, the company regularly commissions works from world-class artists like Byrne. Many of Tishman Speyer’s architects are well versed in the art world and bring in artists they know for projects. Cowasjee said that Tishman Speyer outsources most of the parts used in development, and Jerry’s son, President and CEO Rob Speyer, is heavily involved in the process. , the team will work with Rob on many installation recommendations.

IMMERSIVE, DYNAMIC EXPERIENCE

Tishman Speyer’s art installations range from street murals to fine art paintings to sculpture, but the Franklin Office Tower lighting installation is one of the most interesting. Wright’s installations reflect a growing trend in the art world and the use of art in real estate in new, technology-enabled ways to display art.

Another great example is the installation of light artwork in the Salesforce Tower of office REIT Boston Properties in San Francisco. The ‘Day for Night’ light art installation at the top of the tower is a video-based work. The top six floors are lit with 11,000 LEDs displaying low-resolution moving color images. The content of the installation is also constantly changing. Cameras installed throughout San Francisco capture different elements of the city. Each night, an overview of the day is shown on the video display, which can be viewed from as far as 20 miles away.

The Salesforce Tower “Day for Night” artwork is one of the most innovative examples of artwork in real estate, but there are many others. WRAPPED Studios is one company that installs art displays in commercial properties. WRAPPED co-founder Sam Seidman said many real estate firms are leaning toward murals in communal spaces with great impact, but his firm is also focused on digital art, NFT art displays, and video displays. I am also working on “Everyone is trying to find ways to display NFTs in the real world, integrating them into digital art displays,” he says. NFT art is still very new and many are trying to get a feel for it.

NFT artwork is digital art that allows the creator to prove ownership. Due to the nature of blockchain, it is not possible to change the record of ownership or copy and paste versions of the artwork. However, although they have no tangible existence in the real world, they are easily traded. With venerable auction houses like Christie’s hosting sales of collections like his CryptoPunks and Bored Apes, NFT has generated a lot of buzz in the art world. However, choosing how to display digital-only art in a real-world setting, such as a gallery or real estate, is somewhat of a challenge.

One of the ways galleries display NFT art is through the use of digital display frames. While it’s easy to print NFTs to display static images, digital displays allow galleries to showcase their work in the form of videos and GIFs. WRAPPED Studios last year partnered with global music artist Akon’s AkoinNFT, an artist-driven venture launched by him, to present a curated digital art series. The series offered an immersive display and auction of digital art in a real-world gallery.

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NFT’s art exhibits are unusual for real estate developments, but they show how the way art is displayed is changing and can be used as building amenities. Art displays may fit the definition of an “immersive art experience.” One example of WRAPPED Studios is the maintenance-free digital ‘living wall’ they designed for one of his clients. Living walls are a popular interior design trend and an example of the increasing use of biophilia and plants within buildings. Using a design from WRAPPED Studios, they created a digital version that is a textured photorealistic rendering. Like The Franklin’s light art installations, digital living walls create a calming and soothing experience.

Another video display from WRAPPED Studios includes a “Rorschach” that overlays an image of an inkblot against a blank video background. The abstract video of the famous psychological inkblot test has motion effects that give the work what the company calls a “subtle kinetic energy.” A video design technique creates the impression of ink oozing from a blotch on a digital page. WRAPPED says Rorschach’s video art work works particularly well in educational and medical facilities, given the test’s iconic status in psychology and history.

Much-talked-about amenities

For many, it’s clear that art benefits office workers, apartment tenants, and hotel guests. Numerous studies have proven the emotional and psychological benefits of art, and these benefits extend to its use in real estate properties. For example, a British Council for Offices report found that 61% of office workers believe artwork inspires them to work more creatively. Another study by ARTIQ found that exhibiting art at work made him 14.3% more productive compared to a bland, boring official with no artwork. Not many studies have explored the economic benefits of art as a property amenity or whether art installations lead to quicker leases and higher rents. But for companies like Tishman Speyer, the benefits of art installations are more invisible.

The benefits of art can be argued as a philosophical issue, but when it comes to buildings, it can be a property’s differentiating amenity. The art of real estate is trending and essential for properties such as offices. Office owners and tenants who embrace art can use art to lure employees back into their offices, keeping them engaged and perhaps giving them something to chat with while they’re there. This is especially true for more immersive, technology-enabled artworks that you can’t see when you’re sitting at home and working remotely, such as the Franklin Tower light art installation.

Incorporating art into real estate means hanging pictures on the walls or throwing department store-like pieces with inspirational quotes. Unique new creations such as video displays and digital living walls are prime examples. Not every building owner has to be like his Tishman Speyer when it comes to using art. However, pushing the envelope with new types of installations can provide amenities that give you a surprising competitive advantage. Some works of art powered by technology can only be believed by seeing them in person, and the more people want to see them, the more people will flock to the buildings that display them.