Hotel 42 Brooklyn

Hotel 42 in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, features an industrial-rustic aesthetic and a striking lobby anchored by a 32-foot-wide by 10-foot-high fine-pitch, direct-view LED wall. Visible from the busy Brooklyn street through the all-glass front entrance, the display creates an immersive visual experience for both hotel guests and passersby. The owners of Hotel 42 wanted to showcase high-impact experiential 3D content that would deliver a memorable WOW-factor experience in the lobby while also capturing the attention of pedestrians outside.

We presented the owners of Hotel 42 with a variety of high-impact 3D content concepts designed to create a dual-purpose experience that kept viewers engaged and curious about what would come next. The owners also wanted the creative direction to draw from unique environments, with an emphasis on biophilic design that incorporated the brand. Bringing more elements of nature into the urban setting was a key goal for the Hotel 42 team.

digital art created by render impact at hotel 42 in brooklyn

For the first phase, our team developed several standout pieces, including a pixel-mapped, CG-animated waterfall featuring liquid interaction with the client’s logo and the structural cutouts of both doorways; a captivating underwater scene with mystical jellyfish drifting through the ocean depths; a 3D forced perspective Zen Garden complete with a water feature, insects, diverse plant life, and a wood beam ceiling that simulates natural sunlight to enhance the feeling of nature indoors; and deep screen simulated staircases with branded dodecahedrons, or 12-sided three-dimensional shapes, tumbling down the steps, pausing in suspense at the base just before launching toward the viewer, then disappearing.

OUR INTENTIONS

Digital signage content often falls into two categories: information or art. In this case, the client had a clear goal to deliver captivating, original visuals that give viewers a reason to pause and take notice.

Our team began by gathering detailed information about the screen’s location and its surrounding environment. This included factors such as natural and artificial light sources, wall textures, paint colors, doorway dimensions, and any windows or glass doors that could influence sunlight exposure. These environmental elements were critical for our designers to consider when crafting virtual scenes, as mismatched color palettes, poorly aligned layouts, or sunlight glare could easily undermine the impact of the content.

A unique challenge of this project was designing for two simultaneous viewing experiences. For hotel guests, we aimed to create a memorable and immersive first impression that felt unique to Hotel 42. For pedestrians passing by, the goal was to spark curiosity and leave them questioning whether what they saw was real. In both scenarios, the ultimate objective was to encourage viewers to share their experience, whether by word of mouth or on social media, turning the video wall into a must-see feature that delivers real return on investment.

TECHORATING

For this project, we worked closely with the interior designer for Hotel 42, as the lobby’s environment played an integral role in the content design. Render Impact incorporates both artist renderings and images of the space when developing storyboards and mood boards to ensure the content fits seamlessly within the environment. This process is referred to as “techorating”.

Techorating is a technique that integrates technology into interior design by using display technologies or video walls as the canvas for digital content. Techorators create intentional digital visuals that allow the display to become a natural part of the interior design. This approach produces media that is not only effective but also visually appealing and harmonious with the real-world environment, making the LED wall feel like an integral part of the interior design, unlocking new creative possibilities.

FORCED PERSPECTIVE DESIGN

We needed to create a space that felt like a natural extension of the actual lobby. By designing the virtual room to match the perspective of a 5’6” guest looking out, we achieved this effect for viewers both inside and outside the hotel. The biggest challenges were accurately pixel mapping around the elevator doorway and stairs, as well as managing liquid simulation collision detection and interaction with the Hotel 42 logo. As usual, our team executed the plan perfectly by crunching the numbers and utilizing a previsualization based on drawings provided by the LED company and the interior designer.

MATCHING THE VIRTUAL TO THE PHYSICAL

We would like to say this part was quick and easy – that we took a few reference photos of the wall, mapped the pixel placement, and got it right on the first try. The reality is that matching screen content to exact real-world details is time-consuming and often requires multiple rounds of testing to account for human error. However, the results speak for themselves. This careful attention to detail enhances the realism of the piece for our viewers.

OPEN CEILING

We used this technique in both the Zen Garden and the Falling Dodecahedrons.

In the Zen Garden, the open beam ceiling allowed us to naturally illuminate the space while creating the perception of an outdoor area behind the lobby desk. It also enabled simulated shadowing, making the vegetation appear to move gently as if a breeze were flowing through the garden. This effect is enhanced by insects and butterflies, whose movement casts natural shadows that add to the realism.

The ceiling is designed to feel open beyond what is visible, as if the garden sits in an atrium that extends sunlight from above. The way the breeze moves the plants further reinforces the authenticity of the scene in the viewer’s mind.

For Falling Dodecahedrons, the open ceiling allows the viewer to imagine where the tumbling dodecahedrons are coming from – just up a flight of stairs on the second floor. This sort of spatial justification is crucial for maintaining the optical illusion.

LOCATION AND NATURAL LIGHTING

Placed behind the front desk, the wall is set apart from the large windows and doorway that surround the lobby. This separation is crucial to prevent the LED screen from being washed out by natural daylight, which was a concern since we could not test the screen before it went live.

We addressed this concern in two ways. First, when sunlight is expected to impact visibility, we recommend scheduling content with day-parting, creating specific visuals optimized for daylight and others designed for nighttime viewing. To our surprise, this project benefited from an unexpected advantage – the lobby is located on the first floor and faces north, resulting in minimal direct sunlight hitting the screen.

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previsualization of abstract particles on led wall at hotel 42 in brooklyn

PREVISUALIZATION PROCESS

It is essential for both the client and our design team to understand how the finished video will appear in its final location. With high-end digital signage, we often create content for displays that have not yet been installed. To address this challenge, we build PreVisualizations so our team and all stakeholders can preview the content in the actual space. This approach helps prevent errors and ensures everyone is aligned on the desired outcome.

Below are the previsualizations we produced for the client during content development, before the video wall was installed:

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TESTING ON THE WALL

Once the wall is installed and the videos are nearly finalized, we’re able to begin our final rounds of testing. Since much of our work involves forced perspective and anamorphic content tailored to the space, we are often asked to match the virtual environment’s colors to the real-world setting. While it may seem like a simple solution to take a photo and match the colors, a common overlooked challenge is that large LED walls emit light differently than a 32-inch LCD monitor or the same LED wall in a space with different ambient lighting. It is essential to consider the specific real-world variables of the installation environment. At Hotel 42, the large windows introduced variations depending on the time of day and weather. As a result, testing the content over several days and weeks is crucial to fine-tune brightness and color, ensuring the visuals perform well in all lighting conditions.