Global asset management firm AllianceBernstein (AB) recently unveiled its new 189,000-square-foot office in New York City’s Hudson Yards. Located in The Spiral skyscraper, the interior spans four floors with outdoor terraces on each level and includes an open floor plan with mixed-use meeting areas, event space, and communal work cafés. Global architecture firm Gensler was retained to design the office, creating a workplace aesthetic inspired by New York City’s vibrant energy.
This vision comes to life in AB’s Client Reception Hub, where a 30-foot-wide and 9-foot-high Planar DirectLight Pro Series LED video wall with a 1.2mm pixel pitch serves as a living art piece. Known as the “Dreamwall,” the installation harnesses AI to generate ever-changing visual content. A meticulously “trained” AI engine generates digitally sourced, visually captivating and brand-aligned imagery that unfurls approximately every 2 minutes, according to Gensler.
The AI system was developed through a creative process that involved curating over 12,000 images to define an algorithmic approach consistent with AB’s brand identity. The Dreamwall also incorporates custom TouchDesigner effects and LIDAR motion sensing, enabling it to respond to human movement in real time. And by pressing a “next button” users can manually prompt the next dreamscape.
“Resolution was critical with the Dreamwall because everything being generated is resolution-dependent,” said Bruce Manning, associate principal at Cerami & Associates, the project consultant responsible for the AV design. “In addition to interactive experiential design, the Dreamwall also functions as a presentation system. It integrates in the space like a natural extension of the architecture.”
A second Planar LED array—a nearly 36-foot-wide, 7-foot-high Planar DirectLight Ultra Series LED video wall with a 0.9mm pixel pitch—was installed in a nearby multipurpose room. With the video wall able to be split into multiple configurations, the display provides a flexible, high resolution LED canvas for supporting uses such as presentations, meetings or Microsoft Teams applications, according to Joe Hakiem, senior project manager with Forte’, which performed the video wall integrations.
With the new office located on the 24th floor, Manning stressed the importance of proper mounting to safeguard the video wall systems from the natural sway of high-rise buildings over time, which can cause seams and cracks or damage components. “We brought in rp Visuals [based in Anaheim, Calif.] to design structural mounts, and in close coordination with Planar and Forte, the displays were engineered for long-term reliability,” he said.
